A control device for an engine of the invention executes an automatic stop control for stopping stop a rotation of a crank shaft when a predetermined automatic stop condition is satisfied. The device acquires a focused peak value of the engine speed appearing after a time when a rotation direction of the crank shaft first reverses while the automatic stop control has been executed, determines, based on the focused peak value, whether there will be an excessive peak value expected to depart from a predetermined permission range after the focused peak value appears, and executes a starter start control for driving the starter, restarting the fuel supply and igniting the fuel to restart an operation of the engine when a predetermined restart condition is satisfied, the engine speed is within the predetermined permission range and it has been determined that there will be no excessive peak value.

An engine starting system includes an electronic control unit configured to: automatically stop an engine in response to an engine stop request, and restart the engine in response to an engine restart request; calculate, in the course of automatically stopping the engine, a throttle opening degree based on at least one of a vehicle speed or an input rotational speed of a transmission, such that the throttle opening degree when the at least one of the vehicle speed or the input rotational speed is high is larger than the throttle opening degree when the at least one of the vehicle speed or the input rotational speed is low; carry out scavenging of each cylinder by opening a throttle valve to the calculated throttle opening degree in the course of automatically stopping the engine; and restart the engine through ignition-based engine starting in response to the engine restart request.

In a method for stopping an internal combustion engine, a quantity of air supplied to the internal combustion engine via an air-metering device, e.g., a throttle valve, is reduced after a stop request has been determined, and the quantity of air supplied to the internal combustion engine via the air-metering device is increased again when a detected speed of the internal combustion engine falls below a predefinable speed threshold value. The predefinable speed threshold value is increased when, after the metered quantity of air is increased up to stopping of the internal combustion engine, an intake cylinder no longer passes through a bottom dead center.