The charge balance of the vehicle indicates whether the starter battery is being charged while the vehicle is running. For normal operation of the power supply system, the charge balance must remain positive, preventing progressive discharge of the battery. A decisive influence on the balance of electricity is provided by the current output of the alternator, which depends on the rotor speed. The maximum current output of the alternator is described by a current-speed characteristic depending on the technical condition of the alternator. In the process of vehicle movement, the rotor speed and alternator current strength vary over a wide range determined experimentally. The ratio of these parameters is the alternator efficiency coefficient, which can be used to assess the technical condition of the automotive alternator. The productivity of the vehicle’s charge balance is objectively evaluated by the alternator load factor. Further research will be aimed at identifying changes in the charge balance of the vehicle in the event of a malfunction of the automotive alternator and starter battery.

The parameters of the starter battery may degrade during its operation in the vehicle resulting in failures of the consumer units, for example, starter. It is necessary to know the principle of the battery parameters changes during its operation for the purpose of prevention of the battery fault incidence and simplification of the process of their correction. The purpose of the article is the development of the ways of simulation of various faults. This will enable to perform the extensive testing of the battery under laboratory conditions because testing on board would complicate the experiments significantly. The article proposes the ways of simulation of seven the most typical faults of the starter battery. The proposed experiments will make it possible to regulate the battery fault scale manually. This will enable to identify the output parameters of the battery under various conditions, as well as to find the critical points. Discharge of the battery up to 70, 55 and 40% of charge was simulated in the context of the article. Moreover, the results of testing of this battery with the use of discharge tester were presented. Further researches will be devoted to the identification of the battery parameters during simulation of its faults.

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Failures of automotive starters make it impossible to reliably start internal combustion engines, which, under adverse circumstances, may cause a risk of road traffic accidents. A significant part of starter failures is associated with electrical faults in electric motors. The occurrence and development of failures causes a change in the torque produced by the starter. A mathematical model of the starter’s performance dependant from the magnitude of the electrical resistance of its windings was developed. Physical modeling of failures was carried out using an adjustable active resistance connected in series and parallel to the armature winding. Critical values of electrical resistance correspond to an open and short circuit of the armature winding of the starter electric motor, and, consequently, to starter failure. The results obtained are instrumental to the development of a diagnostics method for automotive starters without removing them from the motor.

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