How Kick starters and alternators work together

Starters and alternators

Starters and alternators work together like butter and jelly. Thankfully they are much more reliable on today's automobiles because some models make it hard to test or service these components. Several Lexus and Cadillac Northstar V8's put the starter under the intake manifold. Gone are the days where these parts hung off the engine like low hanging fruit.
Even if they last longer it doesn't mean that you will have trouble free operation from these two important electromechanical devices. In case you ever have problems in this area here is some information about how to test and diagnose them.
Starters and alternators work in conjunction with the battery to make sure you have the required tools necessary to start the engine. When you turn your cars ignition to the start position, a small amount of current will flow from the battery to a starter solenoid.

This will activate the solenoid and sometimes a relay that will allow full battery voltage to flow to the starter motor via large diameter wiring.
The motor then extends the starter drive that meshes with the flywheel mounted on the rear of the engines crankshaft. As the crankshaft turns the engine is rotated through it’s four strokes. At the correct time the ignition system will fire the spark plug to ignite the air fuel mixture.
After a couple successful ignition cycles, the engine will begin to rotate on its own without the need of the starter motor. At this point the driver will release the ignition key which will automatically settle to the on but not crank position. The solenoid is turned off and the starter drive retracts automatically.

How starters and alternators work together

The cars battery is especially important to starters and alternators. In fact, the number one cause of a no engine starting condition would be a dead car battery. Drivers should be aware of how old their battery is because in most cases batteries will not last more than five years under ideal conditions.
The length of your battery life will be determined by many factors including your driving characteristics and in some cases your location (weather). While the starter is rotating the crankshaft it uses a lot of electrical power. This is called starter draw.
The amount of amps used can be measured and tested with a diagnostic machine known as a vat-40 (or equivalent) which is a specialized tester for these 2 circuits. Often when the starter is beginning to fail it will show up in this draw test. With that said engine cranking will lower the amount of available power in a car battery even when the starter is working right.

Therefore the alternator is needed to recharge the battery so that the engine will start in the future. Charging systems and voltage regulators work together to recharge and maintain the battery's over all health.
It also provides electrical power for the ignition system, air conditioner, heater, cell phone chargers, lights, radio, ipod car accessories, and all electrical related accessories when the engine is running. The charging system includes an AC generator, better known as an alternator.

Also included in the charging system would be a voltage regulator, malfunction indicator light, and both heavy duty and light-duty wiring. The belt driven alternator converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.
When the output or electrical current from the charging system flows back to the cars battery it is considered to be in a positive state of charge. When the alternator is turning slow and a large amount of accessories are in the on position the alternator may put out less than the vehicle requires.
At this point the automobile is in a negative state of charge and is actually pulling power from the batteries. In most cases the negative state of charge condition is short term and compensated by a driving cycle where the positive state of charge, recovers and upholds the health of the battery.

Engine starting and battery charging

If you leave your vehicle idling in the driveway with the air conditioner on high at night with the lights on the vehicle will most likely be in the negative state of charge. If your driving habits include extremely short trips with long periods of idling, battery life could be affected in a negative way (pun intended for entertainment purposes).
Vehicles that are used very little, coupled with very short driving cycles can experience dead batteries much more often than people with long commutes. In some cases it would be wise to use a battery maintenance charger on cars or light trucks that do a lot of sitting around between trips.
Trickle chargers are inexpensive and have low amperage output making them light on the electricity bills. Battery minder products are top sellers on amazon at the time of this writing. This is a good way to extend battery and alternator life. The closer to full charge the better (my opinion).
Give this car starters and auto alternators page a share