The ECU or the Engine Control Unit of your car is nothing lesser than its brain. If you want your automobile to perform at its best, you will have to ensure its proper maintenance throughout the year. And only then you will enjoy the best of experience while driving as well as handling your car. For higher engine performance, modern-day cars, unlike the traditional ones, are incorporated with sophisticated technology.
The haltech ecu successfully shuffles through the loads of data that is sent to it and decides the engine’s course of action to ensure a perfect drive. It is the ECU that guides your engine on what to do and how to do it. Thus, it helps to make an accurate analysis of engine control by utilizing the stored data.
In case you face any challenges in the electrical or any other part of your vehicle, you must first check your ECU. None prefers to face any difficulties with his automotive and particularly when on the roads!
What is aftermarket ECU, and why do we need to?
Some of the modern ECU’s can make a certain amount of self-tuning, which allows it to make the adjustments to the stored data, as the engine runs, but most simply too old enough to re-program. Moreover, alterations done to an engine are features that in most cases, are not supported by the factory ECU. For controlling these functions and to gain the most out of your tailored engine, an aftermarket ECU becomes necessary.
Aftermarket engine management provides flexibility which is unique and far different from the standard unit and software. When you get the freedom to create and program a custom fuel and ignition map according to your vehicle’s engine, you can enhance the engine management solution.
Fundamentally, aftermarket ECU allows you to release the true potential of your engine, giving you the most of what is already built-in it!
Now, that you know the need of the ECU, let’s delve into its functioning.
Functions of ECUs
Controls the air-fuel mixture
This is one of the most critical tasks of ECU because it regulates the fuel mixture used by the engine. It helps to determine the amount of air-fuel mixture that needs to be injected in the engine. Only when the program receives the required data and calculates it, it can give the suitable amount of mixture. The ECU also helps to decide if it is the correct time to deliver the air-fuel mix or not and in what quantity it should be performed. This entire process is also known as injection duration.
Controls the ignition timing
It is the ECU which adjusts the correct timing of the ignition or spark to provide the better power and economy to your automotive. The Engine Control Unit senses if there is any problem in the compression stroke or not, and then it works accordingly to set the timing of the ignition. This scenario primarily arises when there is unburned air-fuel mixture left, and it is exposed to a blend of heat and pressure. This, in turn, also results in an explosion which is also known as knocking or pinking. When it detects the pinking, it delays t=the time of spark to and thus prevents it.
Controls the suitable speed and variable valve timing
Most of the vehicles have a built-in control system in their Engine Control Unit which controls the appropriate speed.
In an automotive, idle speed is measured through the programmable throttle stop. Besides controlling the idle speed, it also regulates the timing when the valve will open or close in the cycle of the engine. The most appropriate and suitable timing of closing and opening of the valve helps in accelerating the power and use of the engine.
ECU also impacts the torque and the BHP
Since ECU can control the fuel injection into the cylinder, it is also capable of programming the efficient performance of the engine. In whatsoever environment, when the ECU meets an increase in load, it sends a signal for more fuel injection and, this, in turn, helps the engine to generate more brake horsepower or BHP.
