The Electronic Control Unit or ECU is considered as one of the most important parts of a vehicle. In a car there are multiple ECUs that can perform different features and also control multiple parameters of a car. To be more specific, it can be said that the Electronic Control Unit is a device that can control all the electronic features in a car. This operation may range from fuel injection to maintaining the perfect temperature of a cabin to controlling braking as well as suspension. There are certain vehicles that have multiple ECUs to control different features while some cars have a single one which is capable of controlling everything. ADAS processor is one of the best ECUs that has more accurate sensors and also the ability to deliver the data in time.
Types of ECUs and their functions
With vehicles having multiple ECUs, the ECUs can be divided on the basis of tasks they perform. Some of the ECUs are as follows:
- Engine Control Module: The ECMs with its active sensors ensures the amount of fuel as well as the ignition timing to get the best power as well as economy out of the engine.
- Brake Control Module: The Brake Control Modules are mostly used in vehicles with Anti-lock Braking System to make sure that the wheels are not skidding. It also determines when to trigger braking and let go of the brake to ensure that the wheels don’t lock up.
- Control Module: The TCMs are used mostly in automatic vehicles and it ensures that the driver gets the smoothest shifts possible by assessing the engine RPM as well as the acceleration of the car.Telematic Control Module: the TCM also comes with the same abbreviation and it ensures that the cars onboard services are up and running. It helps in controlling the satellite navigation, internet as well as the phone connection of the vehicle.
- Suspension Control Module: The SCMs are present in cars which have active suspension systems and it ensures the correct ride height and optimal changes to suspension depending on the condition of the driving.
Working principles of Electric Control Unit
The working principle of an ECU might seem quite complicated to an individual, but it is actually not so. It is like any other normal electronic device which has base numbers as well as parameters filled in its memory. There are multiple sensors around a vehicle and it can feed the ECU data to manage and control the electronic systems efficiently by providing orders to improve their outputs.
For instance, the cars have sensors around it-selves which are called crash sensors which signal the ECUs when a crash has occurred. The ECU then measures the speed of the vehicle during the time it undergoes an accident and then by utilizing its onboard memory it determines whether or not it should launch the airbags. If the data provides enough reason, then the ECU deploys the airbags. This entire procedure is carried out in some milliseconds.
Problems faced by a car with faulty ESUs
The worst thing that a car can ever have is a faulty ESU. Tough even a faulty ECU works in a car but its performance will be affected heavily. A car owner with faulty ESU will witness sudden drops in fuel economy and jerky gear shifts.
What happens when an ESU is dead?
If the ESU of a car is dead then the car will not start at all. The ESU is the main technology that controls the ignition of a car, so a dead one will never start a car at all. If the engine fails to start, then all the other features will not work.
Designing an Electronic Control Unit
For developing an ESU, both hardware as well as software is required to perform the functions expected from that specific module. The automotive ESUs are developed from the V-model. Recently the manufacturers of ESUs are dedicating a significant amount of time in order to develop safe modules by following standards like ISO 26262. This module is developed totally from scratch.
In the development cycle the manufacturers perform detailed FMEAs and other failure analysis to check that the ESU is running perfectly and increase the overall safety of the vehicle.