Basic Functions Of A Car's Starter Motor

By Author: kelvinsmim
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A Car's Starter Motor is a electric motor which cranks the Car's engine to start it. The Starter Motor basically consists of a DC electric motor and a Starter Solenoid which is attached to the motor. A Starter Motor has electric coils attached to the Starter Motors housing and the Armature that is connected through the carbon brushes in series with the windings. On the front end of the Armature, there is a small gear wheel that is attached through an overrunning clutch wheel commonly known as the Bendix. A Starter Motor requires a high current to crank the Car engine, which is why it is connected to the battery with thick cables wires.
The Starter Solenoid works as a powerful electric relay as it closes the electric circuit and sends the battery power to the Starter Motor which triggers the Starter Solenoid to push the starter gear forward to integrate it to the engine's flywheel.

For safety reasons, the Cars Starter Motor can only be operated when the automatic transmission engine is in Park or Neutral position and if the Car has a manual transmission engine it is activated when the clutch pedal is depressed.

To ...
... further accomplish this, there is a Neutral Safety Switch shifter mechanism installed for automatic transmission engines and at the clutch pedal for manual transmission engines.

If the Car's battery is low on charge, you will probably hear a clicking noise or the starter may turn on slowly when attempting to start your Car's engine. Poor connection at the cable terminals can also cause the Starter Motor not to work. Often there are chances of battery terminals or the ground cable connection get corroded causing Starter Motor problems. Sometimes the carbon brushes inside the Starter Motor wear out which may cause it to malfunction. If Starter Motors are found to be defective, it will have to be rebuilt or replaced soon. Sometimes the Starter gears for some reason won't mesh up properly with engine flywheel which could cause loud metal grinding sound when attempting to start your Car, in this case, the flywheel gears needs to be checked for damaged teeth. The contact points within the Car's ignition switch sometimes do wear out, so when you turn the ignition switch on, there are chances of no electric current passing through the Starter Control Circuit failing to activate the Starter Solenoid. The neutral safety switch also can fail sometimes, so as leading to your Car starting in Neutral gear but not responding to a start in Parking gear.

You may need to know the various symptoms of a damaged Starter Motor, to diagnose the problem accurately. Repairing of your Car's Starter Motor could be beyond the abilities of a do-it-yourself as it often requires specialized training and tools. In case, if you are not confident you could always take help of your next door Car mechanic.