self-starter

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

self-starter
    n 1: an energetic person with unusual initiative
    2: an electric starting motor that automatically starts an
       internal-combustion engine

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Self-starter \Self`-start"er\, n.
   A mechanism (usually one operated by electricity, compressed
   air, a spring, or an explosive gas), attached to an
   internal-combustion engine, as on an automobile, and used as
   a means of starting the engine without cranking it by hand;
   -- called also a {starter}.
   [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]