the other day we went to a parking lot and attempted a rolling start by turning the engine off while rolling, shifting into second, and letting out the clutch, engine turned over but wasnt firing. Is this how all the new cars are with electronics? shouldnt there be a way to start the car if the starter dies? this new push button start has inspired our curiosity to try this. And also interesting was when we tried to restart the engine via button, the first attempt the engine wouldnt start, took a second press of the button. strange

 

Did you first click on button to turn accessory's on?The car must have power before it will start,even if you are doing the down hill jump start

 

When you insert the key you press the button and the accessories will come on and then it will start from a roll.

 

Just keep in mind that you can start most any manual transmission car from a 'roll';
but when the battery dies (if charging has failed), the car will die as well.

 

does not compute

I've push/roll started many cars with dead batteries. That's kinda the idea of roll starting, well that and a dead starter. If the alternator dies and it killed the battery in the process, that's a different story. The story of being left stranded.

 

I think there is a difference between a battery that wont turn the engine over, but can still generate a spark, and a battery that cannot even generate a spark.

 

Yes, the ignition systems in all modern gasoline cars don't generate their own electricity, they need at least a little bit of battery voltage to get the ignition working, regardless if they're computerized or not. The voltage needed for ignition is a lot less than the voltage needed to crank the engine over, so it's pretty easy to have a "dead" battery that won't turn the engine over, but still have enough juice to get the ignition working.

There hasn't been a car made with a totally independant ignition system since magnetos went out of style. They were little generators that were mechnically driven by the engine, completely self-contained with their own breaker points and coils. Problem with magnetos is it's very difficult to change the ignition timing while the engine was running, and it's tricky to get a magneto to make a spark at very low engine speeds, like when trying to start it.

 

Plus you need a bit of power for the computer and fuel pump. I think the manual actually gives directions for roll-starting.