ELECTRONIC FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM

Modern gasoline injection systems use engine sensors, a computer and solenoid
operated fuel injectors to meter and inject the right amount of fuel into the engine
cylinders. These systems called electronic fuel injection (EFI) use electrical and
electronic devices to monitor and control engine operation.

An electronic control unit (ECU) or the computer receives electrical signals in the
form of current or voltage from various sensors. It then uses the stored data to
operate the injectors, ignition system and other engine related devices. As a result,
less unburned fuel leaves the engine as emissions, and the vehicle gives better
milage. Typical sensors for an electronic fuel injection system includes the following:

i. Exhaust gas or oxygen sensor- senses the amount of oxygen in the engine
exhaust and calculates air-fuel ratio. Sensor output voltage changes in
proportion to air-fuel ratio.

ii. Engine temperature sensor - senses the temperature or the engine coolant,
and from this data the computer adjusts the mixture strength to rich side for
cold starting.

iii. Air flow sensor - monitors mass or volume of air flowing into the intake
manifold for adjusting the quantity of fuel.

iv. Air inlet temperature sensor - checks the temperature of the ambient air
entering the engine for fine tuning the mixture strength.

v. Throttle position sensor - senses the movement of the throttle plate so that the
mixture flow can be adjusted for engine speed and acceleration.

vi. Manifold pressure sensor - monitors vacuum in the engine intake manifold so
that the mixture strength can be adjusted with changes in engine load.

vii. Camshaft position sensor – senses rotation of engine camshaft/crankshaft for

speed and timing of injection.

viii. Knock sensor – microphone type sensor that detects ping or preignition noise
so that the ignition timing can be retarded.

The fuel injector in an EFI is nothing but a fuel valve. When it is not energized,
spring pressure makes the injector to remain closed and no fuel will enter the
engine. When the computer sends the signal through the injector coil, the
 magnetic field attracts the injector armature. Fuel then spurts into the intake
manifold.

The injector pulse width is an indication of the period for which each injector is
energized and kept open. The computer decides and controls the injector pulse
width based on the signals received from the various sensors.

Under full load, the computer will sense a wide open throttle, high intake
manifold pressure, and high inlet air flow. The ECU will then increase the injector
pulse width to enrich the mixture which will enable the engine to produce higher
power.

Under low load and idling conditions, the ECU will shorten the pulse width by
which the injectors are kept in the closed position over a longer period of time.
Because of this, air fuel mixture will become leaner and will result in better fuel
economy.

Electronic fuel injection system has a cold start injector too. This is an extra
injector that sprays fuel into the centre of the engine intake manifold, when the
engine is cold. It serves the same purpose as a carburettor choke. The cold start
injector ensures easy engine startup in very cold weather.

Merits of EFI System:

The spark ignition engine with an EFI system compared with a carburettor unit have
the following advantages:

i. Improvement in the volumetric efficiency due to comparatively less resistance

in the intake manifolds which will cause less pressure losses. It eliminates
majority of carburettor pressure losses and almost eliminate the requirement
of manifold heating.
ii. Manifold wetting is eliminated due to the fuel being injected into or close to the
cylinder and need not flow through the manifold.
iii. Atomization of fuel is independent of cranking speed and therefore starting
will be easier.
iv. Better atomization and vaporization will make the engine less knock prone.
v. Formation of ice on the throttle plate is eliminated.
vi. Distribution of fuel being independent of vaporization, less volatile fuel can be
used.
vii. Variation of air-fuel ratio is almost negligible even when the vehicle takes
different positions like turning, moving on gradients, uneven roads etc.
viii. Position of the injection unit is not so critical and thereby the height of the
engine (and hood) can be less.

Demerits of EFI System:

Some of the disadvantages of EFI system are:
i. High maintenance cost
ii. Difficulty in servicing, and
iii. Possibility of malfunction of some sensors.
TYPES OF ELECTRONIC FUEL INJECTION SYSTEMS
Single point injection or Throttle Body Injection
Multi-point Injection System:
SINGLE POINT INJECTION OR THROTTLE BODY INJECTION

The above figure illustrates the simplified sketch of throttle body injection system
(Single point injection). This throttle body injection system is similar to the carburetor
throttle body, with the throttle valve controlling the amount of air entering the intake
manifold.

An injector is placed slightly above the throat of the throttle body. The injector sprays
gasoline into the air in the intake manifold where the gasoline mixes with air. This
mixture then passes through the throttle valve and enters into the intake manifold.

fuel-injection systems can be either timed or continuous. In the timed injection

system, gasoline is sprayed from the injectors in pulses. In the continuous injection
system, gasoline is sprayed continuously from the injectors. The port injection
system and the throttle body injection system may be either pulsed system or
continuous systems. In both systems, the amount of gasoline injected depends upon
the engine speed and power demands.

MULTI-POINT INJECTION SYSTEM:

 Multi-point fuel injection injects fuel into the intake port just upstream of the
cylinder's intake valve, rather than at a central point within an intake manifold,
referred to as SPFI, or single point fuel injection.

 Multi point fuel injection or MPFI uses several injectors, normally respective to
the number of engine cylinders and placed in the inlet port of each cylinder.

 It is to be noted that fuel spaying is taking place out side of the cylinder at the
correct time according to the piston position inside the cylinder.

 There will be electronic control unit or ECU which will be receiving feed back
from several sensors like engine speed sensor, fly wheel position sensor,
vehicle speed sensor, atmospheric temperature sensor, accelerator pedal
position sensor, intake airflow sensor.

 This ECU will control the correct amount of fuel to be injected and the
proper time at which the fuel will be injected at any speed and load condition.

 This will ensure maximum power output at minimum fuel.

  MPFI (or just MPI) systems can be sequential, in which injection is timed to
coincide with each cylinder's intake stroke, batched, in which fuel is injected to
the cylinders in groups, without precise synchronization to any particular
cylinder's intake stroke, or Simultaneous, in which fuel is injected at the same
time to all the cylinders

Simultaneous Injection:

 Here all the injectors inject the fuel at the same time for all cylinders every
revolution of the crankshaft. Hence, in a single cycle, the fuel is injected twice.
There is a fixed timing with respect to crankshaft/camshaft timing

Grouped Injection:

 Here the injectors are divided into groups and each group inject once in a
cycle i.e. once in two revolutions of the crankshaft.

 Sequential Injection:

 The injectors are controlled separately. The injection timing is done with the
help of sensor, which senses the position of camshaft and feeds the input to
ECU. The pulse width may be different for different injectors.

 The present day engines use Simultaneous Injection during starting and after
that switch over to sequential injection

GASOLINE DIRECT INJECTION SYSTEM

Gasoline Direct Injection System (GDI) is also called Direct multi-point injection (D-
MPFI). The D-MPFI system is the manifold fuel injection system. In this type , the
vacuum in the intake manifold is first sensed. In addition, it senses the volume of air
by its density.
 Gasoline Direct Injection System

The above figure gives the block diagram regarding the manifold pressure sensor
detects the intake manifold vacuum

and sends the information to the ECU. The Speed sensor also sends information
about the rpm of the engine to the ECU. The ECU in turn sends commands to the
injector to regulate the amount of gasoline supply for injection. When the injector
sprays fuel in the intake manifold the gasoline mixes with the air and the mixture
enters the cylinder.

COMMON RAIL DIRECT INJECTION SYSTEM

The common rail fuel injection system is finding increasing use in diesel engines as it
has the potential to drastically cut emissions and fuel consumption. This system
provide control of many important parameters linked to the injection system. It has a
wide range of application, from small to heavy duty engines. Some important
features are:

i. Very high injection pressure of the order of 1500 bar.

ii. Complete control over start, and end of injection
iii. Injection pressure is independent of engine speed
iv. Ability to have pilot, main and post injection
v. Variable injection pressure.

The common rail injection system has a high pressure pump which operates
continuously and charges a high pressure rail or reservoir or accumulator. Fuel is
 led from this rail to the injector mounted on the cylinder head through lines. The
injector is solenoid operated. It received pulses from the ECU to open the same.

The engine directly drives the pump of the common rail system. It is generally
of the multi-cylinder radial piston type. The generated pressure is independent of
the injection process unlike conventional injection systems. The rail pressure
pump is generally much smaller that conventional pumps and also is subjected to
lesser pressure pulsations. The injection occurs when the solenoid is energized.
The quantity of fuel injected is directly dependent on the duration of the pulse
when the injection pressure is constant. Sensors on the crankshaft indicate its
position and speed and so the timing of injection and its frequency can be
controlled. A typical layout of the common rail fuel injection system is indicated in
above figure. Fuel from the tank is lifted by a low pressure pump and passed
through a filter to a high pressure pump. A non return valve is used to send the
fuel to the rail. The inlet of the pump is controlled to maintain the needed delivery.
It may be noted that any excess delivery is ultimately returned back from the rail
pressure regulator after it is throttled down to tank pressure. This amounts to fuel
heating and also loss of work takes place to pump the fuel. Hence, controlling the
delivery at the pump is a good idea. A high pressure regulator is also used. Both
these valves are solenoid operated and are controlled by the ECU.

The Common rail system also has a pressure sensor and a pressure limiter
attached to the rail. There is also a flow limiter to prevent continuous injection if
one of the injectors mal functions. Thus it is seen that engine management is
gradually turning into electronic control thereby better combustion and economy
as well as low emissions can be achieved

ELECTRONIC IGNITION CONTROL

Electronic Ignition System - Components

Battery

It is the powerhouse of the ignition system as it supplies the necessary energy to the
ignition system same as battery coil ignition system.

2. Ignition Switch

It is the switch used in ignition system which governs the ON and OFF of the system,
same as the battery coil ignition system.

3. Ignition Control Module or Control Unit of Ignition System

It is the brain or programmed instruction given to the ignition system which monitors
and control the timing and intensity of the spark automatically.

It is the device that receives voltage signals from the armature and set the primary
coil to ON and OFF, it can be placed separately outside the distributor or can be
place in electronic control unit box of the vehicle.

4. Armature

 Contact breaker points of battery  ignition system is replaced by an armature

which consists of a reluctor with teeth (the rotating part), vacuum advance and
a pickup coil
 (to catch the voltage signals).

 Electronic module receives the voltage signals from the armature in order to
make and break the circuit, which in turn sets the timing of the distributor to
accurately distribute current to the spark plugs.

5. Ignition Coil

Same as the battery ignition coil system ignition coil is used in electronic ignition
system to produce high voltage to the spark plug.

6. Ignition Distributor

As the name indicates it is the device use to distribute the current to the spark plugs
of the multi cylinder engine.

7. Spark Plug

Spark plug is used to generate spark inside the cylinder

Working

 When the driver switch ON the ignition switch in order to start a vehicle the
current starts flowing from the battery through the ignition switch to the coil
primary winding, which in turn starts the armature pickup coil to receives and
send the voltage signals from the armature to the ignition module

 When the tooth of the rotating reluctor comes in front of the pickup coil the
voltage signal from pickup coil is sent to the electronic module which in turn
senses the signal and stops the current to flow from primary coil.

 When the tooth of the rotating reluctor goes away from the pickup coil, the
change in voltage signal is sent by pickup coil to the ignition module and a
timing circuit inside ignition module turns ON the current flow

 A magnetic field is generated in the ignition coil due to this continuous make
and break of the circuit which induced an EMF in secondary winding which
increases the voltage upto 50000 Volts.

 This high voltage is then sent to distributor, which has the rotating rotor and
distributor points which is set according to the ignition timing.
  When the rotor comes in front of any of those distributor points the jumping of
voltage through the air gap from the rotor to the distributor point takes place
which is then sent to the adjacent spark plug terminal through the high tension
cable and a voltage difference is generated between the central electrode and
ground electrode which is responsible for generating a spark at the tip of the
spark plug and finally the combustion takes place.

 Application

 Electronic ignition system is used in modern and hyper cars like Audi A4,
Mahindra XUV-500, etc. and bikes like ktm duke 390cc,Ducati super sports
etc. to meet the high reliability and performance need .

ENGINE MAP

• A ‘map’ is no more than a lookup table by engine speed and load, which gives
the appropriate fuel or timing setting for each possible speed and load
condition.

• The EMS knows the engine speed (from crankshaft sensor) and the engine
load (from the Throttle Position Sensor) and will use these two values to ‘look-
up’ the appropriate fuel and timing settings in each map.   

• Each map has entries for a pre-determined range of engine speeds and a
predetermined range of engine load conditions which generally indicate how
far open the throttle is.

• There will normally be a map for the injector timings (fuel map) and a separate
map for the ignition timing settings (ignition map) within the EMS. 

• Generally mapping of an engine takes place in a controlled environment

where engine temperature and air temperature can be controlled or at least
measured.

• On after-market systems, the software supplied by the EMS manufacturer

usually allows re-mapping of the fuel and ignition requirements with various
degrees of flexibility and ease of use. 

Engine Re-mapping
 • For an already installed engine mapping is usually done on a rolling road
which has a ‘pegging’ facility that can hold the rollers at a fixed speed
regardless of input torque.

• A rolling road is a set of rollers on which a vehicle can simulate driving. The
rollers are attached to a ‘brake’ that can measure the turning force applied to
them and the roller speed.

• Using these two pieces of information the power applied to the rollers by the
cars driven wheels can be measured.

• Generally an engine will produce maximum torque for any given speed and
load when the fuelling and timing are at their optimum. 

ON BOARD DIAGNOSTICS (OBD)

OBD stands for On-Board Diagnostic. It’s the standardized system that allows
external electronics to interface with a car’s computer system.

 It came about primarily because of two factors: the need to regulate

emissions, and the mass adoption of electronic fuel injection.

 One of its strengths is it can detect problems long before the driver is able to
notice any symptoms, such as low-performance, low-fuel economy, and
heavy emissions, or before the Check Engine or Malfunction light comes on.

 A basic OBD system consists of an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), which uses
input from various sensors (e.g., oxygen sensors) to control the actuators
(e.g., fuel injectors)  to get the desired performance. 

 The “Check Engine” light, also known as the MIL (Malfunction Indicator Light),
provides an early warning of malfunctions to the vehicle owner.

 A modern vehicle can support hundreds of parameters, which can be

accessed via the DLC (Diagnostic Link Connector) using a device called a
scan tool.
 An OBD emission test provides a more comprehensive picture of a vehicle’s
emissions status because it evaluates emissions during everyday operating
conditions whereas a tailpipe test measures emissions only at a particular moment in
time.

 Early detection helps to avoid costly repairs and improves vehicle emissions.

 The on-board diagnostic capabilities can be manually activated by causing the

engine controller to enter a diagnostic mode.

 There are two kinds of on-board diagnostic systems: OBD-I and OBD-II.

OBD-I

 OBD-I refers to the first generation OBD systems which were developed
throughout the 1980s. These early systems use proprietary connectors,
hardware interfaces, and protocols.

 A mechanic who wanted to access diagnostic information typically had to buy

a tool for every different vehicle make. OBD-I scan tools that support multiple
protocols are supplied with an array of different adapter cables.

OBD-II

 In the early 1990s, Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and International

Standardization Organization (ISO) issued a set of standards which described
the interchange of digital information between ECUs and a diagnostic scan
tool.
 All OBD-II compliant vehicles were required to use a standard diagnostic
connector (SAE J1962) and communicate via one of the standard OBD-II
communication protocols.

 OBD-II was first introduced in model year (MY) 1994 vehicles, and became a
requirement for all cars and light trucks starting with MY1996.