Lihil Uthpala Subasinghe

Department of Mechanical Engineering

University of Moratuwa ME4632 – Automotive Engineering LUS 2015
 Closed circuit with a independent power
source
 Current flows along a single cable from the
battery to the component and comes back to
the battery through the vehicle's metal body
 AKA Earth-Return System
 Power source  12V battery  Capacity
measured in ampere hours (Ah)

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 Starting system
 Crank the engine for starting
 Charging system
 Recharge the battery after cranking
 Ignition system
 Create high voltage sparks to ignite the compressed
air-fuel mixture
 Lighting system
 Head lamps, tail lamps, dash board illumination
 Accessory system
 Radio, GPS, Cigarette lighter
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 Initial rotation needs to be provided to the engine
before starting  Need external power to crank the
engine
 Combination of electrical and mechanical
components
 Starter motor is used to convert electrical energy
of stored in the battery to mechanical energy
 Draws large amount of current from the battery 
Thick gauge wires, clean and tight connections are
needed

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 Starting system has two independent circuits
 Starter circuit  High current
 Control circuit  Low current

 Purpose
 To avoid voltage drops due to resistance
 To avoid damages to switches due to high
current flow

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 A gear wheel on the starter motor armature
engages with gear teeth on the engine flywheel

 Starter motor is power up  Motor starts to rotate

 Engine starts to rotate  Ignition starts 
Engine runs by itself

 Large torque needs to be provided from the

limited amount of energy stored in the battery
within a limited amount of time

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 It should be at least capable of cranking the engine
at the minimum rotational speed that is required to
induce initial combustion
 Motor should be light and compact
 DC Series motors are being used

 Starter motors needs to be disengaged from the

flywheel after starting
 When engine is running at very high RPMs  Starter
motor might get damaged if it remains engaged with the
flywheel

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 Starter solenoid is used to engage and disengage
starter motor armature with flywheel
 Starter solenoid shifts the rotation pinion gear
into and out of mesh with the ring gear on the
circumference of the engine flywheel
 When the driver releases the ignition switch from
START position to ON position, the solenoid is
deactivated  pinion gear is pulled out of mesh
with the flywheel due to return spring action

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 Functions of charging system
 Convert mechanical energy of the engine into
electrical energy
 Recharge battery
 Power the electrical appliances
 Reserve power when needed

 When the engine is first started, the battery

supplies all the current required by the starting
and ignition systems

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 Battery drain continues  Engine speed
increases after starting  Charging system is
able to produce more voltage than the battery
can deliver
 Charging system supplies the electrical
system’s load requirements and recharges the
battery

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 Battery
 Ignition switch
 Alternator/Dynamo
 Drive belt
 Rectifier assembly
 Voltage regulator
 Charge indicator light
 Cables and wiring harnesses

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Load type Components
Permanent
Ignition, Fuel injection
loads
Long-time
Lighting, Radio
loads
Short-time
Turn signal, stop lamp, viper
loads
Seasonal Air conditioner (Summer) / Heater
loads (winter)
Condition Radiator fan, Air conditioner
based loads compressor
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 Ignite fuel at right time
 Expansion of gas can do the maximum amount
of work
 Greater power
 Reduce emissions
 Improve fuel efficiency
 Reduce engine knocking

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 Spark Ignition (SI) System
 Major sub-system of electrical system of the
vehicle
 Compression Ignition (CI) System
 Theoretically no need of electrical energy to
operate

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 Air/fuel mixture is sucked into the cylinder in the
suction stroke and compressed in the compression
stroke  Increase temperature of the mixture

 Mixture is ignited due to an electric spark induced by

the spark plug at the end of compression stroke

 High Electro Motive Force (EMF) is needed to induce

spark (20,000 - 50,000V)

 Electricity is essential to operate the system

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 Switch on and off ignition circuit  Start and
stop the engine
 Produce high voltage spark at the end of the
spark plug
 Distribute high voltage to each spark plug in
correct sequence
 Vary spark timing according to different
driving conditions

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 Turn on/off Accessories, Ignition and Starter
Motor

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 Step up transformer
 Increase voltage from 12V to 40,000V
 Works under alternating current (AC)

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 Used to produce alternating current within the
ignition system
 Breaker points are made out of very hard and
conductive material  Basically platinum or
tungsten
 Distributor cam rotates at the speed of the crank
shaft
 When the distributor cam lobe hits the cam
follower  Breaker point are opened  Primary
circuit is opened  Magnetic field is collapsed 
High voltage is induced in the secondary circuit
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 Within the “Dwell time”  breaker points are
closed  Primary circuit is closed  Ignition coil
is energized  Waiting to collapse

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 Also known as the Condenser
 Used to absorb Back EMF induced in the primary
circuit when the breaker points close
 Otherwise Back EMF will discharge through
breaker points  Point-gap spark will induce 
Destroy points very quickly

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 Consist of
 Distributor Cap
 Distributor Rotor
 Distributor rotor
 rotates and transfers high voltage from ignition coil
to high voltage leads of distributor cap
 Speed of rotation is same as the crank shaft
 Distributor cap
 transfers high voltage to each spark plug according
to the firing order  use high voltage leads
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 Produce electric spark between center electrode
and ground electrode

 When the voltage between two electrodes is

greater than the dielectric strength of the gases
between them  Gas is ionized  Gas becomes
conductive  Electrons flow across the gap 
Temperature increases between the gap  Spark
is produced

 Spark is used to ignite air/fuel mixture

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 Mechanical breaker points are replaced by an
armature

 If the rotation speed of the armature is same as the

crank shaft  The number of teeth on the armature is
equal to the number of cylinders of the engine

 When a tooth coincide with the pickup coil  Small

voltage pulse is generated in the pickup coil

 Electronic Ignition Module detects that pulse and

break the primary circuit

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 Electronic Ignition Module is usually embedded
inside the Engine Control Unit (ECU)
 ECU is also known as Powertrain Control Module
(PCM)

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 Instead of one single coil, each spark plug is
powered by individual ignition coil  Ignition coil
pack
 Low voltage is supplied to these coil packs
through breaker mechanism according to the
firing order
 Fully controlled by the ECU

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 END
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