TECHTALK

in association with

MODERN DIESEL TESTING

With diesel-fuelled vehicles accounting for more than 30 % of new vehicle sales, the light vehicle auto technician has to have a greater diagnostic skill set than ever before. At the Sun Diagnostic helpline Eurotech we are seeing an increasing number of calls related to diesel powered passenger vehicles. Like modern petrol vehicles, the diesel vehicle uses an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) that is capable of giving both live data and fault codes. Diesel powered light vehicles have advanced rapidly over the last 20 years from: All mechanical and no electronics. Mechanical with limited electronics, timing, start of injection feedback. Mechanical with electronic timing, mass, turbo, fuel quantity, shut off and injectors. Common rail type of systems with high-pressure rails and all electronic control. As the systems become more complex, the technician has to be well equipped and informed in diagnosis and faultfinding. The ability to interpret fault codes and live data is paramount to the efficient diagnosis and rep process. As with a petrol vehicle, the fault code is only the start of the diagnostic road (see example below, left). One of the most common codes we see is with the definition for the EGR system. Sometimes it is useful to understand what sets an ECU diagnostic trouble code. For example, data does not correspond with the presets for an operating condition. The code can be set because the input signal from the map is not registering the data (a change in inlet pressure) to indicate the EGR has opened. The customer will have given a symptom of intermittent power loss or reduced performance. Below you can see the live data collected on road test. To see relevant data it is important to drive the vehicle when the fault occurs and save a movie.

The ECU receives data from various sensors and then commands actuators to perform command functions. The ever increasing demands on the manufacturers to meet stringent emission figures has led to the use of more and more electronic systems.

The data taken while under load on the road shows that the mass reading and boost pressures are low for this vehicle. The mass does have a high failure rate but this is not enough evidence to condemn it yet. The low boost could be the result of a number of reasons such as carbon around the EGR valve or a vacuum pipe is split or off. Performance was not too bad but it was definitely underpowered. We have the luxury of ECU desired figures displayed for this vehicle. Comparing the actual readings with desired readings you can see that the mass and boost data is low. Not all manufacturers give the desired data so it is advisable to collect data from known good vehicles whenever the opportunity arises. It is always important to take into account such things as: The service history and what the vehicle is used for. Taxi. School run. Just purchased. Pool car.

Motor Industry Magazine www.motor.org.uk September 2004 34

The history is important, as one of the most common faults we record is low oil level. This causes the total or partial loss of vacuum due to the lack lubrication to the pump. The system needs good vacuum to operate the actuators. The test vehicle was in fact a pool car and a check on the oil level quickly indicates where the problem may be.

A correctly operating vacuum pump would give a reading of: greater than -75.0 k/pas or 22in/hg

The recorded live data shows the difference in the actual readings after the oil level was corrected. We would expect to see a minimum

The vacuum was checked and the pattern from the actual vehicle recorded before the lubrication system was filled to the correct level.

mass and boost reading of but if in doubt always check with the manufacturers data: 750gm/s with this 2lt engine. Boost reading of 1.5-2 bar. EGR should open under light load and close under load conditions. On this vehicle we can compare the desired with the actual data. An interesting data stream is the EGR command. Remember that this is the command from the ECU and because of the low vacuum there may not be any movement on the actual valve. We believe the greater activity while the mass readings are low is the ECU trying to compensate for the perceived lack of air and limiting the combustion temperature, so reducing the production of NOx. All codes were cleared after checking the oil level. The vehicle was road tested and checked again for DTC. Live recordings were taken using the Modis, the Handheld Diagnostic toolbox from Sun Diagnostics.

The recorded reading after the oil level had been corrected. The reading improved by almost 100%, a good result for 3lt of oil.

This article has been compiled by Sun Diagnostics.

DEAR DAVE
A BMW 316 1996 with Motronic 1.73 broke down, but when the roadside assistance patrol arrived the car started again. The patrol looked for fault codes but found none. The car was then driven home without any further problems. Looking at the car in the workshop, there were no codes found, but the oxygen sensor was switching rather slowly and

surging at the same frequency rate as the switching. Road testing the car showed that the surging had stopped, but the engine did have a tendency to stall at idle and when this occurred the injection period increased momentarily from 2.5 ms to 6 ms. The only other slightly suspicious reading was from the throttle position sensor which was sometimes a bit electrically noisy. The car has broken down once more since, again restarting and able to be driven home within a few minutes.

Motor Industry Magazine www.motor.org.uk September 2004 35