How The Starting System Works | How A Car Works

To make an engine start it must be turned at some speed, so that it sucks fuel and air into the cylinders , and compresses it.

The powerful electric starter motor does the turning. Its shaft carries a small pinion ( gear wheel) which engages with a large gear ring around the rim of the engine flywheel .

In a front-engine layout, the starter is mounted low down near the back of the engine.

The starter needs a heavy electric current , which it draws through thick wires from the battery . No ordinary hand-operated switch could switch it on: it needs a large switch to handle the high current.

The switch has to be turned on and off very quickly to avoid dangerous, damaging sparking. So a solenoid is used - an arrangement where a small switch turns on an electromagnet to complete the circuit .

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