Starter motors sit at the center of every modern ignition, yet most drivers only notice them when the key twist leads to silence. I want to unpack what that small electric motor actually does, how it ...

For most of us, starting our car is (or should be) completely uneventful. You turn a key or press a button, then the engine just starts. However, there was a time when cars had to be manually started.

You hop in your Dodge diesel and turn the key only to be greeted with a click-click sound, instead of the more familiar whirring of your starter motor. Something is wrong. You somehow knew that the ...