A monitoring method includes, among other things, within a vehicle, providing a first electrical system with an auxiliary battery, and a second electrical system with a primary battery. The method further includes electrically coupling the first electrical system to the second electrical system, electrically loading the auxiliary battery and the primary battery, and comparing an electrical parameter of the auxiliary battery to a threshold value to assess a state of the auxiliary battery.

An engine including an engine block having a cylinder defining a front of the engine, a blower housing coupled to the engine block and defining a hot half positioned adjacent the front of the engine and a cool half opposite the hot half, and an electric starter system positioned within the blower housing. The electric starting system includes a starter mount assembly coupled to the blower housing, an electric starter motor retained by the starter mount assembly and positioned in the cool half, and a battery mounted to the blower housing and positioned in the cool half. The battery is electrically coupled to the electric starter motor.

An engine starting apparatus is provided which is equipped with a starter, an inrush current reducer, and a starter mode switch. The inrush current reducer works to reduce an inrush current flowing through an electric motor installed in the starter when the electric motor is energized. The starter mode switch works to change a starter characteristic that is an output characteristic of the starter continuously or selectively at least between a low-torque/high-speed mode and a high-torque/low-speed mode. The starter mode switch places the starter in the high-torque/low-speed mode at least at a time when a piston of the engine is passing a top dead center, and the engine friction has been just maximized for the first time after the starter is actuated to crank the engine. This shortens a period of time required to start up the engine without sacrificing beneficial effects offered by the inrush current reducer.

An internal combustion engine including a starter is shown. A method for monitoring the starter includes determining electrical energy consumed by pinion and motor solenoids operative to activate and rotate a pinion gear of an electrically-powered motor meshingly engageable to a starter ring gear portion of a flywheel of the engine during an engine starting event. Current ringing in the pinion and motor solenoids is monitored during the engine starting even, and a fault is identified in the pinion and motor solenoids based upon the current ringing and the electrical energy consumption of the starter during the engine starting event.

An electric starter system for an internal combustion includes a pinion gear, a pinion solenoid coupled to the pinion gear, a starter motor that is selectively connectable to the flywheel of the engine via the pinion gear, and a controller in communication with the pinion solenoid and the starter motor. In response to an engine auto-stop signal, the controller is configured to translate the pinion gear into contact with the flywheel and the motor, and cause rotation of the engine crankshaft to a predetermined crank angle. In response to an engine auto-start signal, the controller is configured to command delivery of motor torque from the starter motor, through the pinion gear, and to the flywheel for a duration sufficient for starting the engine.

A method of starting an integrated starter generator drives a starter generator without using a rotor position sensor to start an engine. The method includes the following steps of: (a) applying a first drive current with a first frequency and a first amplitude to drive the starter generator to reversely rotate in a speed open-loop control mode, and acquiring a first load information according to a drive voltage and the first drive current of the starter generator, (b) confirming whether the first load information meets a heavy load condition, (c) stopping reversely rotating the starter generator when the first load information meets the heavy load condition, and (d) forwardly rotating the starter generator to drive the engine to start.

The invention relates to a method for cranking an internal combustion engine, including the steps of: (a) receiving a start signal; (b) determining an initial position of the rotor with respect to a stator phase winding; (c) applying a pulse-width-modulated signal to the stator winding corresponding to determined initial position of the rotor; (d) determining a threshold value of the stator current variation; (e) measuring current of the stator winding in response to applied pulse-width-modulated signal to determine current variation; (f) if current variation is more than the threshold value, determining updated rotor position, applying a pulse-width-modulated signal to the stator winding corresponding to the updated rotor position; and repeating steps (d)-(f); and (g) if current variation is less than the threshold value, applying a pulse-width-modulated signal to the stator winding corresponding to the last updated rotor position and repeating steps (d)-(g).

A saddle riding vehicle includes an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft, a starter motor having a rotary shaft connected to the crankshaft, a main shaft connected to the crankshaft, a countershaft connected to the main shaft and configured to transmit power to a driving wheel, a battery configured to supply electric power to the starter motor, a rotation detector configured to detect a rotation state of the crankshaft, an acquisition part configured to acquire a rotational speed on the basis of the rotation state detected by the rotation detector, and a controller configured to stop the starter motor in a case the rotational speed is equal to or smaller than first threshold in a state in which the rotary shaft, the crankshaft, the main shaft and the countershaft are connected.

A method actuates a starter of an internal combustion engine by way of a starter relay. The starter relay is configured to supply the starter optionally with current via an on-board electrical system. The method has the following steps: determining an error status of the internal combustion engine; commencing repeated actuations of the starter relay; determining a current status of the internal combustion engine, wherein the current status of the internal combustion engine displays at least one error status or at least one operating status; and, if the current status displays at least one operating status, ending the repeated actuation of the starter relay, otherwise once again determining the current status. A system for actuating a starter of an internal combustion engine includes a control device, a power source, a starter relay, connected to the control device and configured to supply the starter of the internal combustion engine optionally with current from the power source via an on-board electrical system, wherein the control device is configured to carry out the method.

An engine including an engine block having a cylinder defining a front of the engine, a blower housing coupled to the engine block and defining a hot half positioned adjacent the front of the engine and a cool half opposite the hot half, and an electric starter system positioned within the blower housing. The electric starting system includes a starter mount assembly coupled to the blower housing, an electric starter motor retained by the starter mount assembly and positioned in the cool half, and a battery mounted to the blower housing and positioned in the cool half. The battery is electrically coupled to the electric starter motor.