Category: Uncategorized

Restore Your Get-Up-and-Go (Fuel and Air Induction Cleaning)

You may have heard the old saying, “My get-up-and-go got up and went.” If your vehicle’s engine’s fuel economy is noticeably worse, your engine is idling roughly or stalling or your vehicle’s acceleration isn’t what it used to be, ask your service advisor if you might need your vehicle’s fuel and air induction systems cleaned.

As the hours pile up on your engine, carbon deposits can build up. It’s not unusual for some of the impurities and additives in fuel to leave behind a black residue that eventually will negatively affect your fuel economy and performance. Maybe you’re noticing your engine is harder to start, you hear knocking or pinging in your engine and your vehicle just doesn’t have the pep it used to.

While it’s a sophisticated process with a lot of components, a gasoline engine essentially produces power by drawing in air from the outside and mixing it with fuel in the cylinders where this blend of fuel and air is ignited by spark plugs in synchronized explosions.

The fuel and air enter your engine through the fuel induction system and air induction system. Because of things like high operating temperatures and impurities, carbon in the fuel can leave behind dark, sooty deposits in the fuel induction system such as the fuel injectors and the throttle body. These and other residue reduce your engine’s efficiency and performance. Our service center can use special fuel injector cleaners to remove those deposits from your engine.

The technician may manually clean some of the deposits and also put a fuel additive in the fuel tank that will get rid of other deposits that are still in the fuel system

Keeping the air induction system clean is also important. A technician can use a liquid cleaner specially designed for the job. Not only can this improve your fuel economy, it may also reduce exhaust emissions and help your engine last longer.

Most gasoline now contains detergents that help reduce or prevent these problems, but direct injection is now being used in more vehicles that are more susceptible to clogging. Ask your service advisor if your vehicle could benefit from fuel and air induction cleaning.

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com

Cold Weather Vehicle No-Nos (Items to Avoid Storing in a Freezing Vehicle)

It’s always easier to leave a few things in your vehicle so you’ll have them on hand. But in cold weather, while it’s a good idea to carry items such as a phone charger, blanket and shovel, there are some things you shouldn’t store in your vehicle.

Medicines and drugs. Cold temperatures can affect the chemical makeup of some drugs. Avoid leaving them in a vehicle, especially those in a liquid form like insulin, eye drops and cough syrup.
Latex paint. They are water based, and when they freeze, they get lumpy and lousy. Your paint job will not be what you had in mind.
Cellphones and computers. Most of these have lithium ion batteries. If they get colder than freezing (0 degrees C, 32 degrees F), if you try to charge them, you’ll more than likely ruin the batteries.
Bottled water, soda, wine or beer. OK, here’s the scoop. All of these can freeze and split the container they’re in. Yes, soda, wine and beer will take a lower temperature to freeze than water, but all of these can easily freeze if the mercury plunges low enough. The problem isn’t when they’re frozen; it’s when they unfreeze, drip out of their containers and leave you with a colossal mess.
Musical instruments. Guitars are made of wood. When a guitar freezes and you bring it quickly into a warm room, you may hear cracking sounds that tell you that guitar will be not-so-gently weeping from the damage that can occur. The same goes for wind instruments and others. Don’t ever subject musical instruments to quick temperature extremes.

Take a little time and effort not to leave these things out in a frigid vehicle. You’ll likely spend far more time and money tending to the resulting consequences than if you’d just brought them inside in the first place.

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com

Passing the Test (How to Prevent Emissions Test Failure)

Vehicle emission testing has become ubiquitous in North America and for a good reason. Clean air quality is important for the environment and all of us. Since vehicle emissions are among the main causes of air pollution, emission testing can alert you to problems in your vehicle than can be fixed so it won’t needlessly pollute.

Emissions tests are looking for certain toxic gases internal combustion engines produce, such as nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, non-methane organic gases and formaldehyde. Emissions control systems reduce these gases if they are working properly.

The best way to minimize pollution is to keep those vehicle systems working properly, and periodic inspection and maintenance is the key. So if you want to make sure your vehicle will pass an emissions test, it helps to know what might go wrong.

Let’s start on the easy one. Your gas cap could be loose, allowing vapors to escape into the atmosphere. The most common solution is to replace it. Or your air filter may be dirty. A dirty air filter may push your hydrocarbons pass the acceptable level.

Now to the more complicated things. The mixture of fuel and air in your engine may be tilted toward the “too much fuel” side. That could cause problems for your vehicle’s catalytic converter, a device that converts toxic gases from your exhaust into less toxic pollutants.

Your vehicle has a closed system that prevents fuel tank vapors from escaping into the air; it’s called the EVAP system. A technician can track down problems.

Vehicle engineers have gone to great lengths to minimize the amount of pollution your vehicle produces. Your vehicle’s manufacturer recommends how frequently those systems need servicing. Keep those systems in good shape and you’re likely to pass emissions tests with flying colors. Neglect them and you might find your vehicle failing an emissions test. When that happens, you’ll have to get the problems repaired before you can get back on the road.

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com