The two main types of vehicle engines we use today are run by either patrol or diesel, and they are very different in many respects and identical in others.
- The Petrol Engine – A typical 1.6 litre petrol engine would have four cylinders, each with a spark plug at the top of the inner barrel, and as the crankshaft turns, the pistons move up and down. The spark plugs generate a spark, which ignites a minute amount of fuel and air and the resulting explosion causes the piston to repeat the cycle. The spark plugs are powered by an alternator and the timing of these ignitions is very precise, allowing the engine to run smoothly, and with a carburation system that controls the mixture of fuel and air, the petrol engine can deliver good power to the wheels via the gearbox and transmission.
- A Diesel Engineuses compression to achieve ignition, and that does not need a spark, but rather uses injectors that force a small amount of fuel into the cylinders. The only difference to a petrol engine is the compression instead of ignition, and the engines operate in the same way in terms of controlling the amount of fuel and oxygen that is fed into the engine.
If your car doesn’t seem to be running right, talk to the mechanics in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, who have a wealth of experience with both petrol and diesel engines. Diesel powered cars are known to pollute the environment at higher levels that gasoline cars, and we can expect to see some sort of government control regarding vehicle engines and pollution.