Knowledge Base

1. BATTERY

Anything that is used to store energy in a chemical form that can supply energy in electrical form as and when required. Battery basically consists of a positive plate and negative plate along with a chemical solution called an electrolyte. The plates are in the form of lead and lead oxide which is dipped in sulphuric acid with a ratio of 35% H2SO4 and 65% water. At a discharged state, chemical sits on the lead plates forming sulphate and converting electrolyte into a dilute solution of water. Once the electrolyte becomes water it can no longer hold the charge. In today’s world, the battery and its quality have become even more prominent to support various electronic devices which otherwise could be of no use without them.

Automotive batteries are mainly lead-acid battery with 2 main categories and 3 subcategories.

Lead-acid batteries are generally used in automobiles as these are the best available option when we consider the cost and performance. The batteries used in automobiles are SLI type which stands for Starting + Lights + Ignition. The purpose of this battery is to provide a quick burst of energy for a short period to crank the engine. Such batteries use only 5% to 10% of the total charge to start the engine and they are never made for deep cycle discharges which otherwise will lead to battery failure.

There are 3 main categories of batteries as Wet Type(Flooded), Gel Type & AGM (Absorbed glass mat). Wet cell type could be serviceable or maintenance free. Gel type & AGM are better compared to wet type especially because it can hold the charge better, they do not degrade as early as the wet type and have a far lesser chance of a hydrogen explosion.

One should consider ‘’CCA‘’ and ‘’RC“ ratings before buying a new battery to avoid ending up paying extra money.

The most important consideration in a new battery is to find the correct standard for the rating of your car battery based on the requirement stated by OEM in your car Manual.

Mainly ‘’CCA“ is the standard used in automotive batteries to select from and compare with. "CCA" stands for Cold Cranking Ampere which can be defined as a peak load in amperage that a battery can provide for 30 sec at 0° Fahrenheit until the voltage of a fully charged 12-volt battery drops below 7.5 volts.

One must consider the Local climate condition before buying a suitable battery for their vehicle. For Example: If you are leaving in a hot climate then very high ‘’CCA“ rating battery will not be of so important and it can prove to be an expensive affair. Suppose your OEM’s requirement is only 600 "CCA" based on climate then buying a battery of 800 "CCA" will prove to be a waste of money. 600 "CCA" means a battery can supply 600 amp for 30 sec at 0o Fahrenheit before the voltage drops below 7.5 volts.

Another standard that could be of great use is “RC“ reserve capacity which is nothing, but a number of minutes a fully charged battery can run at a discharge rate of 25 amps at 800 Fahrenheit until voltage drops below 10.5 volts

Diesel vehicles will use higher "CCA” rating when to compare to gasoline/petrol vehicles due to heavier engine parts for the same capacity.

Having battery with just enough “CCA“ rating and large “RC“ value make more sense than a battery having unnecessarily high “ CCA “ rating and a fewer "RC“ value which could prove to be expensive and unnecessary.

The different standard used across many companies to rate battery outputs are as follows : CCA , MCA , HCA , RC , AH. These standards can be defined as below.

  • CCA : This stands for “ Cold cranking ampere “. It can defined as the maximum amperage a fully charged 12V battery can supply to start/crank the engine for 30 sec at 0°F until voltage drops below 7.5 volt. A battery with 600CCA means it can supply 600 amps for 30 sec at 0°F . This is most common measurement.
  • MCA : This stands for “ Marine cranking ampere “. It can be defined as maximum amperage a fully charged 12V battery can supply for 30 sec at 32°F until voltage drops below 7.5 volt. This can be derived by dividing CCA by 0.81 to get approximate MCA value
  • HCA : This stands for “ Hot cranking ampere “. It can be defined as the maximum amperage a fully charged 12V battery can supply for 30 sec at 80°F until voltage drops below 7.5 volt. This can be derived by dividing CCA by 65 to get approximate HCA value. This is very uncommon and no longer used.
  • RC : This stands for “ Reserve capacity “. It can defined as the number of minutes a battery can run at a discharge rate of 25 amps at 80°F until voltage drops below 10.50 volt. This is very important rating. A 12V battery with a RC value of 90 , would run for 90 minutes at 25 amps discharge.
  • AH : This stands for “ Amperehour “.This another important rating but most used in Deep cycle battery. This is usually calculated at 20hours rating. A battery with 100AH means it can supply 5A for 20hours until its voltage drops below 10.20 volt. The relation between ampere and hours is not linear and hence cannot get exact hours if discharge rate is increased above 5A. For example – It cannot supply 100Amps for 1 hour. It is always advisable to buy battery with higher AH. One can calculate AH from RC by multiplying RC value by 0.40

2. MISCELLANEOUS MISTAKES

The first thing that we must remember while switching on the car is to check if the radio, wipers, air-conditioner, indicators, and other accessories are switched off. Did you know that most of the engine’s wear happens while switching on the car? And if these accessories are on while the engine is starting, then a big amount of load and pressure comes on the engine.

Another thing that a lot of car owners do is that they rev the car to warm up their engines. You really need not do that, as all you are doing is making the car hot – in literal terms. Revving the car does not warm the car, it just makes the engine work without a lubricant, which is actually pretty bad. Instead, go easy on revving, and just let your car idle for about 30 seconds.

Sometimes to save on fuel, we tend to put the car in neutral and let it roll down the slope. The only flaw in this deed is that our ever-so-faithful brakes get used a little too much. The constant friction causes faster wear and tear of the brakes, causing them to become weaker with time.

The easiest way to avoid this from happening is to always drive down a slope in gear, and if you do need to slow down, press the clutch and the brake at the same time. This will help arrest any damage done to the brakes.

You should not wait till the light indicates that you need an oil change goes off. An oil change every 5000 miles is advised by most car experts to boost the performance of the car. When you do not change the oil in your car regularly, your car does not run smoothly.

Using a good quality oil really helps your car. Most car experts recommend using a good quality synthetic oil to improve a car’s performance.

Due to high-pressure jet sprays, some delicate parts, rubber seals, and wiring can get dislodged or completely come off. Even oil or grease that is actually good for the smooth running of the car gets completely washed off, making your engine literally dry. Driving a car with a smooth-running greasy engine is far better than driving one with a squeaky-clean engine – that will get spoiled in no time.

Instead of using a high-pressure spray, use a garden hose to just wash off the excessive grease. That’s all you need to do so that your engine is clean and still running well.

Not maintaining the right tire pressure does end up hampering the performance of your car. When the tire pressure is less, the car lags and pulls, and every bump on the road is felt. This is not good for the suspension of the car. When your car starts making noises, you should not ignore them. Noises are your car’s way of telling you that some part of your car needs repairs.

Driving with the right tire pressure makes your car fuel-efficient and smooth. In general, your car should not be making any noises except the permissible noises made by the engine.

It’s a known fact that no one is perfect when it comes to maintaining their cars. The least we can do is drive and maintain our four-wheeled companions in an optimum way to get the best results.

Interior maintenance is something that many of us neglect. The interiors of the car should be clean and hygienic. Whenever you open a candy wrapper and just throw it somewhere in your car, you are actually helping parasites and insects develop inside your car. Who would want to sit in a car that has fungus or cockroaches, or even flies? The thought of entering a badly kept car disgusts many people. The interior ruin of your car always starts with the first candy wrapper or the first cigarette that you light up, and it just escalates after that.

The easiest way to maintain your car’s interiors is to get it cleaned thoroughly once in two or three weeks. Vacuuming, shampooing, and polishing your car are tasks that will take a few hours of your time, but they just have to be done so that your car looks sparkling clean and well-maintained.

While fixing your car, insist on using original spare parts. It does not matter if they are a little more expensive because the original parts last much longer. Original parts are made keeping your car model in mind and are an exact fit.

When you use locally made parts instead of original parts, you might end up losing the warranty on the car, and/or face insurance problems. The main problem about locally made generic parts is that they are not made and tested by the original car company, and therefore may be faulty. It is always a wiser option to spend a little more on original parts, and be worry free for a long time, rather than scrounging and buying a generic part and keep spending later for the same thing.

Regular servicing is a must for every car. A trip to the mechanic for a car checkup and service after every 5000 miles that your car has run is advisable. Prolonging your visit to the mechanic may hamper the smooth running of your car. Changing the oil, air-filter, oil-filter, etc., are some of the most basic things that need to be looked into regularly to increase the performance of the car.

Regular servicing helps in the smooth functioning of the car, giving you a smoother drive, good pick-up and better fuel efficiency.

Fuel helps in cooling the fuel pump. So when you drive your car down till empty, you actually just end up cutting down the life of your car. When your car reaches one-fourth of a tankful, it is best to top it up. If you actually drive it till it’s empty, your car will just stop when you are driving, and pushing it till a gas station is a tedious task.

Some car experts say that driving the car until it’s empty causes the fuel injection system to get damaged. Another everyday thing that people do is filling in gas that has been adulterated. Low-quality fuel is like poison to the car and should never be used.

3. TRANSMISSION

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

The parking brake either is a small pedal located on the left or right side of your accelerator-brake setup or a lever between the two front seats. It is also known as the handbrake, emergency brake, and parking brake. A lot of people tend to park their cars in ‘drive’ or ‘park’, and completely forget to deploy the parking brake. What happens when you do this is, the pressure is put on the transmission of the vehicle to keep it in place, thus prematurely aging your car.

You should always use the parking brake whenever you park your car, be it on a slope or an even surface, and you must remember to disengage it before you start driving.

Shifting from ‘reverse’ to ‘drive’ while in motion is something that we all do when we are in a hurry to get somewhere. The thing is, inside our simple looking transmission lies a very complex set of gears, and when we shift without stopping the car completely, we put pressure on the gears, forcing them to change roles and work as brakes. We also miss out on the fact that we tend to damage the driving shafts while changing from reverse to drive when the car is still in motion, leading to bad suspensions and an even worse and worn-out transmission.

It takes about 5 seconds to stop the car completely and just shift from reverse to drive, but we do tend to disregard those 5 seconds and just shift in a hurry.

MANUAL TRANSMISSION

Driving the car in the same gear for a long time, or driving on a low gear, affects the fuel consumption, and can cause wear and tear of the transmission. You must always drive in the right gear for the speed you’re at. Laboring your car because you are in a higher gear turns your car into a fuel guzzler.

For example, you are driving in the fourth gear, and you get on a road that has a bit of an incline. You continue driving up the incline in the fourth gear, and your car starts vibrating, and in some cases, it feels as if the car is getting convulsions. This happens because the fourth gear gives the car speed, not power, and your car needs power when it’s on an incline.

For example, you are driving in the fourth gear, and you get on a road that has a bit of an incline. You continue driving up the incline in the fourth gear, and your car starts vibrating, and in some cases, it feels as if the car is getting convulsions. This happens because the fourth gear gives the car speed, not power, and your car needs power when it’s on an incline.

Not completely depressing the clutch while changing gears totally ruins your gearbox. In most cars, one cannot change gears without depressing the clutch, but in some cars that are old, you can change gears by just depressing the clutch up to about 90%. When you do not depress your clutch fully, the shifting of the gears become very rough due to lack of clutch fluid being released. This causes considerable damage to your gearbox and clutch plate.

The only way you can prevent this damage from occurring is by depressing the clutch fully.

4. EXHAUST EMISSIONS

Combustion could be an Ideal combustion or Bad combustion. What are these??

Are we aware?

  • How many of the car owners are aware of harmful gases that come out from the vehicle's exhaust. Emissions coming out from vehicles exhaust system contributes largely to the polluted environment.
  • Measuring these gases helps in great extent for troubleshooting the problem arises from the out of range value of these exhaust gases which may otherwise prove to be hazardous to the living being There are 5 major gases that need to be measured and maintained within given norms and standard to keep the pollution level at the minimum possible. These gases are as follows: HC, CO, CO2, O2 & NOx respectively.
  • Nowadays we have sophisticated tools to measure these 5 gases before and after service to know the actual effectiveness of repairs done on the cars.
  • These 5 gases are the result of combustion that takes place inside the cylinder of an engine. In a petrol engine mainly there are 2 main components that go inside the engine in order to combust and provide necessary thrust or power to drive the car.
  • Component -1 = Fuel (Hydrocarbons- Hydrogen + carbon)
  • Component -2 = Air (Nitrogen-78% + Oxygen-21%)In practical when Fuel and Air burns together they end up producing the following gases : HC , CO , CO2 , O2 & NOx.
  • We can use the readings of these gases as a clue in problem-solving. The problem could be in any one of these 4 areas: 1) Combustion 2) Air –Fuel Mixture, 3) Ignition system 4) Emissions control devices.
  • Ideal combustion is also known as complete combustion which every part of fuel burns up and nothing is leftover.
  • In order to burn the fuel, we need Air (Nitrogen+Oxygen) in correct proportion where oxygen is used up in combustion and nitrogen isn't but they expand with the heat which also helps in pushing the piston down.
  • The byproduct of ideal combustions is carbon dioxide, water vapour & nitrogen. These are not harmful and should ideally come out of combustion. Carbon dioxide is absorbed by the trees, but too much of carbon dioxide around has been blamed for global warming.
  • The chemical equation can be shown as below : HC + O2 + N2 = H2O + CO2 + N2. It’s a wish to see water and nitrogen as the only by-product.
  • Theoretically, the Air-fuel mixture in a ratio of 14.7 part of air is to 1 part of fuel must be achieved to burn up all available fuel in the combustion chamber.
  • Incomplete combustion is also known as bad combustion where all the toxic gases come out as byproduct contributing to air pollution.
  • One cannot eliminate these gases as it is impossible to achieve complete combustion by any engine seen under best tuning and condition.
  • Incomplete combustion creates unburned Hydrocarbons (HC) which goes into the engine but never burns up and comes out as it is. It also produces carbon monoxide due to insufficient oxygen where one atom of carbon combines with the single atom of oxygen.
  • The chemical equation looks like below : HC + O2 + N2 = H2O + CO2 + NOx + CO + HC.
  • Since we cannot eliminate these gases but definitely can be controlled within the specified range set up by the various pollution control act.
  • Sophisticated devices like catalytic converter in petrol cars help in reducing the existence of these toxic gases.

What are HC, CO, CO2, O2, NOx, A/F RATIO / LAMBDA gases and how it forms?

This represents Hydrocarbons and is commonly measured in PPM (parts per million). This is an unburned fuel that comes out of the exhaust as a result of incomplete or partial combustion inside the engine. This is dangerous and we must keep it as low as possible. Approximately 1% of wasted fuel represents the 200ppm of the same. hydrocarbons can be controlled if A/F ratio can be maintained within the range of 13.1: 1 to 1:1 as maximum. Higher HC values in ppm can lead to misfire which could either be lean misfire or rich misfire.

This represents carbon monoxide and is measured in terms of percentage of the total sample. This represents a fuel which has burned but not fully. This usually happens when oxygen is not enough when compared with fuel available inside the engine to be burned. Such cases are common due to rich A/F ratio. This gas was supposed to become CO2 but could not due either insufficient time or lack of O2. This is highly “ POISONOUS GAS “.

This is the most important factor in petrol engine combustion. The ideal stoichiometric ratio is defined as 14.7: 1 which means 14.7 part of air is just enough to burn the fuel part completely and thus leaving no trace of fuel leftover. The lambda value is represented as 1 at the stoichiometric ratio. As the lambda value goes above 1 it represents the leaner side and similarly, as it goes below one it represents the richer side. For example: If the Lambda value is 0.70, it represents the A/F ratio of 10.3: 1 which is by far a rich air-fuel mixture. Tracking this value can help us diagnose the problem.

This represents Carbon dioxide and is measured in terms of percentage of the total sample. The peak value of CO2 from the combustion indicates higher combustion efficiency. The ideal range represents somewhere between 13% to 17% as the maximum which indicates good combustion and less to worry.

This represents Oxygen and is measured in terms of percentage of the total sample. Excessive O2 in the exhaust due to more surplus O2 present in the mixture. The excess of O2 can also be seen through Lambda values in excess of 1. The stoichiometric ratio is 14.7: 1 where 14.7 is air & 1 is fuel. O2 also represents the catalytic converter efficiency and the type of A/F ratio whether rich or lean.

NOx is a generic term for the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution, namely nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tropospheric ozone.



  • “CO” & “O2” plays an important role as an indicator whether the engine is running on a rich mixture or lean mixture. Both these components are inversely proportioned to each other.
  • If HC increases as a result of a lean misfire, then O2 will also be on the higher side.
  • If HC increases as a result of a rich misfire, but CO may not necessarily be always on the higher side. It could either be low or could be more.
  • CO2 will undergo a reduction in both cases where there is an Air/fuel ratio imbalance or
  • Misfire due to the lean mixture or EGR related issues leads to high HC, high O2 but low CO.
  • Misfire due to excessive rich mixture leads to high HC, high O2, and high CO as well.

Sometimes diesel engines emit a white smoke while starting. The white smoke is due to unburnt fuel caused by improper heating. Diesel engines need high compression and heat for fuel combustion. It can be especially difficult to start a diesel engine during cold weather. Diesel with an engine temperature below about 80 degrees Fahrenheit will produce some white smoke during the first few seconds after startup. The content of white smoke is finely atomized raw fuel and water vapor. Most diesel cars and light trucks have glow plugs that help to heat the engine. If the glow plugs burn out or the glow plug control modules do not keep them on long enough for adequate heating, then the engine will get increasingly difficult to start and produce white smoke for several minutes until it warms up. The level of white smoke will reduce as all cylinders start firing normally.

  • Burnt glow plugs
  • Incorrect Ignition timing
  • Compression problems – If a cylinder has significantly lower compression pressure than others. Minimum compression pressure should be 275 psi at cranking speed.
  • Blown Head Gasket
  • Poorly sealed piston rings
  • Leaky valves
  • Cracked Head
  • Cracked Block
  • Injector is stuck or not working
  • Clogged air filter
  • Defective waste gate such as an actuator, vacuum line, etc.
  • Poor fuel quality
  • Low coolant temperature

The major cause of white smoke is inadequate heat. The low temperature at which fuel burns within the engine causes white smoke emissions and can be corrected easily by installing a low cost heating system. Our Automatic Engine heating system which along with standard pre-heating has optional simultaneous and post heating option and will eliminate white smoke emissions during startup.

5. DIESEL PARTICULATE FILTER

It stands for " DIESEL PARTICULATE FILTER "

To remove particulate matter or soot coming out of diesel engine.

In the exhaust system before or after the catalytic converter.

Honeycomb type

Cordierite wall flow filters/silicon carbide wall-flow filters/metal fibre filters/metal fibre flow through filters / partial filters.

Because of the strict pollution control norms in euro-4 onwards in a diesel car. particulate matter or soot is extremely harmful.

DPF mainly constructed in a honeycomb type structure inside with a metal body on the outside to protect it. DPF with microscopic channel inside are able to trap the particulate matter or soot inside them and only allowing the gas to pass through. since their job is to trap 95% of the soot, they tend to get clogged thus require a necessary regeneration cycle to activate in order to burn off all the soot. Regeneration means extreme heat up to 600 degrees Celsius temperature to burn soot.

There are three types of regeneration applied in a diesel car

  1. SPONTANEOUS
  2. DYNAMIC
  3. SERVICE

This regeneration cycle occurs when DPF reaches a temperature of 600 degrees Celcius it happens by itself. As long as spontaneous regeneration is happening on a regular basis, the dynamic regeneration may not be required.

When spontaneous regeneration does not occur then Dynamic regeneration plays a big role as DPF tends to get clogged and reaches its storage capacity this will be indicated by the DPF light indication on the dashboard which remains stand still until the dynamic cycle is successfully completed. For dynamic cycle to be successful one has to take his/her car on the highway and drive on constant high speed for at least 20 minutes without interrupting the engine by means of a number of short trips within city area by way of braking or keeping it on idling. the dynamic cycle will attempt two or more times before flashing the light indicating the necessity for service regeneration.

The flashing DPF light warning indicates the time for service regeneration. The service regeneration must be instigated using a scan tool to perform accurately during the service regeneration, the extra fuel is added to the post injection in the form of pulses. This lead to a very high temperature of 600 degrees Celcius which leads to the burning of soot thus removing the blockage from DPF. Successful service regeneration will extend the life of a DPF otherwise if service regeneration is not successfully carried out due to delay in action or some other circumstances, one has to get it to replaced with the new one which is definitely a costly affair.

Poor engine performance.

DPF warning light on the dashboard.

It is mandatory to have DPF in all diesel cars from euro-v onwards.

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