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| 1991 VW Golf Mk2 with Engine Starter Button |
Car: 1991 VW Golf Mk2
Interior Colour: Black
Adding a starter button to a car, seemed like a fun upgrade to do on this Mk2 Golf. Many Supercars, Modern cars and Race cars now have starter buttons, with some even having Stop/Start buttons.
First of all we had to choose a starter button. Most of those produced were expensive (around £20), usually in red, and often with the word 'START' emblazoned across them.
We had already decided not to fit a big red button as this may attract unwanted car thieves attention when parked out on the road. A professional thief would not expect the button just to start the car, but an opportunist thief might see it and expect it just to work by pushing it, and so they might break a window or door lock, before they realise it won't work alone.
The starter button would just be replacing the second stage on the ignition barrel. (The Mk2 Golf only has two stages) The first stage (turn of the key to position I) switches on all the electicals and the coil, and the second stage (turn of key to position II) starts the car by activation of the starter motor.
We would simply be cutting the (position II) wire off at the ignition barrel and diverting it to the starter button. So the key would still be required to unlock the steering wheel lock and switch on the cars electrics, then the starter button would have to be pressed to start the car, releasing the button once the engine starts instead of the normal releasing of the key. Turning the key from position I to position II would no longer start the car.
We decided that by removing the small piece of blanking trim that covers the area where the choke is located on the manually operated choke cars, that we could fit the starter button quite nicely in the recessed area. This would prevent any accidental usage of the starter motor while the engine is running.
Also locating it to the left side of the steering wheel meant that it was quite well hidden to anyone looking in from outside of the car. So even if someone had made any attempt to break-in, bypass the alarm, immobiliser and steering lock, it might confuse them when the key still fails to start the car!
We were happy with the end result the black button gave against the black dashboard, and it only cost a couple of quid for the switch from Maplin. Using it the first couple of times took a little getting used to, as you either pressed it letting go too quick, or pressed it in for too long, but after the first few uses we had it sussed! (Many modern electronic ones work with one press and the car brains do the rest).
Nice talking point, and your passengers will want to push it too!
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