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AUTOMOTIVE AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS

It is only a few years ago that air conditioning was fitted as standard to luxury cars. More recently air conditioning seems to be now available as standard on virtually every car. In their quest to offer ever higher levels of specification and equipment, it seemed inevitable that manufacturers would offer air conditioning and at the time of writing almost 60% of new cars are fitted with a/c. This is planned to increase dramatically in the next few years. The main benefits of air conditioning are: Driver comfort, hence safety. Cools the vehicle interior on hot days. Removes moisture and therefore speeds up de-misting on cold, damp days. Helps to remove dirt and dust from the air in the vehicle interior. Ideal for the allergy sufferers. REFRIGERANTS In its basic form a refrigerant is simply a heat carrier'. It carries heat from the interior of the vehicle and disperses it to the atmosphere outside. Although there are many types of refrigerant in use, generally, the one used in automotive applications is R-134a, R-12 having been phased out at the end of 1994. very low pressure. Thus, a low temperature is also obtained. This temperature is much lower than the temperature inside the vehicle. For this reason, the vehicles heat will travel to the colder refrigerant. As the heat is absorbed, the refrigerant vapourises and carries the heat from the evaporator to the compressor. The compressor increases the pressure, and temperature of the refrigerant vapours. The vapours are then pumped to the condenser where the heat is transferred to the outside air which has a much lower temperature than the vapourised refrigerant, and condensation takes place. The refrigerant while giving off its heat then returns to a liquid state. SYSTEM OPERATION An air conditioning system works because of these basic principles: Heat travels from warmer to cooler. Liquid to vapour. Evaporator refrigerant absorbs and captures heat during evaporation. Vapour to liquid. Condenser refrigerant releases heat during condensation. All automotive air conditioning systems contain the following 5* basic components: Compressor Condenser Receiver-drier or accumulator Expansion valve or orifice tube Evaporator *Manufacturers are developing smaller air conditioning systems. The latest do not have an accumulator and the compressor is smaller. Critical charge systems require very accurate charge with capacitates of 400 to 450gms of refrigerant. The quantity of refrigerant is very critical so there is even less room for error - a small variation of gas will cause a fault. DESCRIPTION An air conditioning system is divided into two parts, a High Side and a Low Side. This is true of all air conditioning systems, and the division of these two sides always occurs at the same point. HIGH SIDE High side simply refers to the side of the system in which high pressure exists. As shown in the illustration the high side is (following the flow arrows) from the outlet (discharge) side of the compressor, through the condenser, through the receiver-drier (if equipped) and up to the expansion valve (or the orifice tube). It is the compressor's job to create the high pressure (high temperature) so that the refrigerant will be able to condense and release heat at the condenser. A pressure differential is created at the expansion valve or orifice tube, the dividing point in the system. LOW SIDE Low side is the term used for the side of the air conditioning

Pressure-temperature relationship The pressure-temperature relationship of the refrigerant is essential. If the pressure of the refrigerant is low, the temperature will also be low. If the pressure of the refrigerant is high, the temperature will be high also. Utilising this quality, an increase or decrease in the refrigerant temperature can be obtained by varying the refrigerant pressure. To operate at peak efficiency, the refrigerant must be at its coldest state without icing (low pressure) in the evaporator and its warmest (high pressure) in the condenser. In the evaporator the refrigerant is under

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becomes a liquid and flows from the condenser and towards the evaporator.

Receiver Dryer Type

Accumulator Type

system in which the low pressure and temperature exist. From the expansion valve or orifice tube through the evaporator and accumulator (if fitted) to the inlet of the compressor, the refrigerant is in a low-pressure state. This allows heat to be transferred from inside the vehicle to the 'colder' refrigerant, which carries it away. COMPRESSOR Piston-type compressors may have their pistons arranged in an in-line, axial, radial, or V design. Rotary vane compressors have no pistons. The most common compressor used by car manufacturers is the piston-type. They have an electromagnetic clutch which enables the compressor to 'shut down' when compressor operation is not required.

RECEIVER-DRIER ACCUMULATOR The receiver-drier is used on many air conditioning systems. It receives refrigerant from the condenser. The receiver-drier is mounted either adjacent to the condenser or somewhere downstream before the expansion valve. It consists of a tank, a filter, a drying agent (desiccant), a pick up tube and on some applications a sight glass Sometimes the receiver-drier function is taken over by the accumulator. When there is nothing mounted in the high side part of the air conditioning system, there has to be an accumulator in the low side part. It is mounted in the low side of the system at the outlet of the evaporator.

Pressure-temperature relationship Thermostatic Expansion Valve

These are the two main functions of the compressor (1) to circulate the refrigerant through the system, and (2) to raise the pressure/temperature of the refrigerant so it will condense and release the heat.

The refrigerant flow to the evaporator must be controlled to obtain maximum cooling, while assuring complete evaporation of the liquid refrigerant within the evaporator. This is accomplished by a thermostatic expansion valve or a fixed orifice tube. ORIFICE TUBE The orifice tube serves the same basic function as the expansion valve but has a different configuration. The orifice tube is a straight tube of sintered metal or a plastic. Some of these tubes have a filter screen to remove contaminates and a calibrated orifice tube to meter refrigerant flow.

CONDENSER The condenser consists of a refrigerant coil in a series of thin cooling fins mounted directly in front of the radiator where it can receive full air flow created by the vehicle forward motion and by the engine cooling fan. The condenser receives heat-laden high pressure refrigerant vapour from compressor. The vapour enters at the top of the condenser and flows through its coils. The vapourous refrigerant

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Thermostatic Expansion Valve EVAPORATOR The evaporator like the condenser consists of a refrigerant coil mounted in a series of thin cooling fins. It provides a maximum amount of heat transfer in a minimum amount of space. The evaporator is usually mounted in a housing under the dash panel or cowl. As the cold refrigerant passes through the evaporator coils heat moves from the warm air into the cooler refrigerant. When the liquid refrigerant receives enough heat a change of state takes place. This causes the refrigerant to change from a low pressure liquid into a low pressure vapour.. The warm air blown across the evaporator will usually contain some moisture (humidity). The moisture in the air will normally condense on the cold evaporator coils and be drained off as water. Although we have covered the main components and operation of an air conditioning system, there are a number of other control devices to protect system components, improve cooling and give good driveability. Evaporator SAFETY It is extremely important that the necessary safety precautions are followed when handling refrigerants and working on air conditioning systems. The main danger is frostbite. Remember that R-134a evaporates or 'boils' at -26.5 degrees Celsius. Always follow manufacturers safety recommendations. This article has been compiled from extracts from the Sun Guide to Air Conditioning. To receive your complimentary copy please contact techsales.uk@snapon.com or alternatively phone Sun Diagnostics UK on 01553 692422, or visit our website at www.sun-diagnostics.com.

BACK TO BASICS WITH AUTO-SOLVE

ELECTRONIC FUEL INJECTION (PART 2)

INJECTOR DURATION The multi-point injector is an electro-mechanical device which is fed by a 12 volt supply from either the fuel injection relay or from the Electronic Control Module (ECM). The injector consists of a solenoid operated valve, which is held in the closed position by a spring until the ECM completes the earth circuit. When the electromagnetic field lifts the pintle off its seat, fuel is delivered to the engine. The total lift on the pintle is approximately 0.15 mm (6 thou) and has a reaction time of around 1 millisecond. The voltage at the injector will only be present when the engine is cranking or running, due to the voltage supply being controlled by a tachometric relay. The injector is supplied with fuel from a common fuel rail. The length of time that the injector is held open will depend on the input signals seen by the engine management ECM from its various engine sensors.

These input signals will include: The resistance of the coolant temperature. The output voltage from the airflow meter (when fitted). The resistance of the air temperature sensor. The signal from the Manifold Absolute Pressure (MAP) sensor (when fitted). The position of the throttle switch/potentiometer.

The held open time or injector duration will vary to compensate for cold engine starting and warm-up periods, i.e. a large duration that decreases the injection time as the engine warms to operating temperature. The duration time will also expand under acceleration and contract under light load conditions. Depending on the system encountered, the injectors can fire either once or twice per cycle. The injectors are wired in parallel with simultaneous injection and will all fire together at the same time (Fig 1.0).

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primary signal will differ between sequential and simultaneous injection (sequential having one pulse per 720, while simultaneous will predominantly have two). Some simultaneous systems do however have a single pulse, but these are in the minority.

Fig 1.0

Fig 1.1

Sequential injection, as with simultaneous, has a common supply to each injector but unlike simultaneous has a separate earth path for each injector (Fig 1.1). This individual firing allows the system, when used in conjunction with a phase sensor, to deliver the fuel when the inlet valve is open and the incoming air helps to atomise the fuel. It is also common for injectors to be fired in 'banks' on 'V' configuration engines (Fig1.2). The fuel will be delivered to each bank alternately. In the case of a Jaguar V12 the injectors are fired in 4 groups of 3 injectors. Because of the frequency of the firing of the injectors, it is expected that a sequential injector will have twice the duration, or opening time, than that of a simultaneous pulse. This will however be determined by the injectors flow rate and the fuels operating pressure.

Fig 1.3 ENGINE SENSORS The following sections detail the inputs into the vehicles ECM that contribute towards the desired injector duration. While certain components may not be fitted on some systems, the text endeavours to cover all variants. Coolant Temperature Sensor The coolant temperature sensor is a small two connection device that has the function of reporting the engine's temperature back to the ECM. It is this signal which will determine the engine's warm-up enrichment and the engine's fast idle speed. This sensor will normally have a Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC), which means that the component's resistance will reduce as the temperature increases. A Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) sensor is not as common as the NTC and its resistance will react to temperature in the opposite way. The sensors are manufacturer specific and the outputs will vary dramatically although they may look identical. Any poor connections on this circuit will introduce an extra resistance in series and will falsify the readings that Fig 1.4 the ECM sees reading the resistance at the ECM multiplug will confirm this. Fig 1.4 illustrates Fords version of a coolant temperature sensor. The Coolant Temperature Sensor (CTS) will invariably be a two wire device with a voltage supply at approximately 5 volts. The sensor itself has the ability to alter its resistance with engine temperature change. The majority of sensors have a Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC), which results in the resistance of the component decreasing as the temperature increases. The resistance change will therefore alter the voltage seen at the sensor and can be monitored for any discrepancies across its operational range.

Fig 1.2 In the waveform illustrated in Fig 1.3 we can observe the current drawn by the injector (shown in red) at the same time as monitoring the primary ignition trace (shown in blue). The main reason for evaluating these two waveforms together is to identify the cause of a non-start situation or sudden loss of power, causing the engine to stop. If the primary trace is absent, there will be no switching of the injectors as these two circuits are timed together while the loss of the injector current signifies that a fault has occurred within the injection circuit. The frequency of the injection trace when compared to the

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By selecting a time scale of 500 seconds, connect the oscilloscope to the sensor and observe the output voltage. Start the engine and in the majority of cases the voltage will start in the region of 3 to 4 volts; however this voltage will depend on the temperature of the engine, as the temperature increases the resistance decreases and the voltage will also be seen to drop. See Fig 1.5. The rate of voltage change is usually linear with no sudden changes to the voltage; if the CTS displays a fault at certain temperature, this is the only true way of detecting it.

Fig 1.6 engine has a distinctive waveform when viewed on the oscilloscope. The voltage seen at the CTS will display a conventional voltage reduction until the engine reaches 400 - 500C, at which point the voltage rises dramatically due to internal switching inside the Electronic Control Module (ECM). This is illustrated in Fig 1.6. The reason for the voltage change is that at higher operating temperatures (500 C plus), the ECM is now able to offer finer control with the increased voltage. All the example waveforms used were recorded using a PC based oscilloscope loaned by www.picotech.com. Other manufacturers equipment will have different voltage ranges but the resultant picture should be very similar.

Fig 1.5 VAUXHALL CTS The CTS used in the Multec system on the Vauxhall Vectra 1.6 Lt.

BOSCH SHEDS EVEN MORE LIGHT

Bosch's automotive aftermarket division has extended its lighting programme to 5,600 different units. The company says this growth has been sparked by an ever increasing number of new vehicles - and new lighting technologies - being introduced by manufacturers. Bosch has worked in conjunction with these manufacturers to enable them to offer the latest OEquality parts within its aftermarket lighting portfolio, which includes rotating identification lamps, spotlights and auxiliary headlights. Recent developments to the testing and diagnostic software also allow for the repair and adjustment of Xenon lights. In addition, the Bosch bulb programme is undergoing further development and includes products such as the new 'Daytime' bulb. These bulbs not only feature a long service life for permanent day-and-night operation but also offer a light-intensity increase of up to 10 per cent. This offers increased safety to all road users by allowing drivers to operate day-time driving lights. The programme features 1 different types of bulbs for all standard headlamps. 2 Further details on 01 895 878010.

ACE PRODUCTION
The Factoring Services Group has produced its most complete accessories catalogue ever, as part of the companys Auto Centre of Excellence (ACE) retail programme. It lists all the suppliers in the programme and the products they supply including: Performance exhausts, in-car entertainment (ICE), lubricants and additives, styling and accessories, wiper blades, performance shock absorbers, spark plugs, and alloy wheels. To obtain a copy, phone 01756 701353

NEW FUEL PUMP FOR 06 MODELS

TI Automotive is investing more than 10m this year to launch production of an all-new dualchannel, single-stage (DCSS) fuel pump that is claimed to provides dramatic improvements in efficiency and performance. The DCSS pump will debut on selected 2006-model vehicles with production at TI Automotive facilities in France and the US. Customers for the new line include two major European automakers, two of the industry's traditional "Big Three" manufacturers and two Asia-Pacific producers. Further details on 01 895 878010.

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