Fuel injectors are sophisticated components that serve to deliver the right mixture of fuel and air to a vehicle's engine. The small cylindrical injectors play a unique role in the complex fuel system, along with other elements such as the petrol pump and the fuel tank. With use, injectors may need some inspection and some maintenance, as they are vulnerable to certain types of wear and generally won't last forever. If you need to check your gasoline injectors to make sure they are working properly, here are several of the most basic steps, suggested by mechanics and automotive professionals with extensive knowledge of the fuel system.
Steps
Step 1. Remove the injectors, or connecting cables, if necessary
For some checks it is necessary to remove the injectors from their housing; to check them with an ohm meter, instead, just disconnect the electric cables from the injectors.
Step 2. Check the injectors with electronic tools
The electronic injection system relies on electrical pulses to control the operation of the injectors, so using a multimeter or ohmmeter you can check the electrical resistance of each individual injector and make sure it is working properly. There are two types of electronic systems that control the injectors: high impedance or low impedance. The injectors for the first type of system will have a variable resistance between 12 and 17 ohms, while the others are generally between 2 and 5 ohms. Check, by contacting the manufacturer, which type of injectors is fitted to your engine.
Step 3. Decipher the sounds
In addition to electronically checking an injector, you can check for some characteristic noises that can reveal an injector malfunction: a thud and similar sounds can indicate that the injector is not working properly.
Step 4. Check the petrol injectors manually
Auto accessories stores and workshops sell various appliances that will manually check and clean the injectors. With these objects you can check if the injector is really emitting the jet of vaporized fuel it should spray.
- Test the fuel flow. Many of these devices have a fuel flow check function to check how much fuel they are actually injecting into the intake duct.
- Check the shape of the jet. Over time, the injector can become clogged and the original jet may shrink. The manual check can check if this has happened by putting the injector under pressure and checking the shape of the fuel jet.
- Use hand tools to clean the injectors. Many of these machines have the ability to remove injector clogging and restore proper functionality.
Advice
- Know your particular injection system. Experts point out that there are single point (a single injector for all cylinders) and multipoint (one injector for each cylinder) systems, which can have significant differences on how an injector should work and how it can wear out.
- Consider doing preventative maintenance. Checking and cleaning the injectors every 40,000 km (or once a year) will help your car's engine run better even after a long time.
- Check other parts, such as the fuel filter. The fuel filter cleans the fuel before it reaches the injectors; if the filter does not work properly, this will have a significant impact on the behavior of the injectors. Together with the petrol filter, it is also better to check objects that work on the air drawn in by the engine, such as the air filter, to improve the functioning of the engine thanks to a correct air / fuel ratio.
