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How Electric Brakes Work

How Electric Brakes Work

Electric brakes work off an electric motor that powers them. The system is backwards from a regular electrical motor. A regular motor works the shaft with electricity forcing it to turn.

The way an electric motor works is by the electricity moving through the wires in effort to move a centralized shaft by way of an attached magnet. The magnet helps the shaft to turn, giving it torque, when they turn off, the torque, or turning stops. If the magnet changes orientation, the magnetic fields of electric wires will work or not work according to the orientation. Unless you are an expert at how this works and you try to break into the system to repair it you may mess it up more. Only qualified electricians should attend to the inner workings of electrical motors.

The electric brake is a big part of the electrical system; it is not something you want to go out, if it ever did, always call a qualified auto electrician to repair it.

When the electricity stops flowing, the shaft that turns the wheels are forced to spin the opposite way. This is what helps the vehicle to brake. The faster the vehicle travels, the more revolutions goes with each minute, the more force it makes for braking with the vehicle. This actually helps to preserve brake pads, and because it produces electricity, it helps to build up the battery charge. Ironically the effectiveness of electric brakes goes down at slower speeds, because the magnet in the center is spinning at a slower speed. This is why it is important to have friction brakes to help vehicles completely stop when needed.

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Truths about Engine Oil Heating

Engine Oil Heating
Heating an engine before use is great but it’s like only putting one shoe on! An oil heating is essentially an automotive-grade heating!

Why do I need to heat the engine oil? We have an engine heater so I don’t need to heat the oil.

Heating an engine before use is great but it’s like only putting one shoe on! Only half the job is done! Sure any oil that is in the pan will get some heat transfer from the heated cooling system, but the oil inside a dry sump tank is still cold. What happens when you start the engine is that the oil pump tries to suck the cold oil from the tank into the engine. When oil is cold the viscosity is very thick. On a racing engine with tight clearances this could be catastrophic! It can cause bearing failure, valve train failure and excessive wear on the cylinder walls. Any failure will cost money! The thick viscosity of the cold oil may not allow it to flow through the tight orifices of an oil system meaning that the oil cannot lubricate the entire engine properly. Additionally, due to the high oil pump pressures it may get the oil to the top of the engine but when the oil tries to drain back unpressurised it takes an extended amount of time creating unwanted oil pooling in the cylinder head.

By heating the oil in the dry sump oil tank prior to engine starting will allow the oil pump to flow the oil throughout the engine as designed for optimum performance.

Should I only heat the oil at the start of the night?

Not always. Have you seen cars start a feature race and blow smoke for the first few laps? This can be caused by the oil losing temperature from the last race. The oil viscosity increases and is pumped to the top of the engine but is still too thick to drain back to the pan. All the oil is “stuck” at the top of the engine and finds a way to leak out the valve cover and drips onto the hot headers.

It is best to keep your oil warm throughout the nights racing. Oil heating all night is common in the Spring and Autumn months of the racing season but may be required in summer if the ambient temperature drops in the evening.

P1 Australia’s oil tank heat mats quickly allow you to heat the oil inside the dry sump tank to optimum temperature.

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How Does a Fuel Injector Work? Increase Your Gas Mileage.

What Is an Engine Block Heater and Do You Really Need One?
What are the Symptoms of Bad Fuel Injectors?

Increase Your Gas Mileage.

 

It’s a good question and one that deserves an appropriate answer.

For those people who remember carburetors in older cars or who still use them, there is a fondness for the old-style engineering.

However, fuel injection has given us the means to increase fuel efficiency and meet the constantly changing standards issued by governments.

There were a variety of reasons for ending their use in modern automobiles.

 

How Does a Fuel Injector Work?

First, the carburetor was simply unable to keep up with the increased standards for fuel efficiency and exhaust emissions.

Unfortunately, these new carburetors became too complex for many cars to use and eventually needed to be replaced. Fuel-injection had been used in some high-performance cars.

The single-point fuel injector was first used by automakers since it was easy to simply bolt into place where the carburetor would have been.

Although a great advancement, automakers soon realized the need for multi-point fuel injectors that would individually deliver fuel to each cylinder.

In doing so, the multiple injectors could more easily control the amount of fuel use while delivering that fuel as a fine vapor or mist. 

The oxygen sensor in the exhaust system monitors the amount of oxygen leaving the cylinders. It allows the car’s computer to adjust the richness of the fuel mixture.

The engine control unit (ECU) maintains control of the amount of fuel released by the fuel injectors. As you apply pressure to the accelerator pedal, an air throttle opens to allow air inside the engine. The ECU “sees” this opening and measures how much air enters the engine. Then, it uses this information to determine how much fuel to release through the injectors. A small electromagnet inside each injector causes a plunger to move. Opening the end of the injector to allow a small amount of fuel to enter the cylinder valve directly.

The amount of fuel needed determines how long the plunger remains open. Each cylinder has its own fuel injector and on occasion one or more injectors may need replacement as they age.

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What to do if your car has a flat battery? Common Reasons for a Flat Battery

Have your alternator and battery inspected immediately after the first signs of battery failure.
A “flat battery” is one that has lost its electrical energy and has left you stranded in a parking lot or along the side of the road. There

A “flat battery” is one that has lost its electrical energy and has left you stranded in a parking lot or along the side of the road. There are many things that may contribute to this problem, but the seven most common are:

  1. The battery has reached the end of its useful life. 

    Most batteries will survive five or more years of service in the average car. There are few signs that the battery is about to fail until it suddenly does not start the car or the car stalls. Recharge may help, but replacement may be necessary.

  2. The battery is faulty or defective. 

    Some new batteries are defective due to a manufacturing error. Some brands of batteries are believed to have up to a 7% defective rate within the first year of usage.

  3. You have left the headlights on. 

    Although many cars have headlights that automatically turn off after a few minutes, there are still many on the road today that will not. Be certain your headlights are off as you walk away from your car.

  4. The interior lights did not turn off. 

    As with the headlights, many cars will automatically turn off the interior lights, even if a door is left ajar. Make sure the interior lights go off before walking away. It could save your battery.

  5. The electrical load on the battery is too great. 

    Usage of multiple electrical accessories while the car is parked and the engine is off could run down the battery. If you plan to park for awhile, leave the engine running or turn off high-drain electrical accessories such as interior lights and other devices.

  6. Temperature extremes can affect the life of your battery. 

    Whether the environment your car is operating in is very cold or hot, the ability of your battery to operate at maximum capacity can be affected. Lengthy exposure to temperature extremes will almost always have an effect on the longevity of any car battery.

  7. The alternator is not functioning. 

    This small device is found near the engine and charges the battery while the engine is running. Alternators will commonly last for several years, but at some point will fail. An indicator light on the dashboard of most cars can let a driver know when there is insufficient charge flowing back to the battery. Have your alternator and battery inspected immediately after the first signs of battery failure.
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