Emissions Update: Understanding How Wide Ratio Air/Fuel (WRAF) Sensors Work
Instead of giving a simple rich/lean indication, wide ratio air/fuel sensors measure the “actual” air/fuel ratio. A WRAF sensor can measure mixtures that range from extremely rich to extremely lean (even straight air!). This ability allows the PCM to control fuel mixtures much more precisely, to handle much leaner fuel mixtures, to reduce emissions and
Carley’s Corner: Good China, Bad China?
A relative of mine recently purchased a Chinese motor scooter to save gas. The 150 cc scooter looks sharp, runs nice (so far) and gets almost 100 mpg. Best of all, it only cost him $1,140. But here’s the catch. It’s a no-name, barebones product. There is no dealer network, no customer service number to
Has Your Battery Life Lost Its Charge? Tips to Get Back That Spark
The condition of the battery as well as its state of charge are critical in late-model vehicles not only for reliable cranking and starting, but also for the onboard electronics. Low battery voltage can cause control modules to misbehave, or in some cases to go into a sleep mode and shut down. A dead battery
ReFlashing Control Modules
You don’t have to be Microsoft A+ certified to flash reprogram automotive PCMs, but the process requires a certain amount of know-how as well as special tools and access to the latest OEM software upgrades. What’s more, it’s not a risk-free endeavor. Certain precautions must be undertaken before you begin, and there are pitfalls that
Get the Drift: The Ins and Outs of Sport ‘Drifting’
Drifting is not a sport for SUVs. If it were, it would probably be called “rollovering.” Nor does it lend itself very well to cars with front-wheel drive. Drifting is all about sliding around curves with the rear wheels smoking all the way. Drifting sounds like an activity dreamed up by the tire manufacturers to
Upgrading Rotors for Hard-Driving Fleets
Police cars, ambulances, taxis, parcel delivery trucks and even pizza delivery vehicles can chew up brake pads and rotors almost as fast as any race car. Hard use, combined with frequent, sudden stops, makes the brakes run hot, and when brake temperatures shoot up, the life of the pads and rotors plummets. For every increase
Under Pressure: Piston Service For Light Truck Diesels
The diesel engine market has been rapidly changing in recent years. Higher fuel prices and changes in emission regulations have brought about a whole new generation of clean diesel engines in both the light- and heavy-duty truck markets. According to the Diesel Technology Forum (www.dieselforum.org), particulate emissions from new on-highway diesel engines have been reduced
Carley’s Corner: Training Is Not a Dirty Word
When some technicians hear the word “training,” it doesn’t interest them in the least. They think it means giving up an evening or a Saturday to sit through a long, boring lecture that may or may not teach them anything new. Maybe they’ve been duped into attending a “training clinic” that turned out to be
Rotor Debate: Installing New Problems?
We have seen a slow increase in rotor prices over the last year. Every link in the supply chain from manufacturers to your local parts supplier has adjusted its prices. This is due to rising raw material costs. Also, the cost to manufacturer and ship rotors to your bay has increased dramatically. Resurfacing can restore
Brake Hydraulics: Don’T Overlook the Obvious
Basic Checks Go A Long Way In Restoring System Integrity Brake work is fairly routine for most technicians. Even so, it’s easy to overlook some obvious problems with the hydraulic part of the system when replacing pads and rotors. So, following are some things you should always remember to check. CHECK THE FLUID LEVEL If
Handy Tools: No Longer Out of Sight or Out of Reach
Have you ever dropped a nut or a bolt into an open intake manifold? Or dropped a fastener and watched it disappear into a crevice in the engine compartment? Or tried to find a wiring connector, plug or fastener by feel on the backside of an instrument cluster up under the dash? These are all
Catalytic Converter Diagnosis
The catalytic converter is probably the most important emission control device on a vehicle because it cleans up the pollutants in the exhaust. Thanks to fuel injection, oxygen sensors in the exhaust manifolds, and a feedback fuel control system, emissions are kept to a minimum. Even so, some pollution is still produced and must be