The car starter was invented to save the lives of drivers and only then was used to facilitate the operation of vehicles.
What is the principle of the starter and who invented it?
The engines of the first cars had a very complex starting algorithm. For example, on Karl Benz’s first Motorwagen, you first had to set the fuel supply, adjust the mixture and ignition timing, then grab the flywheel and start spinning it until the magneto could spark. The driver himself acted as a starter. After the single-cylinder engine ran out, it was necessary to wait for the warm-up and re-adjust the mixture. All this was too difficult for unprepared motorists.
At the beginning of the century, internal combustion engines (ICE) in vehicles were in the minority. For example, in the United States in 1900, 40% of functioning cars operated on steam and looked like wheeled steam locomotives. The same part was occupied by cars with electric motors and batteries (38%) and only 22% of vehicles had gasoline engines.
Then the engineers eliminated many of the problems and the advantages of the internal combustion engine began to come to the fore. However, the launch issue remained unresolved. On the most common car of the first twenty years of the 20th century, the Ford T, the engines were started by hand until 1919.
It was necessary to insert a curved handle into the crankshaft bracket and, after activating the “suction”, manual gas, it was necessary to spin the engine. Sometimes an incorrectly set ignition timing could lead to unpleasant consequences. An early flash beat against the piston, and the crankshaft received an impulse back. As a result, the handles broke the hands of the drivers, and sometimes there were deaths.
A close friend of Cadillac founder Henry Leland was seriously injured by a reverse crank jerk in 1910, resulting in his death. As a result, Henry Leland swore that his machines would not kill anyone else, and began to actively introduce starters. In 1911, the American mechanical engineer Charles Kettering finalized the design of an electric starter, and in 1912 the first car with an electric starter, the Cadillac Model 30, was released.
The device of the first car starter
The starter was an electric motor that was directly connected to the crankshafts and rotated it during start-up, and after the first flashes appeared, the starter switched to generator mode and generated electric current for the equipment in the car. True, this starter was imperfect. With an increase in engine speed, it was necessary to come up with a mechanism for connecting and separating the starter from the crankshaft, otherwise, with too much rotation, the electric motor overheated and burned out.
In 1916, the American engineer Vincent Hugo Bendix developed the advance clutch, which helped to connect the starter to the engine for a short time, and this mechanism was subsequently called the “bendix”.
This device is necessary to open the direct mechanical connection between the starter and the internal combustion engine. It is a clutch with a drive gear that moves in a metal cage pressed by a buffer spring.
“Bendix” works as soon as the driver turns the key in the ignition. A special relay, using a release fork, feeds forward the main Bendix gear, which engages with the teeth on the flywheel. To facilitate mating, the teeth on the flywheel and on the freewheel gear are made with a conical chamfer. At the same time, the buffer spring smooths out shocks and jerks, which makes it possible to reduce loads.
In general, the overrunning clutch (“bendix”) can significantly extend the life of the starter.
What is a starter?
The starting device consists of several main elements: an electric motor, an overrunning clutch (“bendix”) and a cylindrical retractor relay. The technical unit is located in a metal case about 15 cm long and 7–10 cm in diameter. The starter motor has a fixed part – the stator, and a movable part – the rotor, which is commonly called the anchor.
Inside the electric motor there are four magnetic cores with coils (“shoes”) that act as magnets. All windings are connected in one circuit and closed on copper-graphite brushes.
The starter armature is an alloy steel axle that rotates on plain bearings. The winding collector creates a magnetic field that sets the armature in motion.
Source: Willdre
Where is the starter located in the car?
As a rule, in modern cars, the starter is installed at the junction of the engine with the gearbox, near the crankcase, in order to adjoin directly to the flywheel, which is set in motion during engine start. Depending on the layout of the engine compartment, the starter is mounted in the lower part of the engine in a horizontal position on a flange or support frame. The device is fixed with 2-3 large bolts and can be easily removed for repairs. True, on some passenger cars, due to the tightness in the engine compartment, access to the starter is limited, and for dismantling, you will need to hang the car on a lift to get up from below.
How does a car starter work?
After the starter has cranked the crankshaft and the engine has started, it is necessary to quickly disconnect the overrunning clutch from the flywheel. To do this, the electronics gives a signal and the relay is switched off. The clutch moves back under the action of the spring. The main gear comes out of the flywheel grooves. The motor shaft is no longer connected to the starter.
Let’s imagine a situation where a faulty “bendix” did not disconnect after starting the engine. This happens if, due to wear, the grooves in the gear connection are bent. Due to scuffing, the clutch jams and it remains in rigid engagement with the flywheel. This is the worst case scenario for a starter. Then the moment from the running engine is transmitted directly to the electric motor. The shaft of the gearbox with the armature rotates at speeds ten times higher than prescribed by the operating standards, which leads to the rapid destruction of the technical unit.
If the engine starts at 100-200 rpm, then idling spins the engine up to 700 rpm. If the driver presses on the gas in order to accelerate, then the engine spins up to 4500 rpm.
In the event of a freewheel jamming, the rotating shaft of the electric motor erases the brushes of the electric motor, destroys the plastic ring of the planetary gear, and the starter housing itself overheats. As a result, the electric motor heats up, sprinkles with sparks, there is a strong rattle and knock from the engine compartment. If the driver stops the car and looks under the hood, he will smell a strong smell of burnt wiring and see smoke coming out of the starter.
How to diagnose starter problems?
You can identify a faulty “bendix” by a number of signs. Basically, these are extraneous sounds under the hood that are heard after turning the ignition key. Often there is a rattle of a toothed gear that cannot engage. Clicks and metallic knocks are heard. At the same time, there is no characteristic sound of a crankshaft being turned. After the third or fourth operation, the Bendix still engages with the flywheel and the engine starts.
Over time, the sounds increase, and the problem manifests itself more and more. In this case, it is necessary to go to the spare parts store for a new overrunning clutch, otherwise at some point the starter will no longer be connected to the engine shaft at all, and it will be possible to start the car only in tow or, as the people say, “from the pusher”.
How can you accidentally break the starter?
The starter can be damaged if the engine starts incorrectly. Some drivers hold the key in the start position in the ignition, as if helping the engine to spin up even after the first flashes appeared in the combustion chambers. Often this happens in the winter, when there are problems with the ignition. At this point, the most impatient can still step on the gas. The motor immediately spins up, and the overrunning clutch is still engaged with the motor shaft. She immediately bites, and then you can hear a plaintive screech from under the hood. This is how the starter brushes spin. Then the starter overheats and can jam.
In general, when starting the engine, it is impossible to hold the key in the “Start” position for a long time, especially when the engine is already running.
On older Zhiguli models, it was possible to start the starter even with the engine running. If the driver inadvertently took the key and turned it clockwise, then a piercing rattle could be heard from under the hood. This turned on the starter tried to connect to a working flywheel, because of which the main gear began to grind with the risk of scuffing.
Source: Quality Stock / legion-media.ru
How to start a car correctly?
It is important to remember here that immediately after starting the engine, you cannot hold the key in the START position for a long time. It must be released, and then he himself returns to the ON position. While driving, it is not recommended to touch the key with your hands until the end of the trip.
In addition, modern injection engines cannot be started with the addition of gas. The electronics itself will set the right amount of mixture to start.
If the car “troits” immediately after the start, then it is also not recommended to cheer it up with gas. Unburned gasoline from a poorly functioning cylinder is thrown into the exhaust system and burns out already in the catalyst, which leads to its overheating. It is better to check the spark plugs or the ignition system and fix the problem.
What other starters are there?
In the first half of the 20th century, on large vehicles, the motors of which were difficult to start with a handle, and the electric starter was too weak, the power unit was started by other starting devices.
For example, large engines on tractors and airplanes were started with the help of … a shot. Their engines had a system for supplying powder gases directly to the cylinders. The technician opened the choke and manual gas, turned on the ignition, inserted the pyrocharge into the chamber (usually a 12-gauge hunting cartridge), closed the protective cover and hit the capsule with a hammer. A shot rang out and the heavy crankshaft of the engine turned quickly, thanks to which the engine started.
For example, on the Field Marshall Fowler tractor, which was produced from 1945 to 1957 in the UK, powder gases hit directly into one of the pistons. A significant drawback of this method is the need to clean the system from the combustion products of gunpowder. In addition, an improperly prepared charge caused a valve jam.
The same method of starting engines was used on some aircraft of the first half of the last century. In the 1930s, pyrotechnic starters were installed in aviation in the form of a piston driven by powder gases. After the shot, the piston, in translational motion through the screw coupling, turned the engine shaft.
For aviation, pyrostarters proved to be beneficial due to their low weight. With their help, it was possible to get rid of heavy batteries and generators. In addition, pyrostarters made it much easier to start the engine in the cold season.
Pyrotechnic starters are still used in lifeboat engines, because in extreme situations there is no time to charge the battery or look for an outlet. There are also pyrostarters on some engines for large multi-wheeled snowmobiles.
On tractor diesel engines, a starting system with an auxiliary internal combustion engine is used as a starter. This is usually a small air-cooled gasoline engine that is started either by an electric starter or manually by a corded flywheel, as on boat engines or chainsaws. After starting, the motor supplies torque through the gearbox to the main shaft of the diesel engine, as well as to the generator, as a result of which the glow plugs are heated and the main power unit is started.
There are also pneumatic starters. They appeared at the beginning of the 20th century and were often installed on executive cars and special equipment. For example, the French Delaunay-Belleville from the royal garage of Nicholas II had a pneumatic starter that supplied compressed air directly to the cylinders, after which the driver turned on the ignition, and the engine began to run on gasoline. On a supply of compressed air from cylinders, the car could even travel more than a mile, due to which the pneumatic starting device was sometimes used for other purposes. The car went on a pneumatic course at parades and during parades. Pneumatics were convenient in that they did not create much noise, like an 80-horsepower gasoline engine of the royal limousine.
Now ship, tank, diesel engines are also equipped with pneumatic starters. With their help, compressed air is supplied to the main engine cylinders through additional valves, which spins the crankshaft. At the same time, the cylinder for compressed air is replenished during the operation of the compressor driven by the main diesel engine. The same compressor is used to pressurize the air brake system on trucks.
For example, on BelAZ mining dump trucks with a carrying capacity of 80–120 tons, a pneumatic starter with a power of up to 60 kW and a maximum operating pressure of 0.9–1.5 MPa is used. True, there air is supplied not to the cylinders, but to the rotor, which is connected through a clutch to the crankshaft.