Valve start-stop for rectification. Why is it better to avoid using the start-stop system? The start-stop system leads to rapid engine wear

Caring for the environment is the motto of every car manufacturer. This feeling appears after the release of another new product, which allows you to reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere and save fuel. Let's talk about an electronic device for a Start-Stop car.

What it is?

The main idea of Start-Stop is to turn off the engine in a situation when it is not required to work. For example, when idle in traffic jams, or while waiting for a green traffic light. When we drove up to a traffic light and stopped the car, it will automatically turn off the engine. As soon as you take your foot off the brake pedal and press the gas, the car will start on its own.

It is clear that this will significantly increase the number of engine starts. This leads to the installation of a reinforced starter (it has six brushes instead of four in the usual one), as well as a high-capacity battery of the AGM type with an increased charge-discharge cycle. The battery can quickly accept a charge, it tolerates cyclic loads well, is not afraid of deep discharges and frosts, and has a double resource. Some devices use a generator as a starter, which makes starting noiseless.

The system is completely based on electronic sensors and a motor control unit, and the sensors are located on all leading vehicle components: wheels, battery, crankshaft, gearbox, generator.

When the car stops, the speed sensor sends the ECU (to the "brains" of the car) a signal to turn off the engine. If the battery charge level allows it, the motor stops. Automatic engine start occurs only in neutral gear. The signal is pressing the accelerator pedal or, with an automatic transmission, releasing the brake pedal.

Principle of operation and device

The most common Bosch system today uses a reinforced starter (4) and a generator (8). The operation of the system is controlled by the standard engine control unit (1) with modified software. It is he who turns off the engine according to signals from the wheel speed sensors (6). The sensors on the clutch and brake pedals, not shown in the diagram, give a start-up welcome.

The sensors for the position of the manual transmission lever (6) and the degree of charge of the battery (3) are needed to block the engine stop if the energy in the battery is low or any gear is engaged. And the crankshaft position sensor (7) - for precise stopping of the pistons in the optimal position for the next start. A stabilizer compensating for the voltage “drop” (2) during engine start-up is necessary for the normal operation of on-board consumers.

Does it save fuel?

The principle of operation is not very complicated. A feature of the "Start-Stop" system is frequent engine start, which cannot, will not affect its resource. And the projected fuel savings for motorists is no more than 8 percent. This is ideal, in practice the savings are even less. Yes, what kind of fuel economy can we talk about when buying a premium car!

Usually, cars are equipped with the system by default, so its real cost is difficult to calculate. Independent companies will install it at 30,000 rubles. It is easy to calculate that to justify this amount, you need to drive along the central streets of the city at rush hour for more than one year, and stand idle in long traffic jams.

Suppose that Start-Stop saves 200-300 ml of fuel per 100 km of run. We drive about 30,000 km a year. As a result, the savings for a motorist will be 60-80 liters of fuel. Think for yourself. If you often drive around the city, then the effect will be even greater. When driving on the highway - the meaning is lost. And at traffic lights with a delay of 120-140 seconds, you can turn off the engine yourself.

Cars with a start-stop system do not have an ordinary battery. It has increased capacity and is able to support more charge-discharge cycles. Finding a replacement for him is not easy. You can put the original, but it is very expensive, or looking for a substitute, which is also not easy. And for example, on some cars, before replacing this battery, you need to perform a number of manipulations. For example, register it in the electronic unit of the car and reset the age of the battery and the number of motor starts. Those. make friends the battery and the "brains" of the car.

The Start-Stop device is an expensive toy for car enthusiasts. She is equipped with many cars in the database, which are more expensive than a million. You can personally check the advantages and disadvantages on your own experience. If you don't like it, you can always turn it off with a button on the instrument panel. But it makes no sense to choose a car, given the availability of this option.

Many of you have heard of a system called Start-stop and, of course, everyone at least once wondered what kind of system this is and what role it plays in my (or someone else's) car. Today I want to answer all the questions and tell you what the Start-stop system is, about its main functions, as well as why it is so useful for you, your car and the environment.

So let's go in order ...

The Start-Stop System was invented with the aim of:

Reduce emissions of harmful CO into the atmosphere.
and, of course, money.
Reduce the amount of noise emitted by the car by reducing the idle speed of the internal combustion engine.

In the era of environmental disasters and global warming, environmentalists and statisticians began to pay attention to the little things that are actually quite large sources of atmospheric pollution. So, once a study was made, as a result of which it turned out that about 30% of the total operating time of the vehicle, it works at idle. I think it's not worth explaining where these 30% come from, every motorist knows how much they have to stand idle every day with the engine running at traffic lights, in traffic jams during rush hour, etc.

Therefore, the emergence start-stop systems is a logical solution to the above problem. More recently, Start-stop was installed exclusively on hybrid models, but as practice has shown, cars with classic engines running on heavy fuel or traditional gasoline need it no less. Experts predict that next 2015, about 50% of all cars produced in the world will be equipped with a start-stop system.

We talked about the history of occurrence and numbers, now let's figure it out, what is start-stop system and how it works.

And the principle of operation of the Start-stop system is ridiculously simple and banal - when you drive, the engine runs, stops, the engine stalls. In this case, the engine starts after stopping it, for example, at a traffic light, is carried out automatically when the brake pedal is released, or when the clutch pedal is pressed.

What does the start-stop system consist of? The system includes:

Special control system.
A device that provides a timely multiple start.

There are several principles for implementing the function of stopping and starting the engine, among them:

Reinforced launch.
By injecting fuel into the cylinders and then igniting the mixture.
By means of a reversing (starter-generator).

The simplest and at the same time reliable from a constructive point of view is considered to be the system Stop & Start from the world famous Bosch company. It was the development of this company that became the prototype for all systems of this class, in addition, the name of the system "stuck" to all analogs produced by other companies. This story is reminiscent of the story with Webasto (the name of the company that invented the first preheating of the engine, as a result, now whoever produces such a mechanism is popularly called Webasto). The Start-Stop system from Bosch aggregates cars from the world's most famous companies: Audi, BMW and others. According to research data, fuel consumption after using this installation has significantly decreased, and the percentage of harmful CO emissions was less than 8%.

This system is based on a special starter, which is designed for a huge number of engine starts and a service life that is much longer than conventional starters. The starter uses an almost silent drive mechanism, which guarantees an instant quiet start of the motor.

The Start-stop system is capable of performing:

Starting the motor.
Stop it.
And also to control the charge of the storage battery (accumulator battery).

The start-stop system is based on:

Control unit.
Input sensors.
Executive devices.

Input sensors mean: the clutch pedal position sensor (or the brake pedal in the case of an automatic transmission), the crankshaft speed sensor, the battery sensor, as well as a few more less important sensors of the internal combustion engine control system.

The system does not have a separate electronic unit, instead an ECU (electronic engine control unit) is used, which contains the corresponding software.

The executive devices include:

Starter.
injection systems.
ignition systems.

How does the start-stop system work?

How the Start & Stop system works is constructed in such a way that in the event of a complete stop of the car at a traffic light or in a traffic jam, the "smart" system, guided by certain algorithms and data received from the crankshaft rotation speed sensor, stops the engine. At this time, the power supply of electrical consumers (radio tape recorder, air conditioner, etc.) is switched to the battery. When the clutch pedal is depressed (or the brake pedal is released in the case of an automatic transmission), the system automatically activates the starter, which instantly starts the engine. The number of cycles is not limited and can be repeated indefinitely.

If, the corresponding sensor notifies the system, which will shutdown the system. The reverse activation of the Start-Stop system will be performed after the battery charging sensor reports that there is enough power in the battery for the system to work properly. Besides. the driver can manually shut off this system by himself; for this, the manufacturer provides a special button located on the instrument panel.

Kia Motors has its own start-stop system with a similar design, it is called - ISG (Idle Stop & Go)... The main difference of this system is the ability to control the car generator in a special way. The ISG system is able to turn off the generator during peak engine loads, this is done in order to remove the load and thereby save fuel consumption. Conversely, when the driver presses the brake pedal and the engine does not need power, the ISG turns on the generator and recharges the battery. If the battery charge drops below 75% of the level, the system will shutdown itself.

Another equally successful system, Valeo's STARS (Starter Alternator Reversible System), uses a reversible generator to save fuel. Cars of such companies as Mercedes and Citroen are equipped with this system, thanks to it car owners manage to achieve more than 10% fuel economy.

What is a Reversing Oscillator? Roughly speaking, this is an alternating current electric machine, capable of alternating (changing) its work, performing, depending on the need, either the function of a generator, then the function of a starter. The operation of this starter-generator is designed in such a way that it can transmit force in two different directions using a special drive belt and a reversible tensioner. The reverse generator works quietly and has a much shorter starting time - 0.4 seconds, for comparison with a simple starter this time is 0.8 seconds.

Unlike the "Bosch" control system STARS carried out by a separate ECU interacting with the electronic control unit of the internal combustion engine. Everything else - input sensors and other parts are almost identical to the system Start-stop from Bosch.

A new word among this kind of systems can be considered a relatively young system that uses regenerative braking, thereby forming an additional source of energy that allows you to reduce fuel consumption. The battery is charged when the vehicle is braking.

SISS (Smart Idle Stop System)- a personal development of Mazda, which successfully competes with other Start-Stop systems. Here, the engine is started by injecting fuel into the cylinders and then igniting it. This installation mainly aggregates gasoline units in which the function of direct fuel injection is implemented.

In order to ensure optimal operation of the SISS system, the pistons in the engine cylinders are stopped in a certain position, which is most optimal for the subsequent start of the engine. At the start, a certain part of the fuel is supplied to the cylinders, then it is ignited and the engine starts up again. The starter is briefly engaged to assist the engine in starting. This technology saves about 9% of fuel, the disadvantage is that the system works exclusively with automatic transmissions.

Also read:

If you bought a new car 2, 3 - 5 years ago and the car you were buying was of a middle or higher price category, most likely your car has one of the modern technologies that mercilessly turns off the engine at every stop if the car freezes for more than 1-2 seconds. All this disgrace is called the Start-Stop system, and it was made for the sake of ecology and economy. Is the game worth the candle, let's figure it out.

The Start-Stop system is being billed as a technology that is being promoted as one of the most ingenious developments in the automotive industry, next in importance to the invention of windscreen wipers or rear-view mirrors. Some automakers also refer to this feature as "micro-hybrid technology". Why? We will explain this shortly.

In theory, the Start-Stop system has nothing but advantages. Do you want to minimize fuel consumption in the city and traffic jams? The new function is able to provide you with it! Take care of mother nature and do not want to cause the extinction of penguin colonies in Antarctica? Your desires here can be satisfied by this simple system, the amount of emissions in the city, according to statistics, for cars equipped with it really decreases.

As is known from the official nomenclature, the Start-Stop system simply turns off the internal combustion engine (ICE), preventing it from idling during long (often completely short) stops. When you need to get under way, the device literally starts by magic, as soon as you take your foot off the brake pedal or press the clutch to engage first gear.

New vehicles equipped with the latest versions of the system go from "off" to "on" almost imperceptibly, in the blink of an eye, literally.

Does the start-stop system harm the car's starter?

Since the system can be fired many times in a short period of time, this can place a serious strain on the standard starter, causing it to fail prematurely. Therefore, cars that have a similar system use reinforced electric launchers designed to work in difficult conditions with large repeated loads. Such reinforced elements are really capable of extending life and surviving stress.

Cars are also fitted with higher-quality, larger-capacity batteries or supplementary batteries, which are recharged in some vehicles through the regenerative braking system to recharge them, thereby making them micro-hybrids. In the general scheme of the hybrid car family, micro-hybrids are one step below the so-called "mild" hybrids (Mild Hybrid), and two steps behind conventional hybrid car types. *

* If you want to know how many types of hybrids exist and how they differ from each other, go to our article: We will put everything on the shelves for you there.

Some automakers resort to what is known as an integrated starter-generator (ISG) circuit, while others only use a heavy-duty starter, which does all the hard work of the day. Both versions of the Start-Stop system work in a similar way and achieve the same effect, improving fuel economy by shutting off the engine at stops and starting it in a minimum amount of time when it is necessary to start driving.

If we answer the earlier question about the harmful effect of the system on the starter, then there are no official statistics on this score yet. But from scraps of data collected from various sources, it is known that the owners of cars equipped with the Start-Stop function have already faced premature starter failure. Is this a direct influence of the system? Most likely, yes, judging by what loads the starter experiences during such intensive work, however, we will not officially blame the system for the failure of the launchers.

All this is good and wonderful, moreover, it should be borne in mind that this technology is not expensive and weighs much less compared to those pood "weights" that are found in conventional hybrid cars in the form of batteries and electric motors. Everything is very cool and thoughtful.

And yet, is everything really as cloudless as the automakers are trying to present it to us? Are there really no flaws?

1. The Start-Stop system destroys the batteries

Modern cars have so many electronics and electricity consumers that they need a lot of electricity to keep going, especially when the main "volt-to-battery" distributor shuts down. Headlights, climate control, audio system, even airbags will not go off if there is no electricity. This is why in cars with Start-Stop the battery goes through much more testing and is significantly more stressed than in cars with standard operation.

2. Start-Stop will shorten the life of the machine, but it is beneficial for manufacturers

You will probably say: "Hey, stop slandering! Automakers are not stupid, they have thousands of engineers who have already thought for us about what is good for the car and what is not. Everything is calculated!" Of course, I am also sure that they did it, they calculated everything ... Only in whose favor? Don't forget, the auto business is, first of all, the business. And their main goal is to sell cars, as many cars as possible. We live in the 21st century, no one else produces cars that can drive for decades and run over millions of kilometers during this time. Now everything is strictly limited, you want to drive, or pay exorbitant prices for spare parts.

3. Turbocharging is afraid of this system like fire

Secondly, and this is a much more important factor, in most modern cars, it is also done mainly in the name of efficiency. You probably know to what high temperatures a turbine can heat up under load. Older guys may remember that in every manual for a turbocharged car, the most important postscript was always written, which urged drivers, after an intense or high-speed trip, NOT to turn off the engine immediately, but to drive it for a minute or two at idle, allowing the turbine to cool down. Even turbo timers were invented for these purposes, for those who value time and the good condition of the car is important.

Most new turbocharged cars use ball bearing turbochargers, they are oil and water cooled, which should guarantee a reduced risk of overheating when a hot turbine is suddenly turned off or coking in the oil passages. Note that the risks are only diminishing, but not going anywhere.

Therefore, I'm not entirely sure that the start-stop system on high-performance turbocharged cars like the BMW M-Series or Mercedes-AMG is a good option to keep their engines in good working order for many years.

And yet, can you imagine what will happen to multi-turbine engines, which will soon have two, three, and even a turbocharger?

4. The start-stop system leads to rapid engine wear

Last but certainly not least, even if you don't have a turbocharged internal combustion engine under the hood, but your car turns off the engine every time you stop, you will face a problem of durability, this time of the engine itself. Judge for yourself, a normal engine goes through about 50,000-100,000 start and stop cycles during its life. The supplied motor goes through a million / million (?) Of these cycles in the same period.