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Engine Management System (EMS)

EMS stands for Engine Management System which consists of a wide range of electronic and
electrical components comprising of sensors, relays, actuators and an Engine Control Unit. In
addition, they work together to provide the Engine Management System with vital data
parameters that are essential to govern the various engine functions effectively. The Engine
Management system is incorporated in the modern day engine technologies, such
as MPFi & GDi systems in Petrol engines and CRDi system in diesel engines for improved
performance.

ECU / ECM

ECU stands for Engine Control Unit and ECM for Engine Control Module, both are the same.
ECU/ECM is also the generic term which refers to any Electronic Control Unit / Module
respectively.

Engine Control Unit

The Engine Control Unit is a central part of the Engine Management System which is virtually
the Brain of an engine. It plays an important role of collecting, processing, analyzing and
executing the data it receives from various sub-systems. Furthermore, an ECU comprises of a
computer which uses a microchip to process the inputs from various engine sensors in real-
time.

Input & Output of an ECU, Engine Management System


The Electronic Control Unit contains hardware and software. The printed circuit board (PCB)
of the ECU consists of a micro-controller chip or the CPU (Central Processing Unit). The
software is stored in this micro-controller or other chips on the PCB. An ECU can be re-
programmed by updating the software or by replacing chips. All the engine sensors send
data inputs by the way of electrical signals to the ECU which, in-turn, controls various
actuators, ignition timing, variable valve timing etc.

How an ECU Works?

Based on this data input, the ECU precisely calculates and delivers the ideal air-fuel mixture.
It also regulates the idle speed of the engine and limits the top speed of a vehicle. This
system is also widely referred to as an Electronic Engine Management System or the EMS.
Furthermore, the modern day ECUs can be customized to suit different vehicular applications
and varying customer demands. In addition, some cars have an individual Control Module
for the every major system. A modern car may contain the following individual Control
Modules which control the respective systems.

Various Control Modules in a car

An Engine Control Unit connects to all the individual Electronic Control Modules (ECMs). A
modern day car consists of more than one Control Modules; each exclusive for every major
system which improves the performance. The manufacturers seldom refer to these systems
as cars computers since these are multiple computers as opposed to single one.
A diagram showing various control modules in a modern day car

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