On
Electronic Control
Module
By: Powar Abhijeet R.
generic term for any embedded system that controls one or more
of the electrical systems or subsystems in a motor vehicle.
Other terms for ECU include Electronic/Engine Control Module
(ECM), Power train Control Module (PCM), Transmission Control
Module (TCM), Brake Control Module (BCM or EBCM), Central
Control Module (CCM), Central Timing Module (CTM), General
Electronic Module (GEM), Body Control Module (BCM), Suspension
Control Module (SCM), control unit, or control module.
Taken together, these systems are sometimes referred to as the
car's computer. (Technically there is no single computer but
multiple ones.) Sometimes one assembly incorporates several of
the individual control modules (PCM is often both engine and
transmission)
Working of ECU
Control of fuel mixture
For an engine with fuel injection, an engine control unit (ECU)
Control of ignition
timing
A spark ignition engine requires a spark to initiate combustion in the
but have full electronic control of the intake and exhaust valve opening,
valve closing and area of the valve opening.[1] Such engines can be started
and run without a starter motor for certain multi-cylinder engines equipped
with precision timed electronic ignition and fuel injection.
Their Multicar engines use electronic valve control which drastically
improve torque and horsepower, while reducing fuel consumption as much
as 15%. Basically, the valves are opened by hydraulic pumps, which are
operated by the ECU. The valves can open several times per intake stroke,
based on engine load. The ECU then decides how much fuel should be
injected to optimize combustion.
For instance, when driving at a steady speed, the valve will open and a bit
of fuel will be injected, the valve then closes. But, when you suddenly
stamp on the throttle, the valve will open again in that same intake stroke
and much more fuel will be injected so that you start to accelerate
immediately. The ECU then calculates engine load at that exact RPM and
decides how to open the valve: early, or late, wide open, or just half open.
The optimal opening and timing are always reached and combustion is as
precise as possible. This, of course, is impossible with a normal camshaft,
which opens the valve for the whole intake period, and always to full lift.
Programmable ECUs
Programmable ECUs are required where significant
Modern ECUs
Modern ECUs use a microprocessor which can process the inputs from
the engine sensors in real time. An electronic control unit contains the
hardware and software (firmware). The hardware consists of electronic
components on a printed circuit board (PCB), ceramic substrate or a thin
laminate substrate. The main component on this circuit board is a
microcontroller chip (CPU). The software is stored in the microcontroller
or other chips on the PCB, typically in EPROMs or flash memory so the
CPU can be re-programmed by uploading updated code or replacing
chips.
Modern ECUs sometimes include features such as cruise control,
transmission control, anti-skid brake control, and anti-theft control, etc.
General Motors' first ECUs had a small application of hybrid digital ECUs
as a pilot program in 1979, but by 1980, all active programs were using
microprocessor based systems. Due to the large ramp up of volume of
ECUs that were produced to meet the US Clean Air Act requirements for
1981, only one ECU model could be built for the 1981 model year. The
high volume ECU that was installed in GM vehicles from the first high
volume year, 1981, onward was a modern microprocessor based system.
In 1988 Delco Electronics, Subsidiary of GM Hughes Electronics,
produced more than 28,000 ECUs per day, the world's largest producer
of on-board digital control computers at the time
Other applications
Such systems are used for many internal combustion
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