By Steve Ford, The Car Guy ®
It has been said that the city of Los Angeles is like a poster child for air pollution. When government and industry references are made about addressing urban smog, Southern California is cited as a benchmark region in the battle. Of course, L.A. is not alone with severe air pollution; in Athens, Greece, for example, the death rate is reported to increase an alarming 500 percent on smog alert days.
Still, consider the mix of ingredients that placed L.A. in a smog leadership role: rapid population growth supported by an infrastructure that is totally reliant on gasoline-powered automobiles. Growth and cars are not L.A.'s only challenges; the city also sits geographically between a large mountain range and the Pacific Ocean, making it a distinct “basin” for smog formation. Still, what originally accounts for this city gaining a starring role in air quality discussions?
The stage was set for decades to follow when Dutch biochemist Dr. Arie Haagen-Smit observed that a toxic photochemical reaction was occurring between sunlight and vehicle/industrial pollution over L.A., and he became the world's first scientist to predict the need for auto emissions controls. Haagen-Smit acted on his findings in 1959 by writing the auto emissions guidelines for the California legislature. From this development, California then became the first region to mandate auto emissions-control technology with the 1961 introduction of the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) system. The remaining states adopted the PCV system in 1963. And from the introduction of the PCV, technicians have witnessed a steady, yet relatively slow-moving advancement in emission-control technology: air injection in 1966 (Calif.)/1968 (49 states); charcoal evaporative control, 1970/1971; exhaust gas recirculation, 1972/1973; two-way catalytic converters, 1975 nationally; and three-way catalytic converter along with the first generation of on-board diagnostics, 1980/1981.
Reluctant Automakers
Through the 1970s, Detroit automakers were only marginally accommodating of the technologies government regulators demanded to reduce exhaust pollution. Given the overwhelming evidence of Haagen-Smit's scientific study in 1959, the industry's 30-year transition from PCV systems to catalytic converters with emission-control technology should have taken only 10 years.
To the auto manufacturers' credit, today's gasoline-powered vehicles are remarkably clean. Air-pollution controls are making a difference, yet just about the time we start to succeed with our original goals, the world brings new demands for innovation.
At our current rate of adding 50 million new vehicles to the road every year, we will introduce as many new vehicles to global roadways in the next 30 years as we did in the past 100. Meanwhile, for every gallon of gasoline burned by cars, 5 pounds of pure carbon are expelled and about 5 tons of carbon dioxide are pumped into the atmosphere over the course of a year.
Haunted by Hydrocarbons
So far, we have only considered the “output” of the motor vehicle: smog. At the core of our air pollution challenge has been the source of our vehicle “propulsion,” which has been gasoline - or hydrocarbon - fuel. Coupled with the internal combustion engine and consumer demand for large, fast and “conventional” vehicles, gasoline has been a hard habit to break.
Yet in 2001, when prompted to reconsider our nation's reliance on outside sources of energy, the topic of “input” to power tomorrow's vehicles suddenly became a priority. And as you can imagine, tomorrow's energy source will not be “high-test” premium.
Since the first oil strike in 1859 at Oil Creek in Pennsylvania, the world has burned 820 billion barrels of oil - 600 billion burned since 1973. Our nation's entire urban architecture is wrapped around oil as a fuel source so change will not be immediate. Instead, our nation is preparing
to shift toward a “Hydrogen Economy.”
In Part I last month, I mentioned FreedomCAR and the quest to find new hydrogen-technology solutions - technology aimed at being an “enabling technology.” The core enabling technology for hydrogen is currently the “fuel cell” energy converter. Yet there are other technology advancements destined to help reduce our oil dependence and, most importantly for us in the automotive service world, how we “fix” tomorrow's cars.
New Power, New Precision
Photo courtesy of Delphi Corp. |
Under the Department of Energy, FreedomCAR incorporates a convergence of government and private industry collaborations aimed at speeding up our migration to a hydrogen-based economy. In the process, automakers and the service industry must also embrace the changes our coming transition requires.
In revisiting decades of vehicle technology evolution, we can more easily see where the service industry has met, struggled with, and ultimately embraced computerized vehicle system control. OBD I introduced "closed loop" engine feedback control; engine management by computer set the stage for brake system management by computer anti-lock brake systems in the mid-1980s. Then came electronic transmission control, computerized suspensions, computerized variable power steering and the list continues to grow.
With the introduction of OBD II and advancement of vehicle self-monitoring and self-diagnostics in 1996, technicians have already been introduced to the core technologies that will pave the way into the next decade. The fundamental training you already have for today's vehicles will predominantly transfer into the underhoods of hybrid vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles, as well as vehicles that incorporate 42-volt electrical systems and wireless system controls. These newest systems will continue to incorporate three key elements you already know well: 1) sensors/inputs; 2) electronic-control modules and data networks; and 3) actuators/outputs. It was back in 1981 that auto “mechanics” became “technicians” with these new terms.
Today's principles of strategy diagnostics will be applied to new “components and systems,” however, your current skills will still be relevant.
More than mere conceptual projections of the future, following are three real-world technologies already in, or approaching, production today.
42-Volt Systems & Integrated Starter-Generators
The move from 6-volt to 12-volt electrical systems in 1955 was due to demand for increased power to accommodate a greater number of electrical accessories on “modern cars.” In 1955 the typical car wiring harness weighed 8 to 10 pounds and required approximately 250 to 300 watts. By 1990, vehicle power consumption surpassed 1,000 watts (with a 15- to 20-pound wiring harness), and by 2000, systems moved to as much as 1,800 watts (22- to 28-pound wiring harness). Meanwhile, the conventional 14-volt generator is capable of producing a maximum output of 2,000 watts. Clearly, by 2000 we had already almost arrived at the maximum output for the conventional generator.
Transitioning to an electrical system that provides three times as much generator power at 42 volts (36-volt battery) will deliver as much as 20,000 to 30,000 watts. Simultaneously, because an increase in volts results in a two-thirds reduction in amperage, the size of components and switches will be smaller. Yet even with these size and weight reductions, the addition of so many new electrical technologies to vehicles means more weight added, but less net weight for the additional new systems. In addition, while wiring size can also be reduced, today's manufacturing technology only accommodates a minimum wire thickness of 22 gauge; anything smaller would not provide the durability needed.
Two types of 42-volt generators are being introduced: The first is a bolt-on generator that functions much like today's belt-driven generator. The second is called an “integrated starter-generator” (ISG) and adds a stator and rotor mounted directly behind the engine, where the clutch or torque converter previously sat alone, and takes direct energy from the spinning crankshaft. The ISG can produce much higher output than the belt-driven generator due to its larger size and direct-drive design.
Integrated Starter-Generators
& Hybrids
Photo courtesy of Acura Division/American Honda Motor Co. |
Next, because a “generator” can become a “starter” by receiving input power, both of these 42-volt generators have the new ability to reduce engine size. Or, they simply augment power of existing engines by providing electric “motor” assist - either as supplemental power for daily driving when used to support an internal combustion engine (ICE) or enabling a “start-stop” feature.
The start-stop capability of the generator-starter allows the ICE to turn off and conserve energy at stops and instantly restart upon pressing of the throttle pedal. This concept of obtaining main power from the ICE with modest electric motor assist is called a “mild” or “soft” hybrid. A “full&3148; or “hard” hybrid means the vehicle's dual power system has an electric motor drive system capable of propelling the vehicle independently from the ICE. It is notable, however, that hard hybrid electric motors typically require voltages in excess of 140 volts and up to as much as 350 volts. This brings us to several key service issues regarding the handling of higher voltages.
A few challenges for the migration to the 42-volt electrical system occur in the transition from the 12/36-volt to the 36/42-volt system. Current 12-volt lighting filaments can't handle 42 volts, and this points to dual voltage systems until we can introduce new lighting technology. Also, the cost to advance to a 42-volt system requires an evolutionary rather than sudden shift. Moreover, because of new higher-current issues we will need service technician training to address aspects of arcing, safety and dual-voltage 14/42 diagnostics and system designs.
Lastly, to accommodate service on high-voltage systems we will see new insulated or nonconducting hand tools and new diagnostic and testing equipment to deal with the new 42-volt standard.
Drive-by-Wire
The idea of relying on an electronic actuator substituting for the conventional throttle cable is a “cool” technology advancement. Yet the idea of steering control moving from a shaft-to-front-end hardware being replaced by a “sensor and actuator” is a bit unnerving to some. Jet airplanes taxi on runways with steer-by-wire, as well as control-by-wire avionics, and the car is going to move in this direction too. Precision electric motor control of steering instead of a mechanical link is in the works, and several auto suppliers are already producing electro-magnetic brake calipers eliminating hydraulics.
With advancement to the 42-volt power supply, we have a new “enabling technology” in that increased voltage will afford replacement of power-draining devices such as the water pump and power steering pump. Global automakers are preparing to transition to 42-volt-powered electric pumps that will free the engine of these parasitic drive mechanisms. By eliminating these engine-driven systems, engine size and weight can be reduced - with increased fuel economy as a direct benefit.
Fuel Cell Energy Conversion
Perhaps the most intriguing and potentially intimidating new technology is the fuel cell. It also offers one of the most rewarding clean and powerful energy solutions: water vapor exhaust. Still, it would require direct hydrogen for fuel in the central fuel cell component, called the “Proton Exchange Membrane,” and getting a fill-up of hydrogen at your corner service station is still many years away.
Simply stated, fuel cells extract electrons out of hydrogen gas. Going back to the view of the basic atom, most elements contain a proton, a neutron and an electron. Since hydrogen has no neutron, the fuel cell simply has to 1) take in hydrogen and 2) strip its one electron away from the proton. The fuel cell does this by taking in hydrogen through plumbing on one side of a “plate,” and incoming oxygen on the other side of the plate. The hydrogen is attracted to the oxygen as the two elements naturally combine to make water (H20).
The separating plate is called a Proton Exchange Membrane because it captures the electron as the proton is magnetically attracted to join the oxygen on the other side of the membrane. With the electron captured by the Proton Exchange Membrane, we simply channel the electron away from the fuel cell via an electric circuit and use the electron to cycle (as voltage, or “pressure”) through an electric motor - and then return it on a circuit back to the fuel cell. Upon return, the free electron joins the oxygen and ultimately produces H20.
Fuel cells in service will be “black boxes,” in that even in knowing how they work, technicians will not need to repair them. Instead, using skills and strategies currently employed in electrical circuit and component diagnostics, along with pump and plumbing system management - much like today's air conditioning systems - technicians will troubleshoot sensors, pumps, motors, valves, switches and related components. At the same time, safety issues related to handling hydrogen will be a concern. However, engineers quickly point out that servicing vehicles that use gasoline also requires high precautions - we're simply used to them. Hydrogen use requires new precautions, but it is not like we will be on a new planet - it's the most plentiful element on Earth. The 21st century looks like a good time to start using it in cars.
Wireless Diagnostics and the Wireless Shop
Future service information and specifications will be delivered to technicians in wireless service bays with "head-up" displays for on-the-job convenience. Photo courtesy of Microvision, Inc. |
Perhaps the most profound new technology coming at us in the service industry is already one of the most familiar: on-board diagnostics - with one huge addition, a wireless connection with the shop and the service bay.
When OBD I arrived in 1981 it introduced a concept of the engine-management computer being able to recognize a malfunctioning fuel system; for example, via a feedback device called an oxygen sensor. When the oxygen sensor indicated a parameter that was out of range, the motorist could be warned using a malfunction indicator light (MIL). Two decades ago we had the technology to monitor every vehicle on our roadways with split-second precision, but you had to have a scan tool hooked up to the vehicle to get the data. With the introduction of more advanced and uniform data in 1996, OBD II improved the technology with more precision and breadth.
For most people, terms like “OnStar” and “Wingcast” sound like roadside assistance, navigation support and related convenience features. Inside the service world, however, we are about to discover a new and more dramatic aspect of these “telematics” systems. With telematics we already have a “wireless&3148; connection with millions of vehicles.
In near-approaching vehicles from every manufacturer, we will see the telematics equation simply incorporate OBD II data into the wireless connection to the vehicle. And voila! Your Internet- or satellite-connected scan tool brings you wireless serial data from vehicles as they drive by your service bay or from thousands of miles away. What this capability means for service technicians is as vast as the imagination allows - advance diagnostics, parts ordering, customer service alerts, warranty management and a whole new meaning for the term “road test.”
We have been looking forward to this technology as “OBD III” and it has conjured up rich discussions about privacy laws with access and emissions-testing issues, yet even as these speed bumps get sorted out, telematics offers a powerful new solution. In fact, this single paradigm shift of telematics in auto service and diagnostics may be the single most powerful new technology in the first decades of the 21st century.
Trade School vs. Lifetime Learning
Considering what we have learned since the PCV system arrived 40 years ago, it is hard to believe that until 1961 we simply vented engine blowby and excess gasoline fumes to the atmosphere. Leaded premium gas was celebrated and Nox was only something scientists and chemistry students talked about inside laboratories.
Today we have a new vocabulary and a new level of knowledge. We know a vehicle that gets 12 miles per gallon expels approximately four times as much carbon dioxide as a vehicle that gets 50 miles per gallon. It follows that by increasing fuel efficiency alone we will be augmenting our global efforts toward reduced auto emissions. The most immediate path to better fuel economy would be to dramatically reduce the size and weight of motor vehicles, and, in turn, the size of the power plants.
With the technologies we have looked at here today, we are moving quickly toward a better tomorrow. These technologies point to one other change for technicians: “lifetime learning.” The days of trade school educations that equipped mechanics to work for a number of years before pursuing supplemental classes have given way to ongoing education and daily learning.
Which brings us to a great closing quote from futurist Eric Hoffer: “In times of change, the learners will inherit the earth, while knowers will find themselves beautifully equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.”
Most technicians will tell you that even as they face the many demands of today's auto service industry, one key aspect that motivates them toward each new day is the variety found in their everyday work. The 21st century promises opportunities for learning new solutions and for every technician to embrace the future challenges and, most importantly, make a positive difference in every new day.
| Steve Ford, The Car Guy ® is a Detroit-based automotive print/radio/TV journalist and ASE advanced-level L1 certified automotive technician/ instructor. You can e-mail him at thecarguy@thecarguy.com; his Web site is www.thecarguy.com.
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