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BobH[_4_]

On 03/09/2011 04:26 PM, wrote:
A wound alternator needs some DC to start up, one reason you can't
push start a car with an alternator and a totally dead battery.

That is not strictly true. I drove a 72 AMC (with a Motorola Alternator)
for months without a battery in it. The alternator retains enough
magnetism to self excite enough to fire the coil. This was a carburated
straight 6. I lived and worked in a hilly area. If I killed it in
traffic, I was hosed.

A newer fuel injected vehicle requires enough current to run the fuel
pump and the computer in addition to the coil, so you be walking now.

BobH