Every memorable drive you've experienced in your life begins with the successful operation of the starter on your vehicle. The starter on today's cars, trucks and SUVs is attached in the rear of the motor, where a gear on the starter aligns with the vehicle's flywheel to begin the ignition...
How Does a Starter Motor Work?
When you turn the key in your car’s ignition, the engine turns over and then cranks. However, getting it to crank is actually much more involved than you might think. It requires a flow of air into the engine, which can only be achieved by creating suction (the engine does...
How to Change a Starter Motor
Knowing how to change a starter motor will help you stretch your car maintenance budget, so you can use that money for other maintenance tasks. Using the correct steps you'll avoid ending up with an electrical short circuit, damage to the new starter motor or some other components; and, most...
History of the Starter Motor
Although we take starter motors for granted today, the so-called “self-starter” wasn’t even conceived of until several decades after the arrival of the horseless carriage. Early automobiles were often started with hand cranks, but various automakers utilized everything from springs to gunpowder to start their engines. You’re probably also familiar...
What is a Starter Motor?
A starter motor is a device that is capable of turning over an internal combustion engine until the process of combustion takes over. This is typically accomplished by providing the necessary mechanical energy to rotate the crankshaft for a given number of cycles. While the starter motor is rotating the...
Starting system, Starter motor
Starter motor A starter is an electric motor that turns over or "cranks" the engine to start it. It consists of a powerful DC (Direct Current) electric motor and the starter solenoid that is attached to the motor (see the picture). The starter motor is powered by the car battery. To turn...