Automotive Technology: A Systems Approach 7th Edition

Book Preface

About the Book

Manufacturers have made major and constant changes to the various systems of an automobile, and the integration and codependence of those sys-tems have made becoming a successful technician more challenging than ever. This book, Automotive Technology: A Systems Approach, was designed and written to prepare students for those challenges. The basic premise is “with students having so much to learn in a short time, why fill the pages of a textbook with information they do not need?” The emphasis of this book is on those things that students need to know about the vehicles of today and tomorrow.
This does not mean that the pages are filled with fact after fact. Rather, each topic is explained in a log-ical way, slowly but surely. With more than 45 years of combined teaching experience, we believe we have a good sense of how students read and understand technical material. We also know what things draw their interest into a topic and keep it there. These things have been incorporated in the writing and fea-tures of the book.

This new edition of Automotive Technology: A Sys-tems Approach represents the many changes that have taken place in the automotive industry over the past few years. With each new edition, the challenge of what to include and what to delete presents itself. We hope that we have made the right choices. of course, if we did, much of the credit is due to the feedback we have received from users of the previous edition and those who reviewed this new edition while it was in the making. They all did a fantastic job and showed that they are truly dedicated to automotive education.

New to this Edition

This seventh edition is not the sixth edition with a new cover and some new pictures. Although much of the information from the previous edition was retained, each chapter has been updated in response to the changing industry. In addition, there are some new features that should be helpful to students and their instructors. We have made sure that all of the latest ASE program standards are covered in this text.

Regardless of the level of program accreditation, you will find the appropriate information in this book.
The first section of chapters gives an overview of the automotive industry, careers, working as a tech-nician, tools, diagnostic equipment, and basic auto-motive systems. The content of these chapters has been updated and arranged to prepare students for the responsibilities and demands of a career as an automotive technician.
Chapter 1 explores the career opportunities in the automotive industry. This discussion has been expanded to include more information about ASE certification and testing. Chapter 2 covers work-place skills and the ways to go about seeking and selecting a job in the automotive field. This chapter goes through the process of getting a job and keep-ing it. It also covers some of the duties common to all automotive technicians. This chapter has been updated to include online resources.
Chapter 3 covers the science and math principles that are the basis for the operating principles of an auto-mobile. Too often, we, as instructors assume that our students know these basics. This chapter is included to serve as a reference for those students who want to be good technicians. To do that they need a better under-standing of why things happen the way they do.
Chapter 4 covers the basic systems of the auto-mobile in a very basic approach and has been updated to include hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels. Chap-ters 5 through 7 cover very important issues regarding the use and care of hand tools, shop equipment, and safety issues (including bloodborne pathogens). Throughout these chapters, there is a strong emphasis on safely working on today’s vehicles and the correct tools required to do so. Chapter 6 gives a brief look at the special and diagnostic tools required for working in each of the eight primary ASE certification areas. The tools discussed include all of the required tools for each area as defined by the ASE Education Foundation (formerly NATEF).
Chapter 8 covers the procedures involved in com-mon safety inspections and preventive maintenance programs. Because the industry has more hybrid vehicles than in previous years, basic maintenance for those vehicles has been included.
Section 2, which contains the chapters on engines, has been updated to include more coverage on the lat-est engine designs and technologies. There is more coverage on the theory, diagnosis, and service to alloy engines and overhead camshaft engines. There are also discussions on the latest trends, including variable valve timing and lift and cylinder disabling systems. A discussion of light-duty diesel engines and those engines used in hybrid vehicles is also part of the entire section.
It is nearly impossible to work on modern cars and trucks without a solid understanding of basic electric-ity and electronics as contained in Section 3. As a result, little has been deleted from those chapters while new information has been added to keep up with cur-rent technology. Coverage of all the major electrical systems has been increased to include new technolo-gies. This includes high-voltage systems, new exterior lighting systems, adaptive systems (such as cruise control), semi-autonomous and autonomous driving technologies, and many new accessories. The rest of the section has been brought up to date with addi-tional coverage on body computers and the use of lab scopes and graphing meters.
The entire Engine Performance section (Section 4) has been updated from the introductory chapters to those that deal with overall engine performance testing. The layout represents the approach taken by most experienced technicians. It is hoped that students will be able to grasp a global look at these systems and can become better diagnosticians. The revision of the sec-tion covers the individual engine performance systems, their operation, and how to test them with current diag-nostic equipment. Added emphasis on diagnostics was the main goal of the revision of the rest of this section.
Included in this section are three chapters that deal with some of the dynamic aspects of the auto-motive industry. Chapter 28 is dedicated to gasoline, diesel, and other fuels. It also covers the operation and service of light-duty diesel engines, including their injection and emission control systems. Due to the increasing number of hybrid and electric vehicles on the road, this edition has an entire chapter dedi-cated to hybrid vehicles in addition to the information that appears in various chapters. Chapter 36 focuses on currently available electric and fuel cell vehicles.
Sections 5 and 6 cover transmissions and drive-lines. All of the chapters in these sections have been updated to include more coverage on electronic con-trols. There is also more coverage on six-, seven-, and eight and ten-speed transmissions, automatic manual transmissions, new differential designs, and electronic automatic transmissions and transaxles. In addition, there is complete coverage on the transmissions used in today’s hybrid vehicles. There is a comprehensive look at torque vectoring systems, which are becom-ing more common on all types of vehicles.
The suspension and steering systems section has increased coverage on electronic controls and systems. This includes the new designs of shock absorbers and four-wheel steering systems. Chap-ter 49 has been updated to include the latest tech-niques for performing a four-wheel alignment.
The Brakes section has also been updated to reflect current technology. This includes the latest antilock brake, stability control, and traction control systems.
Heating and air-conditioning systems are cov-ered in Section 9. The content in Chapters 54 and 55 includes hybrid systems, R-1234yf components and service, as well as future refrigerants.
Organization and
Goals of this Edition
This edition is still a comprehensive guide to the ser-vice and repair of our contemporary automobiles. It is still divided into nine sections that relate to the spe-cific automotive systems. The chapters within each section describe the various subsystems and individ-ual components. Diagnostic and service procedures that are unique to different automobile manufacturers also are included in these chapters. Because many automotive systems are integrated, the chapters explain these important relationships in great detail. It is important to note that all of latest ASE Education Alliance standards are addressed in this edition.
Effective diagnostic skills begin with learning to isolate the problem. The exact cause is easier to pin-point by identifying the system that contains the problem. Learning to think logically about trouble-shooting problems is crucial to mastering this essen-tial skill. Therefore, logical troubleshooting techniques are discussed throughout this text. Each chapter describes ways to isolate the problem system and then the individual components of that system.
This systems approach gives the student import-ant preparation opportunities for the ASE certifica-tion exams. These exams are categorized by the automobile’s major systems. The book’s sections are outlined to match the ASE test specifications and competency task lists. The review questions at the end of every chapter give students practice in answering ASE-style review questions.
More importantly, a systems approach allows stu-dents to have a better understanding of the total vehi-cle. With this understanding, they have a good chance for a successful career as an automotive technician. That is the single most important goal of this text.