Forklift Starter and Alternator - Today's starter motor is typically a permanent-magnet composition or a series-parallel wound direct current electrical motor along with a starter solenoid mounted on it. Once current from the starting battery is applied to the solenoid, mainly via a key-operated switch, the solenoid engages a lever which pushes out the drive pinion that is located on the driveshaft and meshes the pinion using the starter ring gear which is seen on the flywheel of the engine.
The solenoid closes the high-current contacts for the starter motor, which starts to turn. After the engine starts, the key operated switch is opened and a spring in the solenoid assembly pulls the pinion gear away from the ring gear. This action causes the starter motor to stop. The starter's pinion is clutched to its driveshaft by means of an overrunning clutch. This permits the pinion to transmit drive in just a single direction. Drive is transmitted in this method via the pinion to the flywheel ring gear. The pinion continuous to be engaged, like for example because the operator fails to release the key once the engine starts or if there is a short and the solenoid remains engaged. This actually causes the pinion to spin independently of its driveshaft.
The actions discussed above will prevent the engine from driving the starter. This vital step stops the starter from spinning so fast that it can fly apart. Unless modifications were made, the sprag clutch arrangement will preclude the use of the starter as a generator if it was utilized in the hybrid scheme discussed prior. Normally a regular starter motor is designed for intermittent use which will preclude it being utilized as a generator.
The electrical components are made to function for about 30 seconds in order to prevent overheating. Overheating is caused by a slow dissipation of heat is because of ohmic losses. The electrical components are meant to save cost and weight. This is the reason the majority of owner's manuals meant for automobiles suggest the driver to pause for at least ten seconds right after each and every 10 or 15 seconds of cranking the engine, if trying to start an engine which does not turn over right away.
In the early 1960s, this overrunning-clutch pinion arrangement was phased onto the market. Prior to that time, a Bendix drive was utilized. The Bendix system operates by placing the starter drive pinion on a helically cut driveshaft. When the starter motor starts turning, the inertia of the drive pinion assembly enables it to ride forward on the helix, hence engaging with the ring gear. When the engine starts, the backdrive caused from the ring gear allows the pinion to exceed the rotating speed of the starter. At this moment, the drive pinion is forced back down the helical shaft and therefore out of mesh with the ring gear.
During the 1930s, an intermediate development between the Bendix drive was made. The overrunning-clutch design which was made and introduced in the 1960s was the Bendix Folo-Thru drive. The Folo-Thru drive has a latching mechanism along with a set of flyweights inside the body of the drive unit. This was a lot better since the typical Bendix drive utilized so as to disengage from the ring when the engine fired, although it did not stay functioning.
Once the starter motor is engaged and starts turning, the drive unit is forced forward on the helical shaft by inertia. It then becomes latched into the engaged position. Once the drive unit is spun at a speed higher than what is achieved by the starter motor itself, like for example it is backdriven by the running engine, and next the flyweights pull outward in a radial manner. This releases the latch and permits the overdriven drive unit to become spun out of engagement, hence unwanted starter disengagement can be avoided before a successful engine start.
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