Let’s have some fun and talk about automotive ignition. This is one system United Auto Care services and repairs for its customers. How does your car, truck, or SUV actually start? A series of things happen to ignite the engine and keep it running until you turn it off. Here’s a quick lesson on combustion engine starts, because your automobile has a combustion engine.
Ignition Is Key – Pun Intended
Your vehicle’s ignition system is what starts your car, truck, or SUV, and the key begins the process. Before we get into how it all works, however, let’s learn more about the ignition system itself. This system uses a series of parts to generate the energy needed to get your vehicle’s motor up and running. The ignition system parts are the
- Battery
- Camshaft sensor
- Crankshaft sensor
- Distributor cap
- Distributor rotor
- Ignition coil
- Ignition module
- Knock sensor
- Powertrain control module
- Spark plugs
- Spark plug wires
All of these things work together to, again, generate the energy your vehicle motor needs to start. If any of these parts fail, you might not be able to start your car, truck, or SUV, or it might stall after it starts.
What Happens When I Turn the Key?
When you insert your vehicle’s key into the ignition and turn it (or press a button in newer vehicles), the starter motor fires up. Once active, it turns the crankshaft. The crankshaft moves the pistons in your engine’s cylinders. A mixture of air and fuel is drawn into the cylinders. After the air/fuel mixture is in the cylinders, it is compressed. The compressed mixture ignites with the sparks generated from the spark plugs and – boom – your engine produces combustion, starts, and runs.
Pretty cool, isn’t it? If you have problems getting your car to start, the issue could be in the ignition system or something else. For example, if you hear a clicking sound when you try to start your automobile, the starter motor might be dead. If you cannot get your car to crank at all and there’s no headlights or other lights, you have an alternator or battery problem. Finally, your vehicle needs fuel to start and if your fuel pump is bad, it won’t draw gasoline from the tank to the motor.
Those are just some reasons why your vehicle won’t start. If it won’t, call United Auto Care. We’re located in Flowery Branch, GA, and we’d be happy to help.
