Push-start a Slingshot? (doesn't work for me)

    Let me start with a word of caution... don't try this until you read the rest of my post. You might break something.


    Out of curiosity only (no immediate need), I wanted to see if it was possible to push-start / bump-start / roll-start my Slingshot. So while rolling at low speed I started to let the clutch out, only to discover that the rear tire was starting to drag and the engine was not even hinting that it might start to turn over. And I don't think the rear tire was skidding just due to the low weight in the rear or poor friction with the road.


    I've done push-starts before in other manual cars and this felt very different. It felt as if the engine was completely locked up. I tried this a couple more times, releasing the clutch even more gently, and I'm convinced the engine is not going to turn over. I think fully releasing the clutch at anything more than a crawl could lead to broken parts.


    To answer the basics... ignition was in the On position, start button was glowing red, battery condition was good, gearbox was in 1st gear. If it makes any difference, this is a Canadian 2016.5 SL. And it starts just fine using the button.


    Is there some kind of ignition interlock that prevents the engine from turning over? Is this a Canadian thing? ?(

    You were in 1st gear. That won't work at all. It's geared way to low to allow the engine to turn over. Try it in 3rd or 4th gear. She will fire right up......I have done it a few times. It doesn't even take but a small push to get it started. Last time I had to bump start mine was in Murphy NC and I left my headlights on while I was arguing with the lady at the front desk of the Holiday Inn about my reservation. @MACAWS and @KayTwo and @Wrenchmn pushed me about 30 feet and I bumped the clutch and she fired to life.


    The time before I was listening to my stereo while I was wiping the SS down. I was at home and went inside to get something to drink and got sidetracked. I came back out and it was to weak to start. I let it roll about 20 feet and dropped the clutch in 4th gear and it fired right up.....


    The only catch to this is having enough battery to run the fuel pump. Most of the time you will have enough battery for that. I could see that if you were in a bind and needed every volt to count you could possibly remove the headlight relay so that when you turned the key on the headlights wouldn't suck down what little battery you had left. This might enable the fuel pump to run long enough to push start.

    I have also used this method to reset the annoying lights that occasionally come on while traveling down the road. Most of the time, it is the traction one that lights up so I just push in the clutch, turn off the key, turn it back on, wait for the gauges to all come back up and then release. All without the loss of much highway speed. Do it fairly quickly though, because you do lose power steering for that brief period of time.

    Alpha Supercharger is still spinning fine... it gets rode hard, every time.