Fuel Injectionwhat is Fuel Injectiona Beginners Guide to Fuel Injectionnozzles
What is fuel Injection?
Simply put, it is the process by which an automobile's fuel is delivered to the engine. A fuel pump pumps fuel from your fuel tank to either a single electrical nozzle mounted on top of the engine's intake manifold, or single injector nozzles that are placed with each engine cylinder. Instead of shooting a "Stream" of fuel into the intake manifold as old carburetors used to do, the injector works similarly to an adjustable spray nozzle like you may have connected to your garden hose.
Like an old carburetor, If you put your garden hose nozzle on normal spray and open the nozzle, it shoots a stream of liquid across your yard. When you adjust your hose nozzle and put it on mist, that's exactly what you get; a mist of liquid that doesn't flood everything. This "misting" effect is the way the fuel injectors work in your engine.
For your engine to work correctly, every injector must open at the correct time to send a "mist" of fuel into its engine cylinder to mix with the air that enters through the intake manifold. The correct time for the injection process is calculated by a computer in the car that monitors every other system to determine what is going on.
At some point during the upward motion of the piston, the computer will send an electrical signal to the fuel injector. This signal tells the specific injector that it needs to open so a "mist' of fuel can be sprayed into the piston chamber. The pressure of the fuel pump forcing fuel through the lines, and the design of the injectors, is what produces this misting action that works so precisely.
Once the spraying action is completed, and there is enough fuel and air in the piston chamber to ignite, the computer tells the injector to close. The piston reaches the top of it's stroke, the computer tells the spark plug to fire, and if everything is working correctly, a big explosive fireball erupts inside the piston chamber.
The piston is forced downward to turn the crankshaft, which turns your transmission, and ultimately, the wheels of the car.
For this process to continue to work correctly over the life of your car, the vehicle must be well maintained. It must receive regular tune-ups per your maintenance guide, and the injectors may need regular cleaning depending on the type of fuel you use.
As you have seen in this "Beginners guide to fuel injection", it's an easy enough process to understand, and knowing the basic functions of the process will help each of us to keep our vehicles running smoother for the life of the vehicle.
