Editing Starter (engine) (section)

{{Short description|Device used to start an internal combustion engine}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}

[[File:Automobile starter.JPG|thumb|270px|right|An automobile starter motor (larger cylinder). The smaller object on top is a [[starter solenoid]] which controls power to the starter motor and engages the [[Bendix drive]].]]

A '''starter''' (also '''self-starter''', '''cranking motor''', or '''starter motor''') is a device used to rotate (crank) an [[internal-combustion engine]] so as to initiate the engine's operation under its own power. Starters can be [[electric motor|electric]], [[pneumatic motor|pneumatic]], or [[hydraulic motor|hydraulic]]. The starter can also be another internal-combustion engine in the case, for instance, of very large engines, or [[diesel engine]]s in agricultural or excavation applications.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gingell |first1=Rachel |title=The John Deere 720 diesel and its innovative pony motor design |url=https://www.farms.com/ag-industry-news/the-john-deere-720-diesel-and-its-innovative-pony-motor-design-471.aspx |access-date=28 March 2021 |agency=Farms.com |date=8 December 2016 }}</ref>

Internal combustion engines are feedback systems, which, once started, rely on the inertia from each cycle to initiate the next cycle. In a [[four-stroke engine]], the third stroke releases energy from the fuel, powering the fourth (exhaust) stroke and also the first two (intake, compression) strokes of the next cycle, as well as powering the engine's external load. To start the first cycle at the beginning of any particular session, the first two strokes must be powered in some other way than from the engine itself. The starter motor is used for this purpose and it is not required once the engine starts running and its feedback loop becomes self-sustaining.
[[image:P307.jpg|thumb|[[Starter ring gear]] on its [[flywheel]]]]