February 2007 Articles & Features   adjust text size:  Pressure
Points: Pressure Transducer Diagnostics  By Bernie Thompson |
February 2007  Download PDF  A pressure transducer converts an
engine's operating characteristics into oscilloscope-ready
electrical signals. Skillful interpretation of these  BlacBlack
with a 2-in. brim and a red satin liner, it looked like a normal
top hat any man might wear at a formal gala. The man placed the
hat on the table. An instant later, he reached in and pulled out
a white rabbit! How did the rabbit appear? Was it magic? To
members of the audience, of course, it remains a mystery.
Mechanics have been trying to solve the “mysteries” of the
internal combustion engine for over a century. In that time,
many tools have been developed to help with this process. With
the advent of the modern automobile have come high-tech
diagnostic tools. Let's pull our own rabbit out of the hat and
examine the “magic” behind one such high-tech diagnostic tool:
the pressure transducer.  A pressu