Electronics in modern vehicles make it possible for us to travel comfortably and safely. We no longer crank a window handle to open a window; instead we press a button. When accelerating, we no longer need to manually advance the ignition system: the engine computer does this itself. With a switch we turn on the windscreen wipers, and in the event of an accident the airbags protect us as much as possible from injury. Vehicle emissions are reduced with the help of electrically controlled components, making them more environmentally friendly than in the era when people drove with a carburettor (petrol engine) or inline pump (diesel engine) and emitted far more harmful exhaust gases. For zero emissions, we will see increasingly electrified drivetrains in all vehicles on public roads over the coming years. In short, we have not been able to do without electronics for decades.
To gain insight into what electronics entail, the basic concepts such as voltage, current and resistance, which can be calculated using Ohm’s law, are included under the category “basic electronics”. The components that we find on ECU circuit boards and that form part of a larger whole can be found on the page “components and connections”. Components such as the starter motor, crankshaft position sensor or stepper motor can be found under the other categories.
The ECU (Electronic Control Unit) can be seen as a computer. A modern vehicle is full of computers: anywhere between 10 and 80 computers is not uncommon. The computers obtain analogue or digital sensor information and process this to control an actuator. The control principles are listed in the overview of “ECU and digital electronics”. In addition, the ECUs communicate with each other via, among other things, the popular CAN bus (overview: communication and networks).