Keeping your car on the road
For this article, we’ll be talking about it in relation to automotive engines and how. For an engine to run efficiently and smoothly, the right mixture of air and fuel must be provided and adjusted automatically to the engine’s range of demands. This may be by a carburetor or by a fuel injection system.
Whereas a domestic made vehicle typically runs on a carburetor-based system. In that scenario, there is a float chamber with a reservoir. With a fuel injection system, the fuel injector infuses liquid fuel into the intake air and depends on the flow of fuel to uninterrupted. A fuel injection system is the initiation of fuel to an internal combustion engine, by the means of an injector. We use fuel injection in all diesel engines, like 18-wheelers and German-made vehicles, aka, fuel injection is a carburetor in essence.
How do fuel injection systems work?
In a fuel injection system, there is a special pump that sends pressurized fuel to the engine from the fuel tank. The fuel is kept under pressure and distributed to each cylinder individually. Depending on the individual system, it fires the fuel into the inlet manifold or the inlet port by the use of an injector.
This works almost like the water hose and spray nozzle, but with fuel instead of water. The fuel injection system ensures that the fuel is a fine mist instead of a gust of fuel. The fuel and air are then mixed as the air pass through the inlet manifold and then the mixture moves on to the combustion chamber.
Is fuel injection necessary?
For an engine that is designed and set up based on a fuel injection system, yes, fuel injection is necessary. If the injectors aren’t working properly, the vehicle won’t run right, or sometimes, won’t run at all.
Therefore, frequent service by an authorized fuel injection system experienced mechanic is recommended. The only exception to this is if the vehicle is running perfectly with no issues like idling rough, stalling out, poor acceleration, or emissions levels are high. If it isn’t broke, don’t mess with it! However, you should follow the dealer and manufacturers’ suggestions for check-ups by an experienced mechanic or the dealer.
Is fuel injection better than carburetor?
For car enthusiasts, the debate between fuel injection or carburetor, which is best, is an age-old debate, just like the debate of which came first, the chicken or the egg. There are “old school” car enthusiasts who believe that a carburetor engine performs better than a fuel injection system. Likewise, there are car enthusiasts that have either changed with the times or were born into the world with a fuel injection system to believe that the fuel injection system is the better choice.
What is the benefit of fuel injection?
There is a good deal of fuel injection benefits, some of which have changed the thought process of the “old school” car enthusiasts to give fuel injection system more credit. Some of those benefits are:
Less Fuel Consumption
Fuel injection system requires less fuel consumption than an engine that is carbureted because of the “new school” aka sophistication of the electronic system that monitors the air/fuel ratio and adjusts it automatically to maintain optimal conditions.
Superb starting
A major benefit of fuel injection systems is their ability to start easier no matter the weather being cold or hot.
Powerful
Because fuel injection with transmission control, fuel injection system engines typically provide higher power and torque than the carbureted engine because it can optimize air-to-fuel ratio and ignition timing.
Reliability Enhanced
Engines equipped with a fuel injection system is essentially more reliable than a carbureted engine. Fuel injection system is less susceptible to icing, and problems like random engine stoppage, oiled soaked spark plugs, and it eliminates other such problems common with carbureted engines.
What are the signs of a bad fuel injector?
The following are indicators that we should have a vehicle with a fuel injection system checked over by an experienced mechanic:
- Trouble starting
- Idles rough
- Emissions testing fails
- Performance on-road is poor
- The engine doesn’t reach full RPM
- Using more fuel than normal
- Bucks and surges under different throttle loads
- Tailpipe has smoke coming out, creating pollution
- Engine knocks
Whether a carbureted system or fuel injection system is a matter of preference for a car enthusiast, the fuel injection system has taken over the world of auto manufacturing. Just front wheel drive has replaced rear-wheel-drive, which the “old school” car enthusiast prefers the rear-wheel-drive because the car has more “get up and go” power.
In the world of auto racing, where it was once nothing but the carbureted system and rear-wheel drive on the track, the newer vehicles have inched their way into the system. While the body of the car may look the same, what is under the hood and under the rear end has definitely changed. For your fuel injector repair needs in Atascadero, CA, call (805) 466-3236 today.