Mazda Starter
Prior to 1920, most vehicles were started using manual crank-starters. This means
that in order for any vehicle to start running, the driver must first set the
engine in motion using a hand crank. Imagine having the same system used in your
Mazda today. Not only will it be very inconvenient, it would also be very dangerous!
First, the driver would have to exert too much effort to set the engine into motion.
Then, he would risk fracturing his hand when the engine is already spinning fast.
Good thing, the electric starter was invented.
The Mazda starter that your vehicle is equipped with is an electric starter.
Like the manual crank-starter, its main function is to set the engine into motion
so that the combustion process would begin. Instead of manually steering the engine,
however, electric starters make use of electric power. Modern starter units are
typically made of a small electric motor to turn the engine and a starter solenoid
to connect the contacts of the starter motor to the battery that supplies it with
electric power.
But why is there a need for an electric starter? Doesn’t starting an engine sound
quite easy? Setting a cold engine may sound like a very easy task, but actually,
it isn’t. For the starter motor to start running the engine, it must overcome
a lot of forces, including the internal friction on the engine’s piston rings,
the compression pressure on the cylinders, the energy needed to open and close
the valves, and the energy needed to set all other components directly attached
to the engine in motion. Because so much energy is required, the starter solenoid
is also designed to accommodate the large amount of flowing current needed to
provide this power.
A very small component with a gigantic task to perform, the starter of your Mazda
needs all the care it can get from you so that it would function properly. It
is, therefore, only essential that you take good care of your Mazda starter and
replace it whenever it starts to malfunction. It is also important that you be
selective when purchasing a new Mazda starter to replace the original.