Electric Everything

Electric Everything

Hello 93636,
I want to again thank the many of you who have come by the shop to check us out and personally say hi. I also want to thank the many more who visited us on Facebook. Thank you 93636 for all your support.

I chose this article’s topic because I believe it is interesting, informative and enlightening. This type of vehicle may soon be parked in your driveway, if not already. I also want to give the 93636 “Do-it-Yourselfers” crowd a heads up so they avoid the mistake we made with our first replacement of an electric power steering unit.

Three weeks ago a 2010 Ford Fusion came into the shop with a “no power steering” complaint. The steering was electric so we connected a scanner and retrieved trouble codes to begin the diagnostic process. The electric steering gear was defective so we recommended replacement. The steering gear is a rack and pinion type. We did our due diligence and all the information we generated indicated the replacement unit was a “Plug and Play;” just bolt it in and go. The defective gear assembly came out and the replacement was installed without incident, or so we thought.

The new gear didn’t work.

Again we began diagnostic only to find the new steering gear needed to be programmed. If that information would have been available to us in the beginning, we would have removed the memory from the failed unit while it was still in the vehicle and connected to the vehicle’s network. The defective unit is now laying on the shop floor. We have to reprogram the whole darn car. No problem. After the programing everything worked fine, it just took several hours more then it needed to.

“Do-it-Yourselfers,” again I’m sorry to say, it’s very unlikely that you will be able to complete this repair by yourself. If you are going to give it a try anyway, make sure the memory is extracted BEFORE you remove the steering gear or it will increase your time and be expensive. Don’t feel bad though – heck, I only know of a hand ful of independent shops that can handle this repair.

Let’s discuss the advantage of electric steering. Hydraulic steering uses a hydraulic pump to deliver pressurized fluid to the steering gear to decrease steering effort. The pump is driven by a belt connected to the gasoline engine. As long as the gasoline engine is running there is a power steering pump load on the engine, even if you are driving straight ahead. Motorized electric steering only creates a load when turning. Soon most gasoline engine loads will be transferred to small electric motors controlled by the PCM (computer), not just the steering. In addition, the systems operated by electric motors will continue to operate even when your vehicle’s engine is turned off during a stop. YES, that’s right, soon your vehicle’s engine will stop running (stall) when coming to a stop. The gasoline engine will automatically restart when you depress the gas pedal to drive away. I’ll bet some of you are thinking this will create a lot of wear and tear and increase failure rates for batteries and starter motors. There are a lot of variations but the concept is the same. Your vehicle will use a much larger battery and starter motor. The starter motor is massive and in many cases doubles as the vehicle’s alternator. It will recharge the batteries while the gasoline engine is running and restart the gasoline engine when it’s off. The larger battery will also facilitate higher voltages. The increased voltage output will increase starter speed by more than seven times. The gasoline engine starts immediately when you depress the gas pedal to drive away.

The air conditioning compressor and the power brake booster will no longer be directly connected to the gasoline engine. Both systems will be powered by electric motors and continue to function when the gasoline engine is turned off during a stopping event. You will need that BIG battery while you are waiting for that train that is parked on the tracks, during a summer evening, while the air conditioning is running, the radio or entertainment system is playing and the headlights and brake lights are on.

About two years ago I worked on a Karma Fisker. These automobiles do not use transmissions. The gasoline engine powers a generator which powers two electric traction motors in the rear differential housing. It’s very possible in the near future transmissions will become obsolete just like carburetors.

The primary reason for the addition of electric motors is they are more energy efficient than gasoline engines and thereby improve fuel mileage and decrease emissions.

It’s my hope to bring Career Vocational Education classes to Golden Valley Unified School District. When we build the curriculum it would be my preference that it be forward-thinking and innovative, not repackaged Vocational Education from the past. As always, I’m looking for ideas to write about. If you have suggestions or have a question about a vehicle, please contact me at complete_car_care@hotmail.com or the Complete Car Care Facebook page.

God Bless America and God Bless
93636.

Warren Parr
Two-time ASE/NAPA California Technician of the Year
2013 ASE/NAPA National Technician of the Year 2nd Runner Up
ASE Certified Master and Advance Level (L1) Technician