QUESTION

1.You are required to make your own efforts to visit the following sect within DIT.
i. Industrial Automation lab (Mechanical Engineering)
ii. DIT motor vehicle garage (Mechanical Engineering)
iii. Department of Science and Laboratory Technology
iv. Renewable energy technology lab (Electrical Engineering)
v. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Mechanical Engineering and
vi. Biomedical Equipment Engineering Lab (Electrical Engineering)

B. In each of the section do the following;

i. Identify sensors, actuators, instruments (Measuring, indicating and controlling)
available.
ii. Briefly explain the principal of operation of each item (how it works).
iii. Explain the common faults and how they are fixed.
iv. Take a picture of each item (those which are visible) and include it in your
report.
Compressed natural gas (CNG)
Gas reducer
Reducer gas as used in a car gas system is a type of gas that is used to reduce the
pressure of the natural gas being used as a fuel for the vehicles. This is done by
pressure regulators, which reduce the high pressure of the natural gas stored in the
vehicle’s tank to a lower pressure suitable for use in the engine.
Gas temperature sensor
The sensor is used to measure work temperature of the reducer. Sensor is the
indication to determine the moment of switching to gas fuel
Causes failure
 Power supply faulty
 External damage
 Internal damage to the electrical wiring caused by strong vibration in the exhaust
gas system
 Engine overheating
How to fix
 Locate the faulty sensor
 Next disconnect the electrical connector and unscrew the sensor
 Prepare the new sensor

Diagram of reducer gas

DIT MOTOR VEHICLE GARAGE.
Different instruments were found in DIT motor vehicle garage as mentioned and
explained below;
 Oil sensors.
 Actuator.
 Diagnosis.

Oil sensor.
Oil sensor is the type of the sensor that detects either pressure,temperature,volume of
the oil in the car. Due to the work that the oil sensor do,it can be classified accordingly.

Classification of the oil sensor.

i. Oil pressure sensor.
In modern trucks and buses, oil pressure sensor monitors the oil pressure in the motor
oil and transmission oil circuit. The measured pressure are recorded in real time in the
control unit of the vehicle, evaluated and used to optimise engine parameters. The
result is fuel saving, low emission and more efficient engine operation.
The principle of operation of the oil pressure sensor is that As the force of the oil
pressure starts to build on the diaphragm, this force overcome the switch spring
pressure, which then pulls apart the electrical contacts to turn on the warning light.
The fault in the oil pressure sensor is leaking oil in the oil pressure sensor and can be
fixed by replacing another sensor in the system.

ii. Oil temperature sensor.

Is an electronic device that monitors its oil temperature in the engine and display the
measurement to the vehicle’s occupants. It is located after the oil pump.
Possible causes of the failures or faults are contact failure on connector, internal short
circuit and damage measuring elements. Hence missing the correct information’s about
the oil temperature.

Actuator.
Actuator is an essential part of the electronics control systems in passenger cars and
commercial vehicles. It converts the electrical signals from the control unit into an
action. Most actuators are electric motors. It regulates the idle speed,control air flaps
for torque and power optimisation.

The valve.
What manifest as an actuator problem actually be valve problem which includes a
worn out valve stem, seized up packing, anobstruction, too much torque. it does not do
any good to repair an actuator when the valve is what causes the problem.
Actuator has four components that breakdown and require repair.
 The centre column drive.
An actuator opens and close the valve by acting the valve stem. This is the job of
the centre column drive and this drive can break. However, this is a very rare
occurrence and not mostly likely course of actuator issues.
 The contactor
A motor contactor is an electric actuator internal electrical part that tells the actuator to
open or close the valve when given an input signals. If it fails the actuator will not
function.
 The motor
It provides torque to operate the valve. If the motor fails the valve is not going
anywhere. In this case, verify that the duty cycle and insulation class are sufficient for
application.

 The connection to the valve.

Much more likely is that the connection to the valve the drive nut has failed. A
worn out actuator drive nut will not move the valve stem properly. You can see this by
removing the centre column cover and looking down the centre to the valve stem.