An overview of the Engine Control Unit (ECU) and its

sensors for the Mitsubishi 4G93 Engine

D.A. en! A.A. "ainul Abidin
Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Malaysia
#e$words% Engine Control Module; ECM, Engine
Control Unit; Mitsubishi 4!" Engine; #uel $n%ector Duty
Cycle.
Abstra&t%
Today&s auto'obile 'anufacturers strive to design
auto'obiles that provide the best perfor'ance balanced
against good efficiency. Efficiency has beco'e a central
issue in the design of ne( engines because of the need to
'eet tighter environ'ental regulations and the de'and for
fuel frugal auto'obiles by consu'ers. )t the heart of each
auto'obile is the engine, (hich serves as the auto'obile&s
po(er plant. Modern engines use soft(are loaded in the
engine&s Engine Control Module *ECM+ to opti'i,e
perfor'ance and efficiency of the engine. The ECM
collects all sensor data, interprets and processes this data,
and then sends out control signals necessary for the
s'ooth and efficient operation of the engine. This paper
(ill investigate ho( the ECM in the Mitsubishi 4!"
engine receives infor'ation fro' the various sensors. )n
overvie( of the sensors& operations is presented. #inally,
this paper loo-s at ho( this infor'ation is used to control
the firing of the spar- plugs and the a'ount of fuel
in%ected by varying the duty cycle of the fuel in%ectors.
'.( )ntrodu&tion
The auto'obile po(ered by the .tto petrol engine (as
invented in er'any by /arl 0en, in 1223. 0en, (as
granted a patent dated 4! 5anuary 1226 in Mannhei' for
that auto'obile 7
1
8. 0y 1!1", 'ore than a 'illion cars and
truc-s (ere racing across )'erica and Europe, and 'ost
of the' ran on petrol or diesel 7
4
8. The -ey brea-through
that led to the do'inance of the internal co'bustion
engine *$CE+ (as that there (as co'pression prior to
co'bustion. This not only increased the efficiency, but
also yielded a 'uch higher po(er9to9(eight ratio than
earlier co'pression9less engines such as the stea' engine.
Today, the $CE is by far the 'ost co''on po(er source
for the transport sector and (ill re'ain so; at least for the
foreseeable future. :hile alternative and rene(able
energy technologies are available today, their
'anufacturing costs, deploy'ent issues, and re;uired
infrastructure re'ain stu'bling bloc-s to co'peting (ith
the $CE. .f the <3= 'illion cars, truc-s, and other
vehicles no( roa'ing the planet *and the nu'ber gro(s
by 3= 'illion a year+ so'e != percent use oil > not
because of so'e vast oil co'pany conspiracy, but because,
by conventional 'easures, oil9fueled $CEs generate 'ore
po(er, 'ore efficiency, 'ore value for the energy dollar,
than any other fuel9technology pair 7
"
8. Nearly a century
of continual refine'ent has created a staggeringly efficient
'achine 7
4
8.
*.( +a&,ground of the )nternal Co-bustion
Engine ()CE)
)l'ost all $CEs currently use (hat is called a four9stro-e
co'bustion cycle to convert petrol into 'otion. The four9
stro-e approach is also -no(n as the .tto cycle, in honor
of Ni-olaus .tto, (ho invented it in 126< 7
3
8. They are?
$nta-e stro-e
Co'pression stro-e
Co'bustion stro-e
E@haust stro-e
#igure 1? )n illustration of several -ey co'ponents in a
typical four9stro-e engine 7
6
8
#igure 1 illustrates the positions and dyna'ics of the
cran-shaft, piston, inta-e valve, e@haust valve, and a
D.AC valvetrain configuration. The arro(s indicate the
direction of 'ove'ent of these reciprocating co'ponents
during the co'pression stro-e.
The basic operation of a four9stro-e cycle has re'ained
essentially the sa'e for al'ost 13= years. )dvances in
'anufacturing technology, 'etallurgy, 'icroprocessors,
and an overall better understanding of the science behind
$CE operation, has led to the develop'ent of 'ore
co'ple@ designs that continue to refine the $CE.
Modern $CEs have 'oved a(ay fro' the ca'9in9bloc- *or
.AB+ syste's in favor of overhead ca'shaft *.AC+
valvetrain configurations. The carburetor, (hich is a
device (hich 'i@es air and fuel 7
<
8 has been replaced (ith
fuel in%ectors and in so'e cases a servo controlled
butterfly valve for 'ore precise *and fle@ible+ control.
Bariable Balve Ti'ing has been introduced by 'ost 'a%or
auto'obile 'anufacturers to i'prove lo(9end tor;ue and
high9end po(er. The Engine Control Module *ECM+ has
evolved fro' si'ple analogue circuits, to hybrid digital
design (ith a loo-9up table, and finally to 'icroprocessor
based syste's (hich can process the inputs fro' the
engine sensors in real ti'e 7
2
8.
3.( .verview of the Mitsubishi 4G93 Engine
The Mitsubishi 4!" engine is a 1.2 liter double overhead
ca'shaft *D.AC+ engine used as a po(er plant for cars
li-e the Mitsubishi Cancer. ) double overhead ca'shaft
*also called double overhead cam, dual overhead cam or
twincam+ valvetrain layout is characteri,ed by t(o
ca'shafts being located (ithin the cylinder head, (here
there are separate ca'shafts for inlet and e@haust valves
7
!
8.
#igure 4? ) cylinder head sliced in half sho(s t(o
overhead ca'shaftsDone above each of the t(o valves
7
1=
8.
$t is a 4 cylinder inline engine that is available (ith either a
turbocharger or as a nor'ally aspirated engine. $n order to
control the a'ount of air and fuel 'i@ture the 4!" uses
an Engine Control Module *ECM+. The engine uses
'ultipoint in%ection in delivering fuel to all the cylinders.
This (ould 'ean that each cylinder (ill have one
designated in%ector. The engine also uses an electronic
distributor9less ignition syste' to provide firing in the
co'bustion cha'bers. The sensors connected to the ECM
are?
air flo( sensor
air inta-e te'perature sensor
inta-e9'anifold vacuu' or 'anifold absolute
pressure *M)E+ sensor
engine coolant te'perature sensor
throttle position sensor
o@ygen sensor
Aall effect cran-shaft sensor
Aall effect ca'shaft sensor
$n order to reali,e the decisions of the ECM into
'echanical or co'bustion for', the ECM (ill send its
signals to t(o actuators (hich are?
spar- plugs
fuel in%ectors
$n order for the engine to have co'plete co'bustion, the
air9fuel 'i@ture 'ust be correct. The stoichio'etric ratio
for air9fuel in a petrol engine is 14.<?1. This 'eans that,
volu'etrically, 14.< ti'es 'ore air than fuel is needed for
co'plete co'bustion. The co'plete co'bustion of air
and petrol yields carbon dio@ide *C.4+ and (ater *A4.+.
$f there is not enough air then the co'bustion process (ill
be inco'plete and produce carbon 'ono@ide, nitrous
o@ides and unburnt hydrocarbons as un(anted byproducts.
These e'issions (ill cause air pollution in the for' of
s'og and acid rain.
To co'bat the proble' of auto'obile e'issions, 'any
govern'ents (orld(ide have 'ade it 'andatory for all
ne( vehicles to be fitted (ith catalytic converters.
Catalytic converters convert carbon 'ono@ide *C.+,
nitrous o@ides *N.@+, and unburnt hydrocarbons into C.4
and A4.. Ao(ever, as illustrated in #igure ", the opti'u'
air9fuel ratio for a "9(ay catalytic converter is 14.<?1.
:hen catalytic converters (ere 'ade 'andatory,
tetraethyl lead *TEC+ (hich (as used as an octane booster
in leaded petrol to prevent pinging or detonation had to be
re'oved. This is because lead poisons the catalytic
converter rendering it non9functional. This resulted in
lo(er co'pression ratios, and a loss of po(er. Ao(ever,
the Mitsubishi 4!" engine, as li-e 'any other 'odern
engines, has been able to i'prove its efficiency and po(er
to levels (ell above the older engines that used leaded
petrol. This is than-s in part to the advance'ent in ECM
algorith's, fuel in%ection technology and ignition ti'ing.
)s an open loop syste', the ECM (ill have to calculate
the a'ount of air entering the inta-e 'anifold before it can
calculate the a'ount of fuel to deliver to each cylinder. To
do this, the air flo(, air te'perature and air pressure is
'easured. #or e@a'ple, if the te'perature is lo(, the air
density (ill be high; therefore, 'ore air (ill enter the
inta-e 'anifold. Ao(ever, if the pressure is high, the air
density (ill also be high, thus 'ore air (ill enter the
inta-e 'anifold.
#igure "? The air9fuel 'i@ture ratio F(indo(G, (ithin
(hich the air9fuel ratio 'ust re'ain if the three (ay
catalytic converter is to (or- efficiently. *General Motors
Corporation+ 7
11
8
To collect all this data the Mitsubishi 4!" engine has
'any sensors. These sensors collect data and feed the
infor'ation to the ECM. The ECM co'putes in real9ti'e
the correct a'ount of fuel to be in%ected into the cylinders
and the firing ti'es of the spar- plugs.
4.( Mitsubishi Engine ensors
4.' /he Air 0low ensor
$n the case of the Mitsubishi 4!" engine, the air flo( is
detected using a hot (ire induction type sensor. The
platinu' (ire is -ept hot by current flo(ing through it. )s
air enters the 'anifold, this (ire is cooled. The syste'
-eeps the (ire hot by increasing *or decreasing+ the
a'ount of current flo(ing through the (ire. )s 'ore air
flo(s through the 'anifold, 'ore current needs to flo(
through the (ire to -eep the te'perature constant. Thus
air flo( is 'easured by sensing the a'ount of current
flo(ing through the (ire.
There are other (ays of 'easuring the a'ount of air
entering the inta-e 'anifold. Ao(ever, the 'easuring
syste' used (ill depend on the car 'anufacturer. Usually
Mitsubishi uses the hot (ire induction 'ethod. .ther
'ethods include the vane syste', the air flo( sensor plate,
and the heated fil' 'ethod.
4.* Air )nta,e /e-1erature ensor
This te'perature sensor is used to 'easure the te'perature
of the air entering the inta-e 'anifold. enerally, this is
acco'plished by 'eans of a resistance te'perature
detector or HTD. $f the te'perature of the sensor falls
then the resistance of the sensor (ill fall, conversely, if the
te'perature increases then the resistance (ill also rise.
Using a voltage divider circuit, a constant voltage (ill be
in%ected into the circuit. The voltage at the HTD, (hich is
connected in series (ith a constant resistor, is then
'easured. :hen the te'perature is high, the resistance
(ill be high; therefore the voltage across the HTD (ill also
be high. This (ill register as a high te'perature in the
ECM.
4.3 Manifold Absolute 2ressure Gauge
The pressure in the 'anifold is 'easured using a 'anifold
absolute pressure gauge *M)E gauge+. The M)E gauge
(ill co'pare the pressure in the inta-e 'anifold to the
pressure of a specific vacuu'. This provides a 'ore
accurate 'easure'ent than the vacuu' gauge because the
vacuu' in a M)E gauge is fi@ed, (hereas a vacuu' gauge
co'pares inta-e 'anifold pressure to at'ospheric
pressure, (hich varies.
The vacuu' in a M)E gauge is separated fro' the inta-e
'anifold pressure by a fle@ible diaphrag'. The
diaphrag' is connected to a strain gauge (hich (ill
convert the pressure to a voltage signal, (hich is then
trans'itted to the ECM as a varying voltage signal.
4.4 Coolant /e-1erature ensor
The coolant te'perature sensor functions li-e the air
inta-e te'perature sensor. The reading fro' this sensor
(ill be used by the ECM to increase the a'ount of
supplied fuel (hen the coolant te'perature is lo( >
effectively ta-ing the place of the traditional cho-e. )s the
engine heats up, the ECM auto'atically reduces the
a'ount of fuel in%ected by the fuel in%ectors.
This sensor is also used by the ECM to s(itch on an
electric fan that is used to cool the radiator (hen the
coolant te'perature is too high. The radiator fan&s cut9in
and cut9out points are predefined in the ECM to 'aintain
opti'al engine te'perature.
4.3 /hrottle 2osition ensor
The throttle position sensor is used to control the idle
speed of the engine. $t is a rotary type sensor that uses a
(iper blade and resistance coil to for' a si'ple voltage
divider. This configuration provides a voltage signal to the
ECM.
$f the throttle is (ide open the sensor (ill send a 3B signal
(hile if the valve is co'pletely shut the sensor (ill send a
=B signal. The idle speed is controlled by a scre( located
on the throttle body. The scre( controls the set point of
the throttle position sensor voltage.
Air-fuel Mixture Ratio
Conversion
Efficiency %
100
80
60
40
20
0
13:1
14:1
14!:1 1":1
16:1
#$
x
C$
%C
&est o'eratin(
area for 3-)ay
catalyst
Ric* +ean
4.4 /he .5$gen ensor
The o@ygen sensor (ill be used in order to 'easure the
a'ount of o@ygen that is left after the co'bustion process.
The o@ygen sensor is about the si,e of a spar- plug and
(ill produce a s'all voltage (hen it is e@posed to o@ygen.
The voltage that the o@ygen sensor produces is bet(een
=.13B to 1."B. This voltage is sent to the ECM to
deter'ine (eather the a'ount of fuel is to be increased or
decreased. The air9fuel ratio is correct (hen the o@ygen
sensor reads =.43B.
$f the voltage drops belo( =.43B, there is too 'uch o@ygen
and 'ore fuel is needed. Ao(ever, if the voltage rises
above =.43B, the o@ygen content is too lo( and the a'ount
of fuel (ill have to be decreased. The o@ygen sensor is
also used to deter'ine if the engine is (or-ing in open
loop or closed loop because the o@ygen sensor can only
operate (ell at a te'perature of bet(een 4==C and
2==C. 0elo( 4==C, the ECM (ill (or- in the open loop
'ode, (ithout feedbac- on the content of o@ygen in the
e@haust gases.
4.6 /he 7all Effe&t Cran,shaft ensor
The Aall Effect cran-shaft sensor is used in order to
calculate the speed of the engine and, at the sa'e ti'e,
calculate the position of each cylinder. The transducer (ill
send a voltage signal to the ECM via the ignition coil
'odule depending on the 'agnetic field detected.
Using a stationary 'agnet, a transducer to detect 'agnetic
fields, and three vanes that are connected to the cran-shaft,
the Aall Effect cran- sensor can deter'ine the speed of the
engine and the piston position. This is done by having the
vanes 'ove in bet(een the stationary 'agnet and the
transducer. The vanes (ill cause the 'agnetic field
*produced by stationary 'agnet+ that is sensed by the
transducer to have an interruption thus causing a change in
the voltage sent to the ECM. :hen there is an
interruption, that is called an off signal and (hen there is
no interruption that is called an on signal. Ao( fre;uent
the on and off signals happen (ill be used by the ECM to
calculate the engine speed. )nother signal fro' the
ca'shaft sensor (ill be used (ith the cran- sensor in order
for the ECM to calculate the piston position.
4.8 /he 7all Effe&t Ca-shaft ensor
Ci-e the cran- shaft sensor the ca'shaft sensor is also Aall
Effect in nature. Ao(ever rather than having vanes on the
ca'shaft, a per'anent 'agnet is 'ounted on the ca' shaft
gear. The ca'shaft is used to open and close valves in the
engine. The firing 'ust occur a fe( degrees before Top
Dead Center *TDC+ %ust after the co'pression stro-e is
over. This sensor (ill be the indicator for the ECM to
-no( if the piston has reached that point or not.
The ECM (ill use the infor'ation gained fro' the sensors
above in order to activate the actuators to generate po(er
for the engine. The t(o type of actuators that are
connected to the ECM are the fuel in%ectors and the spar-
plugs.
3.( Mitsubishi Engine A&tuators
3.' /he 1ar, 2lug
The 4!" is a four cylinder engine. Each cylinder has one
spar- plug to ignite the air9fuel 'i@ture. The ECM (ill
first obtain the piston position fro' the ca'shaft and the
cran-shaft position sensors. These readings (ill be sent to
the ECM through the ignition 'odule. ) decision of
(hich cylinder has reached TDC (ill be 'ade by the ECM
using the readings obtained fro' the ignition 'odule. The
cylinder that has reached TDC (ill then be given a signal
through an ignition circuit. $n our case the 4!" has 4
ignition coils. The ignition coil has 4 (indings? a pri'ary
and a secondary (inding. The signal fro' the ignition
'odule (ill go into the pri'ary (inding and induce a
voltage in the secondary (inding, (hich steps the voltage
up to 43-B. This (ill cause the spar- plug connected to
the secondary (inding to ignite.
3.* /he 0uel )n9e&tors
The 4!" uses solenoid operated fuel in%ectors. :hen the
ignition -ey is turned on, there (ill be a voltage present at
the solenoid. The fuel pu'p in the gas tan- (ill also start
pressuri,ing the fuel lines at this ti'e. ) 'echanical fuel
regulator (ill allo( so'e of the fuel to enter the fuel rail
and so'e to return bac- to the fuel tan-. During
operation, the ECM (ill provide a ground signal (hen it
(ants the solenoid to open. :hen the solenoid is open,
the pressuri,ed fuel fro' the fuel rails (ill spray out the
fuel in%ector no,,le and enter the co'bustion cha'ber.
The driver of the car (ill press the accelerator that (ill
open a butterfly valve (hich allo(s air to enter the inta-e
'anifold via the air cleaner or air filter. This air (ill then
enter the inta-e 'anifold. The ECM (ill use the readings
fro' the follo(ing sensors to deter'ine the duty cycle of
the fuel in%ectors?
The air flo( sensor
)ir inta-e te'perature sensor
Manifold absolute pressure gauge
Coolant te'perature sensor
Throttle position sensor
The o@ygen sensor
#igure 4 illustrates the various different fuel in%ector firing
profiles. These profiles are built into the ECM to allo( the
ECM to cater for the different driving condition.
Transition bet(een any t(o profiles is fully transparent to
the driver and occurs (hen the ECM deter'ines that a
specific profile is invalid. ) ne( profile is then selected
based on the input fro' the sensors at the ti'e. )ll this is
calculated by the ECM in real ti'e.
#igure 4? The (ider the pulse (idth, the longer the in%ector
is open and the greater the a'ount of fuel that sprays out
*Ford Motor Company+ 7
14
8.
4.( Con&lusion
The Mitsubishi 4!" engine is indeed a co'ple@ and (ell
tuned po(er plant that is able to deliver the best
perfor'ance in an econo'ical 'anner. $t is able to use
both open loop and closed loop control depending on
driving conditions. The develop'ent and integration of
the ECM into the auto'obile has greatly enhanced the
reliability, perfor'ance, and efficiency of the $CE.
Together (ith better aerodyna'ics and lo( rolling9
resistance tire technology, the ECM has contributed to
raising the average 'ileage of vehicles fro' 13'pg in
1!<3 to 41'pg in 4==4 7
1"
8.
:eferen&es
1
78 http?IIen.(i-ipedia.orgI(i-iI)uto'obile, 1! 5une 4==6.
2
78 J.A. Jchurr, Energy in the American Economy, The 5ohns Aop-ins Eress. 0alti'o
re, MD., 1!6=, pg 116.
3
78 E. Hoberts, The End of Oil, 0loo'sbury Eublishing, Condon, 4==3, pg 62.
4
78 E. Hoberts, The End of Oil, 0loo'sbury Eublishing, Condon, 4==3, pg 2!.
"
78 http?IIen.(i-ipedia.orgI(i-iI$nternalKco'bustion Kengine, 1! 5une 4==6.
6
78 http?IIen.(i-ipedia.orgI(i-iI$'age?#ourKstro-eK cycleKco'pression.%pg, 4= 5un
e 4==6.
!
78 http?IIen.(i-ipedia.orgI(i-iICarburetors, 4= 5une 4==6.
8
78 http?IIen.(i-ipedia.orgI(i-iIEngineKControl KUnit, 14 5une 4==6.
,
78 http?IIen.(i-ipedia.orgI(i-iIDohc, 13 5une 4==6
10
78 http?IIen.(i-ipedia.orgI(i-iI$'age?D.AC9Lylinder-opf9Jchnitt.%pg, 13 5une 4==
6.
11
78 :.A. Crouse M D.C. )nglin, Automotive Mechanics 1
th
Edition, Mcra(9Aill, 1!!", pg 446.
12
78 :.A. Crouse M D.C. )nglin, Automotive Mechanics 1
th
Edition, Mcra(9Aill, 1!!", pg 44<.
13
78 C. Cave, A !ew CAF", University of California > 0er-eley, 4==1, pg 4.