Auto Mechanics

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Modern Auto Mechanics
By Bill Kuhl http//www.scienceguy.org Special
Thanks Dave MacLeod
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 Increasingly modern vehicles are a marriage of
electronics and mechanical components. Special
equipment and skills are needed to keep these
vehicles operating in top shape. Like almost any
profession continuing education will be necessary
to keep current with new technologies. 
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Vehicle Computer
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Modern automobiles may show problems through
fault lights that correspond to fault codes that
require electronic equipment to decipher. 
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Even with the proper test equipment like the
Snap-on MODIS device pictured above the problem
can be complicated to diagnose as one problem can
generate multiple codes.  
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Newer vehicles have plug for diagnostic devices.
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Proper adapter is needed to plug diagnostic
device.
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The Snap-on MODIS device can read engine fault
codes and many types of data. It could even be
connected to the vehicle when driven monitoring
air, brakes, etc. 
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It is very important that students are
comfortable reading graphs and be able to
interpret the data because the scales on the
graphs are ever changing.  
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Sensors communicate with the vehicle computer.
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Quote from article by Dale J. Long
website http//technologyinterface.nmsu.edu/winte
r99/manufacturing/long/long.html Automobile
sensors can be classified into three basic areas
drive-train and vehicle control, driver
safety/comfort/information and emissions. They
are used to monitor temperature, gases,
voltages/currents, vacuum and torque to name a
few. Twenty years ago, the typical automobile had
approximately five sensors. Today, over fifty
sensors are used to control everything from
braking to the fuel delivery system.  Dale J.
Long
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The carburetor used on vehicles before fuel
injection.
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Computer technology has enabled fuel injection
systems to almost completely replace the
carburetor system used for many years before
that.By processing the data from a variety of
sensors, the fuel-air mixture can be more
precisely controlled for a better operating
engine. Engines should start better, run
smoother, are more fuel efficient and less
polluting.
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Fuel injector
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Electronics in newer cars have replaced the
mechanicals parts that wear out in older cars
that had points and a distributor. Before the
new electronic ignition, cars would often require
points to be adjusted or replaced every 10,000
miles or so.  Electronic ignition provides more
accurate spark timing which improves the
combustion and emissions.
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Distributor and coil seen in this picture.
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Relay
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Points
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Only balancing tires is not enough to ensure that
there are not additional issues with the tires
that could be causing steering problems or
causing the car to pull when going driving down
the road. Newer testing equipment such as the
StraightTrak Road Force Measurement System in
the pictures above can check for tire conditions
such as conicity. Conicity can be a
manufacturing glitch where the tires tread has
cured in a slight cone shape.
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The modern method for checking the alignment of
an automobile utilizes electronic camera type
sensors and a computer to give readings for such
as camber, toe, and caster. Newer equipments sets
up quicker which allow the service provider to
charge less yet make more money because of the
faster time for the alignment.
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Auto mechanics students will increasingly need to
be able to work on radically different types of
automotive technology now and in the future.
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The pictures below are of a transaxle from a
Toyota Prius hybrid. Hybrid cars unite a fuel
powered engine and an electric motor to increase
fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. This system
is rather complex in that various techniques are
employed to increase efficiency such as charging
batteries while braking, turning off the engine
while stopped, and assisting the power to the
wheels with electric power.
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