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ION CURRENT MONITORING

An ion is an atom of any material that has gained or lost at least one electron. Ions conduct electricity, and by measuring the current flowing along a path of ions, we can tell when the concentration of ions in that path increases or decreases.

Saab began using ion current monitoring in the early '90s in their Trionic ignition system. A steady voltage is applied to the spark plug at all times, except during the firing event. This establishes an ion current path across the spark plug gap, and the control unit monitors that current. Pressure in the cylinder due to compression or detonation affects that current, allowing the control unit to detect camshaft position and detonation faster and accurately without conventional sensors.

In the Trionic system, only the ion current created by the control unit is monitored, but ions also are a natural byproduct of most chemical reactions, such as burning. A company called Woodward, produces engine management systems for racing engines, has developed a way to monitor ionization during combustion. Ionization increases dramatically during combustion. Measuring the timing and magnitude of the ion current spikes can produce a reliable and repeatable signal that looks much like a spark plug firing line, but it's a picture of ions generated by the combustion event itself, not the ignition system. This technology holds the key to a whole new generation of engine control and diagnostics.

Instead of reading an oxygen sensor to adjust air/fuel ratio for a whole bank of cylinders, ion monitoring allows closed-loop air/fuel ratio control for each individual cylinder. Emissions are reduced and cylinder balance is almost perfect--noticeably improving the smoothness of four-cylinder engines. Knock and misfire detection are instantaneous and nearly 100 percent accurate. Misfire detection does not have to be disabled under certain driving conditions, as is necessary when detecting misfire with crankshaft speed readings.

Engine diagnostics will change completely. Imagine being able to view one oscilloscope trace, or one set of traces, that shows ignition timing, air/fuel ratio, compression pressure and combustion pressure in each cylinder, as well as crankshaft and camshaft positions. In the lab, a dedicated ion sensor positioned some distance away from the spark plug has been shown as the best way to provide all this information. However, dais technology is still a bit too expensive for regular production cars. But the technology is well established, and Woodward is convinced it will be adopted for production soon, probably for diesel engines first.

My Take

I know it's a bit technical, but without getting bogged down in the technology itself imagine where this is all going.

Today's vehicles are extremely complicated as it is.  Government mandates on fuel mileage and emission levels have driven the manufacturers into every more complicated processes to comply with all the regulations.  Consequently when problems arise, especially with anything concerning driveability, they can be very hard to diagnose and repair.

• What's going happen when everyday vehicles all have this level of sophistication?
• Will a vehicle owner have even a prayer of fixing his own car?
• Will the independent repair shop down the road have  a prayer of fixing it?
• What will it cost when the diagnostic equipment reaches the level of a MRI setup in a local hospital?
• What level of education will the Tech have to have?
• How much will he need to be paid?
• Who's going to fix your car?

I wouldn't be surprised if all this technology which is supposed to improve air quality instead makes the vehicle disposable for lack of cost effective repair.

Are we trading clean air for full landfills?

Eric

You can learn much more about free car and get paid to drive programs at the get a free car website.

The knowledge needed to keep up with an every-changing industry mulitplied by all the different vehicle manufaturers out there is staggering.

Compound that by the complex equipment needed to diagnose today's vehicles and then learn how to use the equipment to correctly figure out the problems.

More ranting to come.  Stay tuned.

Eric

I recently posted of a Vortec Engine intake mainfold water leak.  This repair is very typical of all the GMs with plastic gaskets.  The plastic cracks around the water channel and the thing either leaks externally (usually),  internally (rarely) or both.

Another very common leak on these gaskets is intake vacuum.  Cool temperatures cause the plastic to shrink a bit and allow a small vacuum leak.  Usually it is apparent upon first start up and usually goes away as the engine warms up.  Early on it is only detectable by the engine computer.  As it worsens, it will run rough at idle.  See my post about Codes P0171 and P0174. It's a bit general, but gives you a good idea of what's going on.

GM makes some good engines, but like all the different brands they have some quirks that could have been done better.  They certainly keep the ambitious do-it-yourselfers and us independent repair shops busy.

Good luck and happy wrenching,

Eric

You have a late eighties to early nineties Ford truck with a Automatic Overdrive transmission.  When you put it into reverse the engine stalls.  Put it into drive and everything is fine.  Back into reverse and she stalls.  What's up?  Is it just tune up time?

Well, it may be tune up time, maybe not, but it is certainly maintenance time.  What typically  happens is the transmission cannot build adequate pressure when in reverse to fully release the converter clutches.

One of two reasons typically exist for this.

1. Either the transmission's filter has fallen out of the valve body and into the bottom of the pan.  Occasionally this happens.  The fluid level may be correct, but without the filter in place the transmission is "sucking" from too high up in the pan.

2.  More likely the fluid is just low.  Maybe radically low.

I had a 1994 F-150 this week that was 4 1/2 quarts low.  Why it wasn't shifting erratically is a mystery.  There was a small leak at the front seal that probably has been leaking for a number of months until the level got too low.

Topping off the transmission fluid is all that was necessary to solve the stalling in reverse problem.  Now all we have to do is get the leaks taken care of.

At first, it's just an occasional low coolant light coming on. The coolant level is low, but there aren't any leaks visible on the ground. Where is the coolant going?

Eventually, months maybe, there are telltale drops of coolant on the drive way after the truck sits overnight. On the frame underneath may be a drop of coolant about to drop right in the center of the truck. It's starting to look like it needs a water pump maybe, but when we climb underneath the pump itself is dry. What's going on.

This is probably one of the most recurrent problems I see with Vortec engines, no matter the size. Careful inspect on the top front corners of the engine will show moisture where the intake manifold meets the cylinder heads. The area is usually hidden by the air conditioner compressor and alternator and is difficult to see. As the leak gets worse it will become very evident. Be assured, until it is repaired in will get worse over time.

Leaky Vortec Lower Intake Manifold Gasket

The problem here is GM's use of plastic intake manifold gaskets. There were Tech Bulletins circulating in the mid 90's about the bolt torque settings being way too tight from the factory, resulting in the plastic cracking prematurely. The torque has been reduced, but it has only delayed the failure until the vehicle is out of warranty.

Early on in the failure, the coolant just seeps out. Eventually it runs out rapidly; sometimes even squirting over the grill. On rare occasions it leaks internally into the engine oil pan.

The fix is to remove the intake manifold and install a new gasket set. It is not a hard job, but the Vortec is a maze of plastic parts and connections. Some are fairly fragile and need to be handled with care. Take careful evaluation of your abilities before jumping in.

Here's one tip, if you do decide to tackle it. On most Vortec Engines the upper and lower halves of the manifold do not need to be separated for the lower gasket replacement. However, if the engine has high mileage, say above 120,000, it is smart to replace both the upper and lower gaskets.

Fel Pro makes a problem solver gasket that has a steel base instead of the OE plastic gaskets. They are a bit pricey at around $90.00 but they will never leak again if installed properly.

The Vortec is a great engine, but it does have some pattern failures that seem pretty common to them all.

Good luck and happy wrenching.

There are several strategies to squeezing more power out of a diesel engine.  By the very nature of their design, diesel engines have a set amount of air available to them.  That's why they are all pretty much turbocharged.  The heat of compressing the air in the cylinders provides combustion instead of a spark plug.  The only way we can realistically increase power is to get more diesel fuel into the cylinders.

There are three popular ways to get more fuel into the engine and most diesel performance chip makers use a combination of these methods.

• Increase Pressure.  Diesel fuel is injected into an engine under extreme pressures.  Injectors are usually open a set amount of time for any given engine operating condition.  Increasing the line pressure means more fuel enters the engine in the amount of time the injectors are open.  Higher pressures can also mean better mist and spray pattern and therefore better burn of the diesel fuel.
• Increase Duration.  This means that the injectors are held open longer.  Open longer means more fuel is dumped into the cylinder.  This can give us great boosts in power at the obvious expense of economy. Typically when greater power is needed, economy isn't too much of any issue.
• Better Timing Control.  This is probably the most sophisticated approach to diesel engine performance increases.  By injecting earlier we can start the fuel burning process sooner and increase our power by squeezing more energy from each molecule of fuel we have available.  This method can give us more power and a boost in economy as well, if done correctly.

Always realize when seeking diesel engine performance chips that it's not magic.  There are obvious compromises.  Power will be gained at the expense of economy.  Great increases in power may mean great decreases in economy.  Usually, though the right combination can be found and you will be greatly pleased with the results.   Go for it.

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Well, we can use some deductive reasoning here. A lean burning engine either has too much air or not enough fuel. If the condition is present on both sides of the engine, then we have to look at things that affect both sides.

Fro example, a restricted fuel injector would only affect the bank it is on. An intake manifold leak, likewise usually will only affect the side of the engine that it is on.

Things That Affect The Whole Engine

• Fuel Filter. A clogged fuel filter would starve the whole engine resulting in both banks being equally lean. However, a restricted fuel filter would probably have other symptoms like a loss of power at higher speeds.
• Fuel Pump. A worn electric fuel pump that is turning too slowly might not supply enough fuel to maintain a proper mixture. Again other symptoms should present. Power loss, hard starting, etc.
• PCV System. Here's the culprit I run into most. Positive Crankcase Ventilation System. On most late model cars and trucks, especially domestic, the PCV valve system uses rubber hoses and elbows to connect the valve to the intake manifold. Oil vapors from the crankcase attack the rubber and cause it to disintegrate over time. A small hole will let a good amount of unmetered air into the system which will affect both banks. This is a big Ford problem. Sometimes moving the hose a bit with the engine running will actually produce a prominent hissing sound to verify a leak.
• Intake Hose Leaks. Between the filter housing and the Throttle Body Assembly is usually a rubber flex hose to get the air into the engine. The Mass Airflow Sensor is usually attached to or very near the filter housing. If there is an air leak after the MAF Sensor, the Powertrain Control Module will have air to deal with that it doesn't know is there. Consequently the amount of fuel injected will be insufficient for the amount of air present, hence a lean condition on both sides of the engine. This is particularly a possibility if someone has recently replaced the air filter and did not tighten all clips and hose clamps.

So simple detective skills can get you headed in the right direction on a lean engine. Good Luck and Happy Wrenching.

Ethanol has emerged as the premier alternative fuel to replace gasoline and lessen our dependence on fossil fuels. In Brazil for example, 8 out of every 10 cars on the road already run on ethanol derived from the sugar cane plant. In part, the United States is the largest producer and exporter of ethanol derived from corn. But is it a good idea to use a food source to produce a fuel? By the current rising costs of food and commodities, there's a very strong case against the idea.

Enter Cellulose

Cellulose is one of the most abundant organic molecules on earth. It is apparent in all forms of plant life. It has been found by many scientists to be the answer to the search for an alternative source of ethanol. Cellulose ethanol is basically ethanol derived from organic matter such as wood chips, prairie grass, switch grass, and even saw dust. These sources of cellulose ethanol can be found in a lot of the waste material in such fields as construction, farming, the lumber industry, and even landscaping. All this waste material is given the term "biomass" by scientists.

It is estimated that the United States alone can generate around 500 million tons of biomass per year. This yield would enable the production of about 40 billion gallons of cellulose ethanol annually, replacing about 25% of the total gasoline consumption in America today. The importance of getting cellulose ethanol online is quite evident, but the transfer process is a gradual one at present. Cost effective ways to produce cellulose ethanol are being developed and optimized, and a substantial infrastructure of production and deliverability is on its way. Further more, it is imperative in the process of commercial production of cellulose ethanol to greatly lessen the yield of any more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Cellulose Ethanol

The process of making cellulose ethanol is pretty close to the same process of making moonshine, but with a few other steps. The biomass material is first churned into fine particles and pretreated with an acid to start the breakdown process. It is then soaked in a high temperature container for several days as enzymes break down the cellulose molecule into simple sugars. The sugar is then fermented through a form of yeast or bacteria. Fermentation is basically the consumption of the sugar by the yeast, yielding fuel grade cellulose ethanol as a waste byproduct. The cellulose ethanol is then distilled from the sugar/yeast solution.

Like any other technology, it is through the passage of time and through consistent honing of the technology that the production costs are reduced and the yields are maximized. It is an evolving process whereby scientists discover better and more efficient ways to produce cellulose ethanol.

The first commercial facility to produce cellulose ethanol from biomass is due to come online by 2011 in the Midwest region of the United States.

At All Ethanol, you'll find a great resource of information about the exciting field of alternative fuels. If you want to learn more about cellulose ethanol and ethanol production and products, please stop by http://www.allethanol.com and have a look.