Fuel trim

Overview 

Fuel trim reduces exhaust emissions. Fuel trim reduces nitrous oxide (NO_x ), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions.

Theoretically, if the correct amount of oxygen is added during combustion, fuel can be converted to water (H₂ O) and carbon dioxide (CO₂ ). Emissions would then be completely safe.

In practice considerable amounts of hydro-carbons (HC) and varying amounts of carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO₂ ) remain.

Due to the high temperature and pressure, nitrous oxides such as NO and NO₂ are also formed. The common designation for these gases is nitrous oxides NO_x .

By speeding up the reaction between the remaining reactive components using a catalytic converter, these can be converted to water (H₂ O), carbon dioxide (CO₂ ) and nitrogen (N₂ ).

However this can only happen if the balance of hydro-carbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), oxygen (O₂ ) and nitrous oxides (NO_x ) is exactly right in the exhaust. This happens when the fuel air mixture before combustion is 14.7 kg of air per kg of fuel. The Lambda value is then said to be one, (λ=1).

A base program in the engine control module (ECM) calculates the injection period based on data about load, i.e. the measured air mass and engine speed (rpm). The calculated injection time (from the base program) is then modified by a circuit (short-term fuel trim). The signal from the heated oxygen sensor (HO2S) is used to finely adjust the injection period so that λ=1 is reached. The short-term fuel trim is also a circuit that finely adjusts the injection period so that the fuel air mixture is optimized (λ=1). The control module also used the signals from the front and rear heated oxygen sensors (HO2S) to correct the front heated oxygen sensor (HO2S) (offset adjustment) and thereby the injection period. This gives a higher degree of accuracy during fuel trim. Fuel trim is a rapid process which may take place several times a second. Adjustment of the calculated injection period calculated in the base program is limited.

The fuel trim can be read off using VIDA.

Adaptive functions 

Certain factors, such as deviations in tolerance for certain components such as the mass air flow (MAF) sensor and injectors, intake air leakage, fuel pressure etc, will affect the composition of the fuel air mixture. To compensate for this, the engine control module (ECM) has adaptive (self learning) functions. When the engine is new, the short-term fuel trim is assumed to vary cyclically around a nominal center line (A) 1.00 with, for example, a 5% change in the injection period when fuel trim is active.

If there is air leakage for example, the short-term fuel trim will quickly be offset to a new position (B) and will then work for example between 1.10 (+10%) and 1.20 (+20%), although still at an amplitude of 5%, but with an offset in relation to the original center line (A). The injection period has then been increased to compensate the increase in the amount of air.

The adaptive functions will correct the change, so that the short-term fuel trim will work around the new center line (B) where it will again have its full range of control available.

Put simply, fuel trim is a measurement of the difference (C) between the original short-term fuel trim center line (A) and the new center line (B).

The adaptive functions are divided into several different operating ranges based on engine speed and load.

The different adaptation ranges can be read off using VIDA.

The adaptive adjustments of the injection period are stored continuously in the engine control module (ECM). This means that under different operating conditions the fuel air mixture is obtained before the heated oxygen sensor (HO2S) is warm enough to function.

A diagnostic trouble code (DTC) will be stored in the engine control module (ECM) if any adaptation value is too high or too low.