Automotive electronics - What you need to know!

Spray-on brake cleaners are one of the best ways to free up excess contaminates around your brakes and ensure that nothing is getting in the way of your braking system. Unlike other fixes to your car, cleaning the brake system using a spray-on cleaner is inexpensive and doesn't require much preparation time or removal of any major parts. It can be done easily in just a few minutes and most of the tools and equipment you need can be found in any garage or storage shed. If you know how to change a tire and how to use an aerosol spray can, then you probably already know how to use brake cleaner. The next time you take your tire off, take a look at the brakes and see if there's any excess dirt building up on the braking system. Applying a brake cleaner can not only be effective in cleaning the brakes and helping them to function properly, but it's also effective when you need to see parts of the braking system clearly before doing a repair job. Brake cleaners are ...

Synthetic oils have been around for a while; Amoco sold one as early as 1929. During World War II, the Germans advanced synthetic oil technology when Allied forces strangled the country's oil supply. In the 1950s and 1960s, synthetic oil took off to meet the high-performance needs of fighter jets. Then, just as the fuel crisis of the 1970s took hold, Mobil1 synthetic oils that promised to increase fuel economy hit the passenger car market. Despite the boost provided by the last fuel crisis, it took some time for synthetic motor oils to gain traction in the automotive market. The turning point came when auto manufacturers started to understand the benefits of synthetics -- such as fewer emissions and longer stretches between oil changes -- and recommended their use in newly built cars. Next we'll look at how synthetics differ from mineral oils, and learn the meaning behind some of the terms used by motor oil manufacturers. The Science of Synthetic Oils The main ...

There are four main "recommended" intervals for oil changes based on factors specific to you and your car: Every 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) or every six months Every 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometers) Every 5,000 to 7,500 miles (8,046 to 12,070 kilometers) Every 10,000 to 15,000 miles or every six months (16,093 to 24,140 kilometers) Let's take a look at the circumstances for each. Change Every 1,000 Miles First, if some experts say that 3,000 miles is too often, why would those same experts recommend intervals of every 1,000 miles? It all depends on your driving habits. If your driving routine consists mostly of trips that are 10 miles or less, you should consider changing your oil more often than every 3,000 miles for two reasons. If you aren't making long trips at high, steady speeds (like you would on a highway) then your engine isn't getting hot enough to boil off condensation that accumulates in the system. That can cause oil to break down fas...

What is an Aerial Lift? For aerial lifts, OSHA uses the same definition as American National Standards Institute (ANSI), which considers the following vehicle-mounted rotating and elevating platforms as aerial lifts: – Vertical towers  – Aerial ladders – Articulating boom platforms – Any combination of the above Aerial lifts, or boom lifts, are classified as vehicle-mounted devices used to elevate personnel. They can lift workers both vertically and horizontally to reach exterior building structures, windows, trees, and power lines. They can be articulated to reach up and over structures, as well as access the top of roller coasters. The difference between an aerial lift and a scissor lift is that scissor lifts can only extend horizontally, and do not have the same reach power. What is a Scissor Lift? Scissor lifts do not fall within any of the above categories of aerial lifts, nor are there any OSHA provisions exclusive to scissor lifts. Scissor lifts do, however, mee...

How Does a Scissor Lift Work? Scissor lifts are type of equipment designed for lifting objects or individuals according to one’s preferences. Unlike other platforms, these lifts move only vertically to transport materials, people or equipment. Scissor lifts are widely used in construction and manufacturing industry where it is a need for workers to do job in hard to reach heights and spaces. The body of the scissor lift that is holding the platform used to carry materials or people has foldable support that looks like a criss-crossed pattern linked together. The body is known as the pantograph which is the lifting mechanism. Pantograph functions like a spring wherein the elevation or upward motion takes place due to the application of pressure. Its length and size is defined by the expansion and contraction of the body of the scissor lift. Pantograph can be moved through three various mechanisms. Generally, the most frequently used type of scissor lifts is gasoline or elec...

Wire Rope Strenght - How to Calculation Historically, wire rope evolved from wrought iron chains, which had a record of mechanical failure. While flaws in chain links or solid steel bars can lead to catastrophic failure, flaws in the wires making up a steel cable are less critical as the other wires easily take up the load. While friction between the individual wires and strands causes wear over the life of the rope, it also helps to compensate for minor failures in the short run. Wire ropes were developed starting with mining hoist applications in the 1830s. Wire ropes are used dynamically for lifting and hoisting in cranes and elevators, and for transmission of mechanical power. Wire rope is also used to transmit force in mechanisms, such as a Bowden cable or the control surfaces of an airplane connected to levers and pedals in the cockpit. Only aircraft cables have WSC (wire strand core). Also, aircraft cables are available in smaller diameters than wire rope. For example, aircr...

How Tower Cranes Work Tower cranes are a common fixture at any major construction site. They're pretty hard to miss -- they often rise hundreds of feet into the air, and can reach out just as far. The construction crew uses the tower crane to lift steel, concrete, large tools like acetylene torches and generators, and a wide variety of other building materials. Parts of a Tower Crane All tower cranes consist of the same basic parts: The base is bolted to a large concrete pad that supports the crane. The base connects to the mast (or tower), which gives the tower crane its height. Attached to the top of the mast is the slewing unit -- the gear and motor -- that allows the crane to rotate:  On top of the slewing unit are three parts: The long horizontal jib (or working arm), which is the portion of the crane that carries the load. A trolley runs along the jib to move the load in and out from the crane's center: The shorter horizontal machinery arm, which contai...

Overhead cranes cover a rectangular area, moving a load side to side and backward and forward. The lifting device, called a hoist is mounted on a trolley for horizontal movement across a bridge beam connected to one or more horizontal girders which are supported at either end by end trucks. The end trucks are attached at right angles to the girders and move on fixed runways. The horizontal travel of push type cranes is powered manually by the operator; alternately, an electric overhead crane is powered by electricity. Still other cranes can be air-powered (pneumatic). Cranes come in a variety of styles and are used with a number of attachments to facilitate load lift, including: Single girder crane - Utilizes a single bridge beam attached to the two runways and end trucks. This bridge beam or single girder supports a lifting mechanism or hoist that runs on the bottom flange of the bridge beam; also referred to as an under running crane or underhung crane. Double girder crane –...

Electronic Stability Program (ESP) The Electronic Stability Program is now a standard feature in many vehicle models. As the number of vehicles fitted with ESP increases, the fault frequency and garage repair requirements also increase, of course. Here, we would like to briefly outline the function, the individual system components and diagnosis possibilities. Task of the ESP The task of the ESP is to avoid the vehicle breaking away to the side when driving through bends or in critical situations such as evasive actions (high-speed swerve test). The system intervenes specifically in the braking system, engine and gear management and keeps the vehicle on track. It is important to remember, however, that physical laws cannot be cancelled. As soon as the limits are exceeded, even the ESP system cannot prevent the vehicle breaking away. How it works What happens when the ESP is active? For the ESP to become active, a critical driving situation has to occur. A critical ...

Why is a secondary air system used?  This system is used to further reduce the HC and CO values during the cold-start phase before the catalytic converter becomes active. In petrol engines with stoichiometric operation, 3-way catalytic converters are used to achieve a conversion rate of over 90 percent. On average, up to 80 % of emissions of a driving cycle are produced during the cold start. But because the catalytic converter only starts working effectively from a temperature of approx. 300 - 350 °C, other measures must be used during this time to reduce emissions. This is the task of the secondary air system. Provided there is sufficient residual oxygen available in the exhaust gas system and the temperature is high enough, the HC and CO react in a subsequent reaction to produce CO2 and H2O. To make sure there is enough oxygen available for the reaction in the cold-start phase when the mixture is extremely rich, additional air is added to the exhaust gas flow. In the case ...

EDC – Electronic Diesel Control At some point in the course of development of diesel engines, mechanical control was no longer sufficient to keep pace with technical process. More and more stringent exhaust gas standards and the wish to both reduce consumption and increase engine power made the development of an electronic control system necessary for diesel engines. The first EDC (Electronic Diesel Control) was used in 1986. Today, EDC is a standard component in modern high-pressure diesel injection systems. Without it, realising convenient and powerful diesel injection systems would be impossible. How does the EDC work?  Basically, it can be compared with an injection system in petrol engines. The EDC can be divided into three component parts:  ■ Sensors  ■ Control unit  ■ Actuators  The sensors The sensors map all actual and reference states. This means, for example, that engine temperature and fuel pressure are mapped as actual value...

The Exhaust Gas Recirculation System - Troubleshooting Tighter statutory regulations have made it necessary to reduce exhaust emissions even further. This applies to both diesel and petrol engines. Emission of nitrogen oxides is reduced with the aid of so-called exhaust gas recirculation. In the case of petrol engines, fuel consumption is also reduced in part-load operation.  What influence does exhaust gas recirculation have on combustion? At high combustion temperatures, nitrogen oxides are produced in the engine's combustion chamber. Recirculating part of the exhaust gas to the fresh intake air reduces the combustion temperature in the combustion chamber. The production of nitrogen oxides is avoided on account of the low combustion temperature. The following table shows the exhaust gas recirculation rate for diesel and petrol engines: How does exhaust gas recirculation take place? A distinction is made between two kinds of exhaust gas recirculation: “inner” ...