Top 10 Technologies Every Car Must Have To Run
A car can't run if there's a missing part that is essential for it to fully function. Here are 10 systems and car parts that your car must never lack:
10 - Battery
Your car is, of course, an electric machine, and the battery gives it life.
Most of the car batteries are of lead-acid variety. Their main job is to get into action as the driver turns the key in the ignition. This leads the weak electrical current to flow from the battery to a relay or solenoid-- a form of electromagnetic switch which closes a circuit. The flow of the battery's full voltage to the starter motor is then activated by the close circuit.
9 - Alternator
The alternator is very important. This gives power to all parts of the vehicle once the car starts. This also tops off the batter's charge, making sure that the battery is ready to hit the road the next time you use it. Alternator isn't the easiest car part to understand. It's basically made up of coils of wires that are positioned around a spinning rod. This produces an AC power through electromagnetism. The electricity that results from it moves through the wires to power the whole car, from the onboard computers to the radio to all the sensors and switches.
8 - Powertrain Control Module
The Powertrain Control Module is the electronic brains of your car. It's the recipient of data from all over the vehicle. It uses the data in calibrating and balancing all types of system abilities. One of its most essential roles is calculating the best fuel flow rate needed to sustain the right fuel/ air ratio within the engine.
PCMs are already getting very advanced these days. For instance, they can already sense altitude, which could affect the combustibility of the fluid and can adjust the air/fuel mixture instantly to maximize fuel efficiency and power.
7 - Steering Column
The steering column connects you to your car's main functions.
The steering column gets topped with your steering wheel, which guides the car accurately down the road at full speed or to dodge a swift dog that jumps out onto the road. It's also the hub of the important car controls.
6 - Fuel Injection
Most vehicles need fossil fuel, mainly gasoline, to start. But liquid gas does not burn. It's the fuel vapor that is combustible. To make use of the liquid gas in the fuel tank, fuel injectors are necessary.
A fuel pump is the one that pushes gas from the tank through a fuel liter that eliminates the dirt or debris and towards the fuel rails of the engine, where the fuel injectors reside. As your car's fuel pump works, it pressurizes the liquid as well, forcing it to the injectors.
Fuel injectors comprise a spray tip which atomizes the liquid fuel and scatters it throughout the engine's airstream. The fuel/air mixture that results from it is highly combustible. Spark plugs are the trigger to ignite this blend of air and gas, forming controlled explosions which push the pistons that propel the vehicle.
5 - Coolant Systems
By nature, internal combustion engines really run hot. As you touch your car's hood after your long drive, you can see it for yourself. However, the very heat that your engine produces can also be your worst enemy. If it surges to a high extent, your engine may destroy itself. This is where cooling systems become handy.
Modern engines all use a liquid-cooling system. there's a water pump which pushes the engine coolant through some passages within the motor. As the coolant journeys, it slowly absorbs the heat from your engine. It takes the heat to the radiator which is a block of aluminum tubes which scatter heat to the air that surrounds it.
4 - Transmission
Transmission can be the most mechanically complex car part. It also plays a great role in making your vehicle work.
Its task is to transfer the crankshaft's rotation energy to a system of gears which is the one responsible for turning the wheels. It really doesn't sound simple, but if you really want to grasp the whole thing, you can also look up for some comprehensive reads that discuss how transmissions work.
Modern transmissions, be it automatic or manual, are really complex. They rely on a great deal of hydraulic, mechanical, and electrical systems that operate with accurate parameters that keep your vehicle run efficiently and safely. Because of their complexity, transmissions might have expensive repairs. The whole transmission system has cables, pumps, gears, gaskets, and valves. Troubleshooting the exact problem of a defective transmission can really take time, and you have to bring it to a specialist to ensure a thorough repair.
3 - Suspension, Chiropractor Prevention
Small and large road bumps can cause the car's wheels to abruptly move upwards. If it has completely tough wheels mounted to an absolutely tough frame, the jolt could make the whole ride uncomfortable and rough. The tires may lose a bit of rip on the surface of the road, making predictable handling very risky.
Your entire car is made to absorb or to disperse shocks. However, the suspension process itself has essential sections that you cannot drive without. Cars must have springs that help them dissipate road bumps and other forms of impact. Those springs must come with shock absorbers that gradually release energy that the springs absorb, avoiding a bouncy, unsafe, and painful ride.
2 - Tires Speak the Truth
Tires are not just circular doughnut-shaped, rubbery car parts. Like other components of a car, every nook and cranny of the tire have also evolved in a superior way. These little parts include the sidewall, tread, bead assembly, inner liner, etc.
Each kind of tire has a runner compound which is flexible and stretchy. There are tires that are made to offer the best traction along a dry surface while there are also tires that work best when passing wet surfaces or driving through the rain. There are heavy-duty tires that are built to last but are also very expensive.
You can tell that a tire is good if it enables a smooth ride. However, tires are basically all about the traction. If your tires' grip on the road is good, the safer the drive will be.
1 - Brakes!
Vehicles could have either a disc brake or a drum brake. As you de-press the brake pedal, you are engaging a hydraulic system which presses the shoes or the brake pads against the drum or rotor to stop it or slow it from completely turning.
Lots of latest models of cars have anti-lock brakes. Prior to the advancement of these kinds of breaks, slamming on the brake pedal can possibly send the car to a turbulent skid. Thes antilock breaks get to quickly pump the brakes in order to maximize the braking force while avoiding skiddings and making the driver drive towards safety.
Now that you have been introduced to the car parts and technologies that are essential to make your car run, you can minimize getting into trouble and you can better know which car part to thoroughly maintain. We're not saying that you should maintain one car part better than the other. You should equally take care of all the components of your car. However, knowing the crucial parts enable you to know the condition of your car for you to avoid further damage or driving risk.