Courses

Automotive Electrics

General

Course Contents

Automotive electronic drawing elements: Symbols, elements, grounding, connections, automotive drawings study.
• Automotive Electrical Systems: Historical background, presentation of different electrical systems in vehicle types.
• Lighting systems. Purpose, categories. Incandescent, iodine, vacuum lamps. Conductors, cross section calculation, voltage drop calculation, fuses.
Lighting circuit analysis: Course, intersection, parking, direction, braking (stop), reversing, etc., trailers. Control instruments. Light regulator. Legislation.
• Electricity generation and storage systems: Inputs, role of the system in the vehicle, circuits
• Batteries: battery connections, construction and specifications, size calculations, properties, faults. Rated voltage, operating voltage, open circuit
voltage, starting current, battery capacity, charging status, charging / discharging mode.
• Automotive generators: DC generators (dynamos). AC generators (Alternators). Constructional and functional characteristics. Rectifier. Voltage
regulators (electromagnetic regulator, electronic voltage regulator). Related circuits.
• Starting system: Automotive starters, operation, categories, construction characteristics, starting current calculations.
• Ignition systems: Categories, ignition coils, distribution angle, operation angle, Dwell angle. Conventional ignition. Inductive electronic ignition. Electronic capacitive ignition. Piezoelectric electronic ignition. Distributorless Ignition System (DIS), Integrated Electronic Ignition. Ignition switch sensors: pulse generators, inductive, Hall effect, photoelectric.
Laboratory experiments:
• Static automotive generator diagnosis (dynamo, alternator). Alternator dynamic behavior.
• Starter.
• Conventional ignition. Electronic ignition. Hall sensor electronic ignition. Voltage and current waveform analysis, distribution, operation and Dwell angle calculation, troubleshooting.

Educational Goals

With the successful attendance of the course the student must be able
• to recognize and describe the basic automotive lighting circuits, charging circuits, starting circuits and ignition circuits
• to understand and correctly estimate the devices of automotive electric systems
• to calculate the requirements of automotive electric systems
• to satisfactorily present a subject related to automotive electric systems
• to develop simplified automotive lighting and ignition systems and handle special measuring and diagnostic devices
• to analyse the structure of an automotive electric system and redesign it

General Skills

Research, analysis and synthesis of data and information, using corresponding technologies, decision making, team work, implementing criticism and self-criticism, promotion of free, creative and inductive thinking.

Teaching Methods

Lectures, Exercises, Online guidance, Projected Presentations, E-mail communication, Online Synchronous and Asynchronous Teaching Platform (moodle). The course is supported by equipment for the experimental verification of the theory and measurement of parameters of energy sources and electronic ignition systems of ICEs.

Students Evaluation

Assessment Language: English / Greek
The final grade of the course is formed by 70% by the grade of the theoretical part and by 30% by the grade of the laboratory part.
1. The grade of the theoretical part is formed by a written final examination. The written final examination of the theoretical part may include:
Solving problems of application of the acquired knowledge, Short answer questions etc
2. The examination of the Laboratory Exercises is carried out with the continuous evaluation of the laboratory skills and the theoretical knowledge that were acquired in the course by the method of continuous evaluation and submission of weekly assignments. For the award of credits, both the total grade of the course and the independent grade in each of the assessment methods 1, 2 must be at least five. The assessment criteria are accessible to students from the course website.

Recommended Bibliography

1. T. Denton, Automobile electrical and electronic systems. 4th edition, Routledge, 2012.
2. J. Halderman and C. Mitchell, Automotive Electricity and Electronics. Prentice Hall, 2004.
3. Robert Bosch GmbH, Bosch Handbook for Automotive Electrics – Automotive Electronics. 5th Edition, 2007.
4. W. Ribbens, Understanding Automotive Electronics. Society of Automotive Engineers Inc., 2003.
5. J. Erjavec, Automotive Technology: A Systems Approach. CENGAGE Delmar Learning, 2004.
6. B. Hollembeak, Today’s Technician: Automotive Electricity and Electronics (Classroom and shop manual set). CENGAGE Delmar Learning, 2006.
7. Robert Bosch, Motor-Vehicle Batteries and Electrical Systems (The Bosch Yellow Jackets). Robert Bosch GmbH, 2003.