Common Automotive terms and traditional meanings

[Dan Szwarc]

I thought of this when I was reading Stu's thread about his T-Bird. I thought it would be good to put in some terms for people to help describe their problems. I've been doing car stuff for 20 years now and I want to make sure younger people use the proper terms.

Won't start: The car turns over/cranks, but won't START. Starting is the process of transitioning from cranking to running.

Tries to start or turns over: The crank rotates, there is sparking occurring and fuel mixture is ignited, but the engine just doesn't catch or take over (start).

Won't run: Car starts, but won't run unassisted. Feathering of gas pedal required to keep engine from stalling. AKA won't idle.

Feathering: Gently moving the accelerator pedal in and out/back and forth. This activates the accelerator pump and sends more fuel into the intake.

Cranking: The engine turns over (start engages and rotates the crankshaft). Cranking is required for a car to start unless you are roll-starting a car with a manual transmission.


What others can you think of that people commonly mis-use?