@NYBo Por supuesto! Se hablan Espanol y el idioma de Tejas!
Uff da!
I would argue that there is no âcorrectâ use of the terms under discussion. Itâll vary with regional differences as well as with individuals.
As regards the use of the terms by a layman, to me itâs analogous to myself attempting to explain my aches and pains to a medical professional. I may be more versed in anatomy than most are in car terms (only because of a rotten health history), but itâs still a struggle for me to explain things. Part of a practicing physicianâs necessary skills are to ask the right questions to get the information they need from someone who doesnât know their colon from their elbow. That should be part of the automotive âservice consultantâ job description too, but in my experience most of them are just clerks with limited automotive knowledge.
A mechanic really needs this issue clarified because âCranks but wonât turn overâ and other hazy methods of phrasing it just muddies the water; a lot.
Clarifying things like this is what a service advisor or manager at the desk should be doing long before the repair order is dispatched to a mechanic.
This carries over into all other areas and if a SA or SM is going to draw a paycheck surely they can devote an extra 30 seconds to extract a few details about a complaint.
One time I was handed a repair order that stated âTransmission Shiftsâ. WTH does that mean? I handed it back to the SA with full agreement that a transmission really does shift and the one in question either does or it doesnât. Iâm not going fishing in the parking lotâŠ
To make matters worse, this guy couldnât even clarify the complaint so he had to call the customer.
Yet more of my time being wasted for free⊠
Think of starting as electrical. You hit the key and it goes tic. Cranking and turning over come from the fact old engines used cranks (mechanical power). So âit will crank - chuchuchuâ but wonât turn over. So when you hit the key and it makes that chuchuchu sound it would be the same as hitting that old timey crank. I think the confusion comes from having to physically crank it for it to turn over.
Not to continue this 7 year discussion, but when you turned the crank, you are turning over the engine. Thatâs why you turn the crank. If it then doesnât start, you turned the crank but failed to start. It turned over but didnât start. I donât know why this is even an issue for discussion.
Cranking and turning over are the same thing. They are both what happens to the engine before it runs on its own.
Itâs hard to say. Thereâs just so much ambiguity in car-repair terminology. For example I was reading a repair manual the other day, and it was referring to a drawing. None of the parts the text referred to in the drawing were named the same on the actual drawing ⊠lol âŠ
I started this discussion 7 years ago, and evidently the terminology is still a source of confusion. The comments from mechanics who couldnât get their service writers to describe their customersâ issues clearly were interesting. Communication is always a problem, and moreso when people canât agree on the definition of basic terms.
Itâs only called âcrankingâ because we used to start car engines with a hand crank. Old steam engines had holes in the flywheel where you could stick a long bar for leverage to turn the flywheel to get it into position to start. This was called âbarringâ the engine and a smaller steam engine used to turn over a large steam engine was called a barring engine. On large diesel and gas engines used in stationary power plants, a geared down motor that slowly turns the engine to a position for valve adjustment or for replacing/removing the bolts that hold the flex plate to the flywheel is called a barring motor.
(36) Barring Engines In Steam - YouTube
ICE engines need to turn over (aka crank) in order to start. Itâs the beginning of the starting process. As the engine turns over all the internal mechanical parts are workingâŠ(valves opening and closing in time with the Pistons going up and down. At the end of the compression stroke the spark fires and for the engine to run on itâs own. It may take a few cycles to get enough power to start running on itâs own.
I believe the confusion in terminology comes when someone says âThe engine wonât crank.â Now does that mean it wonât start or it wonât turn over?
To alleviate this conundrum, Iâd like to offer the following redneck terms Iâve heard. âThe engine wonât light.â We know this means it will not start, yes? âIt just wonât fire.â Again, very clear. Lastly, my favorite, âIt keeps turning over but it just wonât bust off.â Perfect description of the issue! Thank you, Cletus.
Heh heh. The service manual says âcranks but wonât startâ as one of the diagnostic charts. Itâd be fun to see âcranks but wonât bust offâ, but then that might refer to someone taking sledge to the thing. Wouldnât start so busted the thing off. Of course I prefer proper English and would say âbroke it offâ.
âBurst offâ. Doesnât have the same ring. Buddy of mine whose folks owned a fleet of diesels and played with cars all the time was where I first heard the term. We were working on some engine, I donât exactly remember. I was in the seat, he was underhood. âTry to kick it over once, but donât let it bust off.â Say wha?
Those examples you used werenât all that bad, although they could use some improvement
At least it seems the starter and battery are in reasonable shape, and the engine isnât locked up
Thatâs at least better than âcranks over but wonât turn overâ . . .
More information is better
Using the correct terminology is also better
Those are my thoughts, for what itâs worth
Trying to figure out just what the customer meant could potentially cost the mechanic some money . . .
And I do believe itâs the service advisorâs job to try pretty hard to give the mechanic a repair order thatâs worded coherently
Yeah, I was trying to interject a little humor.
Probably failed.
Had a worker who would say cut it on or cut it off for starting or stopping a car, or lights etc. It is cold outside so I cut it on for you, saw your truck was running so I cut it off.
I enjoyed it. I think Iâll start using bust off.
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Stopped at the lumber yard this afternoon. Cranked it over and it busted off for the drive home. Now down the road was a patrol car waiting to really bust you off. Iâm law abiding, usually.
A patrol car laying in wait on the first day of the month? That would be very unusual here. I rarely see them before about the 20th of the month. Havenât seen any at all today. I saw 3 the other day though, the end of last month.