What is a starter?
The starter is the most important element of the car. His main task is to start the engine. But, like any DC motor, the starter does not have high reliability. Sometimes it breaks down, therefore repair or replacement is required.
Somehow you do not think too much about how they workcar system. Until something goes wrong. And this something is often a starter, which is designed to start the engine. Most often it breaks down its mechanical part, a bit less often electrical. To carry out diagnostics and repairs, it is necessary to know the principle of the starter and its main components. And small, at least general, knowledge of electrical engineering, will not be superfluous. So what basic components does the starter consist of and why does it rotate only when the key is turned to the stop?
The device and the principle of operation
A starter is a DC motor,there are two windings (rotor and stator). On the rotor, the winding is designed to create an electromagnetic field, without which it is impossible to obtain movement. A single magnetic field is created around the rotor, and around the stator there is a field opposing it. It turns out that one pushes the second and sets in motion the rotor of the engine. This is if we describe it in a simple and accessible language. At the stator, the winding is stationary, it is quite easy to apply voltage to it. But the rotor is a moving part, so you have to use the brush assembly. The supply voltage through the brushes is fed to the lamellas on the collector, and then to the winding of the rotor. The brush assembly is the most vulnerable part in the starter, as it consists of copper and graphite. The material is such that it is quickly erased, so brushes need replacing. Bendix is an element that serves to transfer the motion from the starter rotor to the flywheel. It consists of an overrunning clutch, gear and fork. The coupling allows the mechanism to rotate in one direction only. The plug connects the retractor and directly the bendix. With its help, there is a movement of the pinion with an overrunning clutch along the rotor. You can meet two designs of starters. Speed, in which a planetary gearbox is used, the motor rotor and the final shaft are not integral. And a simple design, in which the shaft is one-piece from beginning to end. Symptoms of a starter fault
Often a malfunction occurs when the starterRotates, and the flywheel is not set in motion. At the same time, there are audible metallic sounds, grating. This indicates that the crown on the flywheel has worn out and requires replacement. It is worth noting that when you crank the crankshaft a few centimeters, the starter "grasps" and the car starts. For repairs, you need to remove the gearbox and change the crown. In extreme cases, you can simply turn it around, since it wears out to the middle. But if the starter turns, but the motion is not transmitted, there are no extraneous sounds, and when the crankshaft is rotated, the engine does not start, then the problem is in the overrunning clutch. Remove the starter, disassemble it, check the clutch. If it rotates freely in both directions, then replace it immediately. Usually the clutch goes in a single design with a plug and pinion. But in case you do not hear the click of the retractor relay, you can judge that there are two breakages. The most innocuous is a dead battery, so there is not enough current to draw the anchor. If the battery is charged, there is a malfunction in the retractor relay. Either the winding burned, or the contacts were burned and stopped to conduct electricity.
