Patent ID: 8487573

Claim:
A starter controller used for a vehicle having: a starter that cranks an engine of the vehicle by torque of a motor; switching means that is provided in a power supply line from a power supply to the motor of the starter and that is selectively driven between an on-state for connecting the power supply line and an off-state for disconnecting the power supply line; and inrush current suppressing means that is provided in series with the switching means in the power supply line and that is driven between a first state for suppressing a current passed to the motor and a second state for not suppressing the current passed to the motor when the switching means is driven to the on-state, the starter controller comprising: start energization processing means for performing start energization processing for driving the inrush current suppressing means to the first state, for driving the switching means to the on-state, and for driving the inrush current suppressing means from the first state to the second state after elapse of a predetermined time as energization processing for energizing the motor such that the starter cranks the engine when the engine is started in response to starting operation by a driver of the vehicle; and abnormality detecting means for detecting whether an uncontrollable abnormality has occurred in the inrush current suppressing means based on a voltage of the power supply line at the time when the switching means is driven to the on-state.