Do you know what the computers in your car actually do? Did you even know that there were computers in your car? Do you know why there are computers in your car or what they do?
Cars have come a long way since the first car rolled off the assembly line way back in history too far for any of us to remember. With most new advancement in the comfort of a car comes a need to have a new computer in the car, or at least a new sensor that will relay information back to a computer. Cars continue to become more and more complicated as new computers and sensors are added to them.
Some of the things that car computers monitor via sensors include oxygen sensors, air pressure sensors, air temperature sensors, engine temperature sensors, throttle position sensors and knock sensors
This is only a few examples of the sensors on your car. There are many others with each designed to relay information back to the computer that can then relay the information to you on the dash. Your auto mechanic can also then hook up to the cars computer to get more specific data that will enable them to diagnose accurately and quickly the problem so that it can be fixed.
All computers for cars are designed and installed for a specific purpose. If you combine all of the computers and their purposes, they can be reduced to some general categories. Those general categories are: comfort, handling, emissions and performance.
There are 2 main computers on every newer car. The engine control module (ECM) controls everything pertaining to the performance and emissions of the engine. The power control module (PCM) controls everything relating to the handling of the car.
The engine control module is by far the most common computer found in cars. This is in large part, a result of a desire to improve the emissions of vehicles and the impact that they have on the environment. It also came about because of a demand to increase the fuel mileage of cars for the same underlying purpose of the environment.
Car computers work in the background creating a better ride and a more efficient car, while alerting you to the information it has gathered only if it determines that there is a potential problem that needs attention. Some will look at car computers as just one more thing that potentially will need to be fixed on a car. However, when all benefits and costs are considered, their arguments are short handed.