Abstract: The starter apparatus for an internal combustion engine includes a starter motor; an axially shiftable starting gear engageable with a ring gear of the internal combustion engine; a drive train for transferring rotary motion of a drive shaft of the starter motor to the starting gear, the drive train including a plurality of parts from the starting gear to the drive shaft; a free wheel clutch coupled with the drive shaft of the starter motor; and a shock absorber spring device for damping torque shocks between the starting gear and the drive shaft occurring on operation of the starter and located in the drive train between the starting gear and the drive shaft of the starter motor.

Abstract: The engaging relay for a starter device of an internal combustion engine includes a magnetic core having a relay coil and provided with a through-opening with a guide section; an armature including a switching axle extending through the through-opening of the magnetic core; a bushing mounted around the switching axle in an axially displaceable manner in the guide section of the core; a contact bridge nonrotatably fixed to the bushing; main current contacts mounted opposite the contact bridge so as to be contactable with the contact bridge by energizing the relay coil; a spring for holding the contact bridge away from the main current contacts in a resting position of the contact bridge; and anti-rotation means for preventing rotation of the bushing in the guide section relative to the magnetic core so as to maintain the contact bridge in a rotationally fixed relationship with the main current contacts.