Introduction 1

Statement of the Problem

In the course of driver education activities, Clean Cities has encountered a significant concern that many drivers have about idling reduction. These drivers (covering both personal and commercial vehicles) believe that turning the vehicle off and on frequently will cause premature wear of the starter system (starter motor and starter battery). As a result, they are concerned that the replacement cost of the starter motor and/or battery due to increased manual engine cycling during short-cycle idling would be more than the cumulative cost of the fuel saved by not idling unnecessarily. A number of variables play a role in addressing this complex concern, including the number of starting cycles per day, the time between starting cycles, the intended design life of the starting system, the amount of fuel used to restart an engine, and the cumulative cost of the saved fuel.

To improve its technical outreach to Clean Cities Coalition fleets and the broader driving public, the Clean Cities program was interested in evaluating the practice of frequent engine starting cycles in more detail. For this, Argonne and Energetics Incorporated (the Project Team) were tasked with performing a detailed analysis of the effects that frequent starting cycles have on engine starting systems. The purpose of this analysis was to gather information on modern vehicle engine starter systems and to evaluate the short- and long-term effects of increased engine start cycles on the various components.

The economic merit of shutting the engine down for short idling periods was also quantified for various engine sizes. The three primary questions to be answered by this report include:

1. 
   Does increased starter cycle frequency shorten the expected life of the starter and, if so, to what extent?
   
2. 
   Does increased starter cycle frequency shorten the expected life of the battery and, if so, to what extent?
   
3. 
   Do the fuel cost savings of shutting down the engine counteract any potential component wear cost?
   

To answer these questions, the team collaborated with technical staff from another DOE national laboratory on this work (see Appendix). Industry technical experts from the Society of Automotive Engineers and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers also advised the team (see Appendix). A comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify any prior work in the area and build upon pre-existing knowledge. In addition, the team gathered information, through surveys and technical research, from additional sources. These sources requested to remain anonymous because of the confidential nature of the information provided. Telephone interviews were conducted to acquire information sources, including:

1. 
   Technical staff representing two domestic light-duty automobile manufacturers,
   
2. 
   Technical staff of three medium- and heavy-duty truck and truck engine manufacturers, and
   
3. 
   Technical staff of a Tier 1 starter motor supplier and a battery component supplier.
   

This report examines the impacts on starter system longevity of the additional stop-start cycles associated with idling-reduction efforts. The report also uses information synthesized from the background research to present general recommendations about appropriate idling-reduction behavior that can help minimize the vehicle owner's costs. The team’s intent is that the results found in this

report will be added to the Clean Cities idling reduction toolkit to expand outreach to the Clean Cities coalitions and the general population.

3.