US Patent 7677216 Engine start controller

An engine start controller having a starter motor that is driven by battery to start engine, an activation switch that sends to the starter motor a START command for starting the engine, an activation circuit that connects the starter motor to the battery to supply a drive current, and an engine start control unit that issues an OPERATE command for operating the activation circuit when receiving the START command from the activation switch, and supplies the drive current to the starter motor. The controller is provided with a bypass circuit that directly sends to the activation circuit the START command that has been sent from the activation switch.