Drive-By Wire Technology for Newer Cars

Electronic Throttle

Vehicles today no-longer have a throttle cable connected to the accelerator pedal from inside your car, to the engine under the hood.  Current technology has largely replaced the old way of using mechanical cables to push and pull devices to get them to perform an important function of controlling a mechanism because they often fail or wear-out much quicker than the alternative.  When it comes to modern vehicles, they are all mostly computer controlled to increase fuel economy, power, and performance, in an effort of minimizing driver error.

The accelerator pedal in any newer vehicle is more than likely using a spring-loaded electronic sensor that is connected by electrical wires to the throttle actuator on the engine, but first goes though a computer processor that monitors and controls most operations of the vehicle.

Electronic Throttle Body

The throttle actuator on the engine is an electronic servo that manually opens and closes a large butterfly valve to control the air intake into the engine for smooth operation.  At the same time, the electrical signal also tells the fuel injectors of each cylinder to either increase or decrease the amount of fuel injected into that cylinder, which will either increase or decrease the power and performance of the vehicle.

These engine controls work together in unison as part of a completely electronically controlled vehicle system to gain better efficiency, performance, and to correct driver error.  These systems also play into other vehicle systems such as assisted steering and assisted braking for example.

As with most systems in a vehicle, if there is a problem in the throttle system, an accelerator warning light will become illuminated on the instrument cluster.  When this happens, you should take your vehicle to a reliable service repair shop to have the system inspected and repaired as soon as possible.  A faulty throttle control system can make your vehicle operate erratically, or not at all if not corrected soon enough.

Drive-By Wire Technology is the wave of current technology for never cars.  Not only does in help your car run more efficiently, but provides for optimal performance, including added fuel economy.

For more information on Drive-By Wire Technology in today’s vehicles click here.