Objective

To analyze the actuator and sensor of the brakes. To locate the actuator and sensor of the brakes. To check the condition of the actuator and sensor.

Introduction

Brakes are designed to slow down our vehicle. The common conception is that brakes squeeze against a drum or disc, and the pressure of the squeezing action is what slow s us down. Brakes are essentially a mechanism to change energy type. When travelling at speed, the vehicle has kinetic energy. When apply brakes, the pads or shoes that press against the brake drum or rotor convert the energy into thermal energy via friction. The cooling of the brakes dissipates the heat and the vehicle slows down.

Disc Brake Disc brake were invented in 1902 and patented by Birmingham car maker Frederick William Lanchester. The original design had two discs which pressed against each other to generate friction and slow the car down. Instead of the drum, we have a disc or rotor, and instead of the brake shoes, we now have brake caliper assemblies contain one or more hydraulic pistons which push against the back of the brake pads, clamping them together around the spinning rotor. The harder they clamp together, the more friction is generated, which means more heat and more kinetic energy transfer and slow the vehicle down.

Figure 1: Basic disc brake components

The floating rotor Standard brake rotors are cast in a single piece which bolts directly to the wheel or drive plate. If the mounting surface of the wheel or drive plate isnt perfectly flat, itll get vibration at speed. Floating rotors are typically cast in two pieces-the rotor and the carrier. The carrier is bolted to the wheel and the rotor is attached to the carrier using flow buttons. The other method of floating a brake rotor is to have the rotor bolted directly to the wheel itself without a carrier, but the bolts have float buttons built into them.

Figure 2: A floating disc brake rotor assembly

Radial Calipers/Radial Brakes The stiffness of the front end is now entirely dependent on the size of the front axle. The bigger the axle, the more stiffer the front end. A side-effect of this design may cause a lot of vibration in the steering because of flex between the wheel (with the brake disc bolted into it), and the fork leg (with the caliper). The slight tolerance allowed by floating brake rotors couldnt compensate for the amount of flexing in the forks. To reduce the brake-induced fork vibration, the brake calipers were moved around the rotors slightly so that they fell into the front-rear alignment of the wheel axle.

Figure 3: Radial caliper/Radial Brakes assembly

Brake Actuator Cable-operated A cable is connected to a lever at each end. We press on one lever with your foot or squeeze it with your hand, and it pulls the lever at the other end. On the back of the brake-end year, theres an elliptical cam which rotates inside a circular cup in the brake shoe. As the long axis of the ellipse rotates, it forces the brake shoes to move apart.

Figure 4: Cable-operated assembly

Brake-by-wire The brake pedal or lever is connected to a hypersensitive rheostat(measures electrical resistance). The more we push it, the greater the electrical signal sent to the brake computer. The advantage to this system is that the brake pedal or lever can be placed just about anywhere as it no longer is encumbered by the plumbing that goes with a hydraulic circuit. Most brake-by-wire systems have a reverse feedback loop built in. This measures the pressure being applied to the brakes on the secondary circuit, and actuates an electrical resistor in the pedal or lever assembly to provide resistance.

Figure 5: Diagram of brake-by-wire

Brake sensor The brake pad is among the various braking system components in our car that causes it to stop by applying pressure on the brake rotor. We can locate the car part mounted to the rear or front wheel assembly near the brake caliper under the car. To be able to perform its intended function, the brake pads are made up of a number of compounds. Some of these include non-asbestos organic compounds, semi-metallic compounds, ceramics, and carbon. The U-shaped copper wire known as the brake pad sensor activates a LED indicator on the dashboard on the car.

Wheel Speed Sensor In general, ABS wheel-speed sensors are highly accurate and track closely with actual vehicle speed as measured by an instrumented fifth wheel. Wheel-speed sensors are sufficiently accurate to detect a problem due to oilsoaked brake linings. However, unlike instrumented anchor pins, wheel-speed sensors cannot differentiate between out-of-adjustment brakes and oil-soaked linings. Wheel-speed sensors are sufficiently accurate to detect grossly out-of-adjustment and disconnected brakes. Wheel-speed-sensors do not provide sufficient accuracy to detect brakes that are 1/8-inch or less beyond the readjustment limit.

Equipment & Material

DAS Multiplexer with OBD II (On-Board Diagnosis II) 16-pin

Procedure
Check the actuator and sensor to confirm whether it work properly. Having visual inspection of the sensor and actuator. Connect DAS through multiplexer to the vehicle. Check for any fault code by using DAS. Erase the fault after replace the sensor or actuator. Diagnosed the vehicle again to check whether there still have a fault.

Result
Specific Value Sensor Actuator 10.5V-14.5V 12.3V Actual Value

Discussion
Sensor will only actuate when there are current flow. The sensor will not be functioning if there are no current flow. If there are current flows through but the sensor is not functioning, it can be consider replacing a new one. If the actual value of the sensor is below the spec, it means that the sensor got problem or consider it as broken. The problem which may cause the actuator not functioning is it could be hit by something that makes the actuator not functioning. The rain also may cause the actuator not functioning. If there are not any problem which cause the actuator not functioning, it could be the actuator problem. If the actual value of the actuator is 12.3V, it means that the actuator is in good condition. If it is below 10.5V, it means that there are not enough battery voltage. The actual value will not be above than 14.5V.

Conclusion - Every vehicle must apply brakes for safety purpose.

Brakes offer better stopping performance than comparable drum brakes caused by the overheating of brake components, and are able to recover quickly from immersion (wet brakes are less effective). Check and replace the sensor or actuator which is not functioning. After check and replace, we should have a visual inspection again to check whether there are other components that are broken.

Reference
Advanced Automotive Fault Diagnosis: Automotive Technology By Tom Denton How to Use Automotive Diagnostic Scanners By Tracy Martin