Awesome auto service stories

Awesome auto service stories

Things to Know About Charge Air Coolers on Your Car

by Debra Morgan

The primary focus for car manufacturers today is to optimise the output of internal combustion engines installed in vehicles. Ideally, the objective to have average-sized engines delivering high amounts of torque with minimal fuel consumption. They achieve this by optimising the air intake and combustion to get the most of the fuel supply. Enhancing the air intake and combustion often requires accessories like charge air coolers that will alter how the engine responds to incoming air. These accessories also change the quality and nature of the incoming to suit the requirements of the internal combustion engine. Learn about charge air coolers by reading the following piece:

Charge Air Coolers Defined

A charge air cooler is a refinement accessory that cools the incoming air after the air passes through the turbocharger. The charge air cooler lowers the temperature of the air before the air enters the engine, increasing its density. Air with a higher density optimises the power output of the engine due to an enhanced combustion process. Usually, your vehicle will use the smallest range of charge air coolers, and they are attached to the engine where fuel combustion happens. The larger charge air coolers feature in heavy-duty applications such as marine engines.

Charge Air Cooler Versus an Intercooler

Charge air coolers cover all the accessories that cool the compressed air charge before routing it to the engine. Cool air has a higher density and provides a bigger platform for the combustion process, delivering more power output. Generally, the charge air cooler executes air-to-air cooling by rejecting heat through the air's ambient flow. It has a similar working principle with your car's radiator.

On the other hand, an intercooler is an air-to-liquid or air-to-air cooler installed between the turbo or supercharger and the engine. Intercoolers are fitted on vehicles with turbocharging or supercharging engine technologies. Such engines rely on forced induction of air before combustion, and the intercooler improves the volumetric efficiency of this air.

Diagnosing Your Charged Air Cooler

Surely, your charge air cooler accounts for the power output you get from your engine. Anytime it malfunctions, you should diagnose the problem as soon as possible and get a mechanic to fix it. Some of the signs to look for include:

  • Higher fuel consumption, since the engine will compensate for a reduction of incoming air density by using more fuel to deliver the same power output.
  • Frequent and irregular repairs of the exhaust and turbo components.
  • Presence of soot in the engine oil.

For more information, contact auto services that work with charge air coolers. 


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About Me

Awesome auto service stories

I've been running an auto service shop for the past 30 years. The trends in cars have changed a lot over that time, and cars are becoming a lot more complicated and automated. People can't fix many items on their own cars any more as you need a computer to diagnose most issues. People use their cars a lot more these days as we live further away from workplaces and schools so it's important for me to be able to get cars back quickly. I have had to keep learning about how the new cars run and I keep a lot of hints on this site so you can all learn the things you can do to make your cars run better.