The starter's operation precedes the movement of any vehicle. Knowledge of the device and operating principle of this unit helps to quickly find the causes of a poor start.

Currently, starters for all cars have minimal design features and differ slightly from each other. Thus, knowing the design of the starter of one car, you can easily understand the design features of this unit from another car.

A typical starter consists of the following main parts:

• DC motor;
• solenoid (traction) relay;
• bendix.

The main unit is the electric motor, which, after turning on the ignition, begins to rotate the engine crankshaft with the gears of its shaft. The retractor relay moves the bendix with the working gear along the electric motor shaft, closes the contacts of the electric motor after the flywheel ring and gear are engaged. Bendix provides a temporary connection between the flywheel ring and the starter shaft to rotate the crankshaft.

The starter circuit diagram is shown in the following figure:

The principle of operation of a car starter

A car starter is an electromechanical device. Its main task is to convert battery electricity into mechanical rotating force. Before the engine starts, the following processes occur:

1. After the ignition is turned on, electric current flows through the starter relay to the solenoid relay.
2. The retractor armature moves inside the starter housing and extends the bendix to engage its gear with the flywheel ring.
3. After the armature of the solenoid relay reaches the end point, the contacts close, then the current flows to the starter motor winding and the holding winding of the relay.
4. The rotating starter shaft starts the car engine. After the rotation speed of the starter shaft becomes lower than the rotation speed of the flywheel, the bendix disengages from the ring and returns to its original position using a return spring.
5. After starting the engine, the supply of electric current to the starter is stopped.

As you can see, the design of a car starter is not particularly difficult. To carry out independent repairs, it is enough to master the principle of operation, study the technical characteristics of a particular model (torque, shaft speed, current consumption, power and rated voltage).

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Car starter - what is it and how it works

The starter is a small DC electric motor that allows your car to start easily when you turn the key fully in the ignition. Any starter consists of the following main parts:

• electric motor;
• solenoid relay;
• Bendix starter.

Each of these parts performs its own function:

• an electric motor drives the entire system, power is supplied directly from the car battery;
• the retractor relay moves the bendix to the crankshaft flywheel and then closes the contacts of the electric motor after the bendix gear engages the crankshaft flywheel crown;
• Bendix transmits rotation from the starter motor to the crankshaft flywheel.

Thus, if any part of the starter fails, starting the car will be problematic. The starter will also not operate if the battery is dead and does not provide enough energy to drive the starter motor.

How a starter works and what it consists of is taught in driver courses, and it is necessary to know this in order to independently figure out why your car does not start.

How the starter works:

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• by turning the ignition key all the way to the right, you ensure that current flows from the battery to the coil of the solenoid relay;
• the bendix is ​​driven by the armature of the retractor relay;
• the bendix gear engages with the crankshaft flywheel, at the same moment the retractor relay closes the contacts and current from the battery is supplied to the winding of the starter motor, thereby ensuring rotation of the bendix gear and transmission of the driving torque to the crankshaft;
• the engine is started - the rotation of the crankshaft is transmitted through the connecting rods to the pistons, the flammable mixture begins to flow and explode in the combustion chambers of the pistons;
• when the flywheel spins faster than the armature, the bendix is ​​disconnected from the flywheel crown and the return spring returns it to its place;
• you turn the ignition key to the left and the starter is no longer supplied with current.

This entire operation takes a few seconds.

As you can see, all parts of the starter are under enormous stress. Most often, it is the bendix and the gear itself that engages the flywheel that fails. You can change it yourself, the main thing is that the new one matches the number of teeth, otherwise you will have to change the flywheel crown, but it costs much more. Do not forget to also monitor the condition of the electrolyte and battery charge.

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Friends, let's figure out the starter! What is a starter in a car, consider its operating principle and structure.

Where does a car ride begin? You need to get behind the wheel, insert the key into the ignition, turn it to the extreme position (or press the “Start” button). The engine will start and you can start driving. Stop…!

Here, at this point, he said his word and fell silent again! The starter said his main word and modestly turned off!

But he, the starter, did the main job, without which we would not have gone anywhere. In seconds he performed a difficult operation, spun a pile of iron and breathed life into the deathly silent engine.

And so, he is in charge! An irreplaceable element. His name is Starter - he always starts first.

Therefore, it makes sense to consider its operation and structure in detail.

And now, before moving on to the design of the starter, let’s briefly plunge into the maelstrom of history. At the dawn of the automobile industry, at the beginning of the twentieth century, starting a car was not the easiest thing.

I had to desperately twist a special handle, which, if done incorrectly, could easily cripple its owner.

It is clear that at a time when cars were synonymous with luxury, automakers did not want to risk the health of their customers, so conceivable and unimaginable ways to automate the engine starting process arose in the minds of engineers.

There were attempts to use compressed air, mechanical springs and much more for this, but all these attempts did not bring any visible benefit until one young American engineer managed to create a compact and efficient electric motor, which he proposed to use to spin up motors.

General Motors seized on this invention, and in 1912, an electric starter was first installed on a car. After all, what is a starter at that time? These are the first attempts at automotive comfort.

What's inside and how does it work?

Time to go back to our days and start studying the circuit diagrams of the starters that can be found under the hoods of our cars. Among the variety of these devices, two main types can be distinguished:

• with gearbox;
• without gearbox.

The first type starter, according to experts, is the most in demand.

The fact is that the presence of a mechanical transmission (gearbox) allows the use of less powerful electric motors, and this is useful for the vehicle’s on-board network.

In addition, a starter with a gearbox will start the car’s engine, even if the battery is slightly discharged, which the second type of these devices cannot do.

Although it should be noted here that the process of starting the engine in any case requires a lot of energy consumption; the starter current during startup can reach 200 amperes or more, so if the battery is noticeably discharged, the power unit will not start even with the most efficient gearbox.

The positive aspects of gearless types include speed of operation and high maintainability, which are also appreciated.

In general, all starters have a similar design, in which the following key components can be distinguished:

• DC electric motor;
• solenoid (traction) relay;
• bendix (overrunning clutch).

So, when you are about to start the car and insert the key into the ignition, everything happens according to the following scenario.

When the key is turned, current from the battery is supplied to the solenoid relay. The moving part of the relay begins to move and, with the assistance of the lever, moves the bendix with the drive gear so that it connects with the flywheel ring.

By the way, the bendix in the starter is an interesting detail. Its functions include not only ensuring engagement with the flywheel crown, but also protecting the entire assembly from a spinning flywheel.

It works like, thanks to its clever mechanical design, it can rotate at unlimited speed without harm to the starter armature. True, not for long.

After contact with the flywheel has taken place, the electric motor comes into operation and spins it.

When the engine starts and the flywheel speed exceeds the starter speed, Bendix carefully disconnects the gear, and the traction relay returns the entire structure to its original position. The engine starting process is completed. It's that simple.

Now, dear readers, what a starter is, you know what work happens between turning the ignition key and starting the power unit. Don’t forget to read about, this is also kind of on topic.

Well, we don’t say goodbye, but say: “Goodbye and see you again on the pages of our blog!”

The engine starting system is designed to create primary torque of the engine crankshaft at the speed necessary to form the required compression ratio to ignite the combustible mixture. The launch system can be controlled manually, automatically or remotely.

Engine starting system consists of main functional devices:

1. Starter
2. Start control mechanisms (ignition switch, automatic start control unit, remote control system)
3. Large cross-section connecting wires (stranded copper).

Requirements to the starting system:

• reliability of the starter (no breakdowns after 45-50 thousand kilometers)
• Possibility of reliable starting in low temperature conditions
• the ability of the system to perform repeated starts within a short time.

Car starter device

The main component of the engine starting system is starter. It is a 12-volt DC electric motor with an idle speed of approximately 5000 rpm.

The starter consists of five main elements:

1. The starter housing is made of steel and has the shape of a cylinder. The field windings (usually four) together with the cores (poles) are attached to the inner wall of the housing. Fastening occurs with a screw connection. The screw is screwed into the core, which presses the winding against the wall. The housing has threaded technological holes for fastening the front part, in which the overrunning clutch moves.
2. The starter armature is an alloy steel axis onto which the armature core and commutator plates are pressed. The core has grooves for laying armature windings. The ends of the windings are securely attached to the collector plates. The collector plates are arranged in a circle and are rigidly mounted on a dielectric base. The diameter of the core is directly related to the internal diameter of the housing (together with the windings). The armature is mounted in the front cover of the starter and in the rear cover using bushings made of brass, less often copper. Bushings are also bearings.
3. Solenoid relay or the traction relay is installed on the starter housing. In the housing of the traction relay, in the rear part there are power contacts - “nickels”, and a movable jumper contact, made of soft metals. “Pyataki” are ordinary bolts pressed into the ebonite cover of the traction relay. Using nuts, power wires from the battery and from the positive starter brushes are attached to them. The core of the traction relay is connected through a movable “rocker arm” to an overrunning clutch, popularly called a bendix.
4. Overrunning clutch (Bendix) It is movably attached to the armature shaft and is a roller mechanism that is connected to the engagement gear with the flywheel ring. The design is assembled in such a way that when torque is applied to the bendix in one direction, the rollers located in the cage come out of the grooves of the cage and rigidly fix the gear to the outer race. When rotating in the opposite direction, the rollers fall into the cage, and the gear rotates independently of the outer race.
5. The brush holder is a starter element through which operating voltage is supplied to the copper-graphite brushes and then transmitted to the armature commutator plates. The brush holder is made in the form of a dielectric cage with metal inserts, inside of which there are brushes. The brush contacts (soft stranded wire) are spot welded to the pole plates. The pole plates are usually the “tails” of the field windings.

Operating principle of the starting system and starter

Stages starter operation the following: docking with the flywheel ring gear, starting the starter, uncoupling the starter.

In fact, it looks like this: when you turn on the ignition switch and turn the key to the “start” position, along the “+” circuit of the battery - ignition switch - traction relay winding - "+" starter output - positive brush - armature winding - negative brush, the traction relay is activated. Movable under the action of the relay core the contact closes the power nickels, through which current is supplied from the battery to the positive wire of the starter. The starter positive is connected to the positive pole plate and positive brushes. The minus is permanently connected by default.

After current is applied, magnetic fluxes appear around the armature and field windings, which are directed in one direction and, as is known, identical poles of a magnet repel each other, so a circular motion of the anchor occurs.

When the solenoid relay is activated, the “yoke” starts to move together with the relay core and pushes out the bendix on the armature splines, towards the flywheel crown. The anchor begins to rotate at this moment and drives the flywheel. If it starts, but the ignition key has not yet been released, there comes a moment when the engine speed exceeds the starter speed, in this case Bendix overrunning mechanism is activated.

For diesel engines or high-power engines, a different mechanism for feeding rotation to the bendix is ​​used. A gearbox built into the starter housing is used. The gearbox is a drive mechanism, i.e. Three satellites rotate along the inner gear ring, which drive the shaft on which the bendix is ​​movable. The advantage of such starters is their small size and high power.

The gear starter design is distinguished by a gear transmission between the armature and the overrunning clutch. The safety margin is ensured by increasing the torque in the gearbox supplied to the flywheel of the internal combustion engine.

By analogy with a conventional starter, the gear version uses permanent magnets instead of windings, simplifying the design, reducing its weight and size. Maintainability is practically not reduced; the main causes of breakdowns and repair methods are discussed below.

Purpose of a gear starter

The main problems at the time of starting an internal combustion engine are thick oil at subzero temperatures, a dead battery, extreme loads on the on-board electrical system, which are completely solved by a gear starter with a planetary type transmission.

A regular starter starts a car in several stages:

• With the ignition key, the car owner closes the circuit on the traction relay;
• at the same time, the overrunning clutch (Bendix) engages with the flywheel;
• the next circuit closes, voltage is supplied to the electric motor;
• the motor starts until its shaft reaches a rotation speed greater than that of the starter;
• in this case, the overrunning clutch will automatically break the engagement of the electric motor shaft and the drive gear.

In a gear-type starter, the bendix and armature shafts are displaced relative to each other in space, but remain parallel to each other. Gears with different numbers of teeth reduce the rotation speed of the bendix, but the torque on the flywheel increases sharply, ensuring guaranteed all-season starting of the internal combustion engine.

Design differences

By analogy with a multiplier (torque amplifier), a gear starter has a planetary gear. In addition, a regular starter is either permanent magnet or has a winding inside the stator. Gear units for starting internal combustion engines are always equipped with permanent magnets to simplify the design and reduce dimensions.

Pros and cons of a gear starter

Since the gear starter has an improved design, the main advantages of this starting unit are:

• the voltage does not drop when the flywheel spins, it is enough for the ECU;
• the speed decreases, but the torque increases;
• increasing the service life of brushes due to lower starting current on the armature windings;
• with the exception of Bendix, all parts last at least twice as long;
• The launch unit is smaller in size and easier to maintain and repair.

The disadvantages of a gear starter are:

• complex repair due to the large number of parts and complex design;
• sticking of magnets on the armature (only from the Belarusian manufacturer);
• intensive wear of the planetary ring, which, in order to reduce the weight of the starter and the cost of the starting unit, is made of polymer materials rather than steel.

The low power limit of gear modifications of the starter determines its installation on passenger cars. It is not suitable for trucks and even powerful SUVs.

Gear starter repair

Since the engine starting unit has friction parts and is equipped with an electrical part, breakdowns still occur. The complex design of the gear starter in some cases makes repairs unprofitable; this unit is completely replaced. However, in some cases, the car owner can identify and fix the problem on the spot.

Solenoid relay failure

In this case, repairing a gear starter requires complete disassembly of this engine starting unit. Experts recommend taking a photograph of the solenoid relay before disassembling it, so as not to confuse the polarity of the contacts. If the relay is dismountable, visually inspect the “nickels”; if they burn, they can be cleaned with sandpaper; if there is significant wear, it is better to replace them entirely.

Start problems

If, when you turn on the ignition with the key, you hear the characteristic sound of the retractor relay operating, but the flywheel does not spin, most likely the bendix has worn out. In this case, the starter drive should be replaced entirely, preferably in a specialized service center.

In any case, it is necessary to check the battery charge level; perhaps the starting current is not enough, even for a gear starter that sharply increases torque.

No response to the ignition key

This malfunction of the gear starter is most often caused by an interruption in the circuit. To restore the functionality of the starting unit, you must:

• tighten the terminal fastening nuts;
• clean oxidized terminals if necessary to restore contact;
• checking battery charging, charging as necessary;
• revision of the bendex and its replacement if necessary; this part is not subject to restoration.

This breakdown, in principle, does not require a visit to a service station; it can be easily repaired on your own.

Magnets falling out/sticking

When disassembling a failed starter, it is very difficult to maintain the original order of the permanent magnets. In principle, inserts piled up in a heap are not a problem for the car owner if there is a compass. Using the random method, you can put them in the required sequence with a 30–50% probability, so you should approach the repair yourself systematically:

• for normal operation of the starter, 3 magnets are used with the magnetization vector directed outward, and the same number with the opposite direction of the magnetization vector, but inward;
• they must be alternated with each other when installing in a cage;
• the magnetization vector is determined by the compass, for this purpose the insert is installed on the edge near the device, for three magnets the arrow will turn towards them with the north side, for the remaining ones - with the south side;
• They stick to the cage body independently; their relative position in the starter is achieved through spacer polymer rings on both edges of the inserts.

In order for the armature to operate (rotate) in the desired direction, it is necessary to place the starter vertically, put the lower remote ring on it, and then the housing, placing the “+” wire retractor slot on the relay side.

Then the housing is removed together with the lower remote ring, the magnets are installed alternately north/south, and are fixed with the upper remote ring, taking into account the holes for the tie rods.

The brush assembly in the form of a repair kit is mounted after installing the cardboard insulation in the groove of the positive wire.

Attention: Before installing the starter in place, it is necessary to check its characteristics. To do this, you should rotate it when connecting it to the battery and make sure that the retractor is working.

Thus, some faults of the gear starter can be eliminated on your own. However, to ensure guarantees, it is better to visit a service station, where professionals do not make mistakes and advise the user on choosing a starter or repair kit from a specific manufacturer for their car.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them