Adigrat university mechanical and Technology department of mechanical engineering (vehicle stream)

6. Automotive electronics system

Gauges
Instruments are arranged on the instrument panel in front of the driver's seat to enable the driver
to grasp the vehicle status easily.
The instrument panel uses meter (gauge) display and light display. The meter (gauge) display for
detailed indication of the status at each moment generally consists of the following meters and
gauges:

Speedometer
Consists of the speedometer indicating the vehicle speed, the odometer indicating the distance
travelled, and the trip meter, which can be reset 0 as desired.
Tachometer
Indicates the engine speed ion rpm (revolutions per minute).These usually have an
electromagnetic movement. The engine speed signals may come from an electronic pickup at the
ignition coil. Voltage pulses taken from the ignition system are processed by solid-state circuitry
into signals to drive the tachometer pointer. The pointer responds to the frequency of these
signals, which increase with engine speed. A filter is used to round off the pulses and remove
any spikes.
Late-model vehicles with an engine control system may control the tachometer through an
electronic module. This module is located on the rear of the instrument cluster printed circuit
board and is the interface between the computer and tachometer in the same way the solid-state
circuitry processes the ignition system-to-tachometer signals described earlier.
Voltmeter: Indicates the battery voltage or alternator out-put voltage.
Fuel gauge or warning lamp
All modern cars have a fuel level gauge. Some have an additional warning lamp or an LED to
indicate a low fuel level.
Current through the fuel gauge is provided by a variable resistor in the fuel tank. The tank
sending unit has a float that moves with the fuel level. As the resistance and falls, the resistance
of the sending unit changes. Low fuel level indicator is used, its switch will operate through a

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Adigrat university mechanical and Technology department of mechanical engineering (vehicle stream)

heater or bimetallic to prevent flicker. Fuel level warning lamps are operated by the action of the
fuel gauge pointer, as explained for an oil pressure gauge.

Oil pressure gauge or warning lamp

The varying current signals to an oil pressure gauge are supplied through a variable resistance
sending unit that is exposed to engine oil pressure. An oil pressure warning lamp lights to
indicate low oil pressure. A ground switch controls the lam. When oil pressure decreases to an
unsafe level, the switch diaphragm moves far enough to ground the warning lamp circuit.
Current then can flow to ground and the bulb will light. Oil pressure warning lamps can be
operated by the gauge itself. When the pointer moves to the low-pressure end of the scale, it
closes contact points to light a bulb.

Temperature gauge or warning lamp

In most late model cars, the temperature gauge sending unit is a thermistor exposed to engine
coolant temperature. As coolant temperature increases, the resistance of the thermistor decreases
and current through the gauge varies.
Temperature warning lamps can alert the driver to high temperature or to both low and high
temperature. The most common circuit uses a bimetallic switch and reacts only to high
temperature. A ground switch has a bimetallic strip that is exposed to coolant temperature. When
the temperature reaches an unsafe level, the strip bends far enough to ground the warning lamp
circuit. If the circuit also reacts to low temperature, the bimetallic strip has a second set of
contacts. These are closed at low temperature, but open during normal operating temperature.
The low-temperature circuit usually lights a different bulb than does the high-temperature circuit.
A temperature warning lamp also can be lit by the action of the temperature gauge pointer, as
explained for the oil pressure gauge.

Light display for level-over indication and for electrical parts functioning and abnormality
indication generally consists of the following lights:
Discharge warning light: Indicates that the charging system is not functioning normally.
High beam indicator: Indicates that the headlights are on high beam.
Turn signal indicators: Indicate that the right or left turn signal lights are flashing

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Adigrat university mechanical and Technology department of mechanical engineering (vehicle stream)

Low Fuel level warning light: Indicates that the parking brake is applied or brake fluid is
insufficient.
Open door warning light: Indicates that a door is not fully closed.
Turbo boost indicators
Most turbocharged engines have visual or audible indicators to inform the driver about turbo
boost levels. At low manifold pressure when the turbocharger starts to operate, a set of contacts
in the turbo pressure switch turns on the boost indicator lamp to indicate that the turbocharger is
functioning. If manifold pressure reaches approximately 8 psi (55 kPa), a second set of contacts
in the switch close while the first set opens. This turns off the boost indicator lamp and turns on
the over boost buzzer and alarm indicator lamp. A high engine oil temperature warning indicator
system is incorporated with the boost warning system. If this condition occurs during turbo
charging, the oil temperature warning lamp also will flash.

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Adigrat university mechanical and Technology department of mechanical engineering (vehicle stream)

Windshield wipers and washers

Wiper systems on older vehicles may be operated by engine vacuum or by the power steering
hydraulic system. Modern wiper systems are operated by electric motors. The washer system can
be manually operated, or it can have an electric pump. Many vehicles also have a single-speed
wiper and washer for the rear window. This is a completely separate system, but operates in the
same way as the windshield wiper and wash system.
Washer Pumps
Windshield washer pumps draw a cleaning solution from a reservoir and force it through nozzles
onto the windshield. The unit can be a positive-displacement pump or a centrifugal pump that
forces a steady stream of fluid, or it can be a pulse-type pump that operates. The washer pump is
generally mounted in or on the fluid reservoir. Pumps are mounted on the wiper motor. Washer
pumps are not usually serviceable, but are replaced if they fail.
Cooling fan circuits
There is no practical way to drive a cooling fan from the crankshaft pulley of a transversely
mounted engine. Therefore, an electric cooling fan is used. Some may use one fan to cool the
radiator and a separate system to cool the air conditioning condenser.
Dual electric cooling fans often are used with turbocharged and air conditioned vehicles to
provide additional engine cooling and air conditioning performance at idle. They are also used
with intercooled turbocharged vehicles to cool the hot compressed intake air, thus increasing its
density and improving cylinder charging efficiency.
Fan Relay and Motor
Cooling fan relays are similar in appearance to many other relays used in an engine
compartment. Generally however, a cooling fan relay is mounted on the driver’s side of the
vehicle, on the cowl, the shock tower, or along the fender well. Since several relays are often
located together and may be housed inside a protective cover, you should check the carmaker’s
factory shop manual to determine exactly which one controls the cooling fan. Cooling fan relays
are not serviceable, but must be replaced if defective.

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Adigrat university mechanical and Technology department of mechanical engineering (vehicle stream)

Cooling fan motors are small, high-torque units with permanent ceramic magnets for poles. Like
relays, they are not serviceable, but are replaced if defective.

Gauge Operating Principles

Common gauges use one of three operating principles:
1. Mechanical
2. Bimetallic (thermal-type)
3. Electromagnetic.
Mechanical gauges are operated by cables, fluid pressure, or fluid temperature. Because they do
not require an electrical circuit, they do not fit into our study. The cable-driven speedometer is
the most common mechanical gauge.
Bimetallic gauges
A bimetallic gauge works because current flowing through the bimetallic strip will heat up one
of the metals faster than the other, causing the strip to bend. A typical gauge has a U-shaped
bimetallic piece anchored to the gauge body at the end of one arm. The other arm has a high-
resistance wire, or heater coil, wound around it. Current flow through the heater coil bends the
free bimetallic arm. Varying the current changes the bend in the arm. A pointer attached to the
moving arm can relate the changes in current to a scale on the face of the gauge.
Ambient temperature could affect the gauge, but the U-shape of the bimetallic strip provides
temperature compensation. While ambient temperature bends the free arm in one direction, the
fixed arm is bent in the other direction and the effect is cancelled.
Electromagnetic gauges
The movement of an electromagnetic gauge depends on the interaction of magnetic fields. Three
kinds of movements are commonly used:
• D Arsonval movement
• 3-coil or 2-coil movement
• Air core design.
A D’Arsonval movement has a moveable electromagnet surrounded by a permanent horseshoe
magnet. The electromagnet’s field opposes the permanent magnet’s field. This causes the
electromagnet to rotate. A pointer mounted on the electromagnet relates this movement to a scale
on the face of the gauge.

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Adigrat university mechanical and Technology department of mechanical engineering (vehicle stream)

The amount of current flow through the electromagnet’s coil determines the electromagnet’s
field strength, and therefore the amount of pointer movement.
A 3-coil movement depends upon the field interaction of three electromagnets and the total
field’s effect on a moveable permanent magnet. The three coils are connected in series from the
ignition switch to ground. A fixed resistor forms a circuit branch parallel to the minimum-
reading coil. The variable-resistance sending unit forms a circuit branch to ground, parallel to the
bucking and minimum-reading coils.
When sending resistance is high, current flows through all three coils to ground. Because the
magnetic fields of the minimum-reading and the bucking coils cancel each other, the maximum-
reading coil’s field has the strongest effect on the permanent magnet and pointer. The pointer
moves to the maximum-reading end of the gauge scale.
As sending unit resistance decreases, more current flows through the minimum-reading coil and
the sending unit to ground than flows through the bucking and maximum-reading coils. The
minimum-reading coil gains a stronger effect upon the permanent magnet and pointer, and the
pointer moves to the minimum-reading end of the gauge scale.
Air Core Gauge: A gauge design in which there is no magnetic core. A field created by the
sending unit resistance moves a pivoting permanent magnet.
Instrument voltage regulator
Except for the air core electromagnetic design, gauges require a continuous, controlled amount
of voltage. This is usually either the system voltage of 12 volts or a regulated 5 to 6 volts.
Regulated voltage is supplied by an instrument voltage regulator (IVR). The IVR can be a
separate component that looks much like a circuit breaker, or it can be built into one gauge. Its
bimetallic strip and vibrating points, act like a self-setting circuit breaker to keep the gauge
voltage at a specific level. Gauges that operate on limited voltage can be damaged or give
inaccurate readings if exposed to full system voltage.
Ground sensor
A ground sensor is the opposite of a ground switch. Here, the warning lamp remains unlit as long
as the sensor is grounded. When conditions change and the sensor is no longer grounded, the
bulb lights. Solid-state circuitry generally is used in this type of circuit.
Displays

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Adigrat university mechanical and Technology department of mechanical engineering (vehicle stream)

Electronic displays are used in electronic instrument clusters and other electronic readout
devices. Unlike electromechanical instruments they do not require a digital-to-analog
conversion; they’re compatible with the digital signals, from a computer. The major types of
displays that are used with electronic instruments are described in the following.
Light-emitting diode (LED)
The light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor diode that transmits light when electrical
current is passed through it. An LED display is composed of small dotted segments arranged to
form numbers and letters when selected segments are turned on. The LED is usually red, yellow,
or green. LED’s have two major drawbacks:
1. While easily seen in the dark, they are difficult to read in direct sunlight.
2. They consume considerable power relative to their brightness.
Liquid crystal display (LCD)
The liquid crystal display (LCD) uses sandwiches of special glass containing electrodes and
polarized fluid to display numbers and characters. Light cannot pass through the polarized fluid
until voltage is applied. The display is very dense, however, and the various special filters used
to provide colors create even more density. For this reason, halogen lights are generally placed
behind the display. Although LCD’s perform slowly in cold ambient temperatures, require
proper alignment, and are very delicate, they have two big advantages:
1. They consume very little power relative to their brightness.
2. They can be driven by a microprocessor through an interfacing output circuit.
Vacuum fluorescent display (VFD)
This is the most commonly used display for automotive electronic instruments, primarily
because of its durability and bright display qualities. The vacuum fluorescent display (VFD)
generates light similar to a television picture tube, with free electrons from a heated filament
striking phosphor material that emits a blue-green light.
The anode segments are coated with a fluorescent material such as phosphorous. The filament is
resistance wire, heated by electrical current flow. The filament coating produces the free
electrons, which are accelerated by the electric field generated by the voltage on the accelerating
grid. High voltage is applied only to the anode of those segments required to form the characters
to be displayed. Since the anode is at a higher voltage than the fine wire mesh grid, the electrons
pass through the grid. The phosphors on the segment anodes impressed with high voltage glows

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Adigrat university mechanical and Technology department of mechanical engineering (vehicle stream)

very brightly when struck by electrons; those receiving no voltage do not glow. The instrument
computer determines the segments necessary to emit light for any given message and applies the
correct sequences of voltage at the anodes.
VFD displays are extremely bright, and their intensity must be controlled for night viewing. This
can be done by varying the voltage on the accelerating grid: the higher the voltage, the brighter
the display. Intensity can also be controlled by pulse width dimming, or turning the display on
and off very rapidly while controlling the duration of on-time. This is similar to the pulse-width
modulation of a carburettor mixture control solenoid or a fuel injector. The on-off action occurs
so rapidly that it cannot be detected by the human eye.