The Startix automatic engine starting mechanism was a relay in a small box added to the vehicle's electrical system.
It was supplied to vehicle manufacturers in the mid 1930s and later as an aftermarket accessory — in the USA by Bendix Aviation Corporation[1] Eclipse Machine Division and in UK by Joseph Lucas & Son both of which businesses made electric self-starters.
It was marketed in the 1930s particularly for cars with then fashionable free-wheel manual transmissions but carburation problems led to automobile manufacturers soon dropping them as original equipment.
They continued as an aftermarket accessory for cars with automatic transmissions into the middle years of the 20th century.
Poorly adjusted engines could easily flood with fuel when attempting to restart while coasting and become unusable until dried out.