When it comes to vehicles in general, there seems to be no middle ground between those who know how engines work and those who don’t.  And if you don’t, that usually means you know next to nothing about the inner workings of a vehicle.

The truth

While this may seem like a great generalization, the truth is that most Americans lack a general knowledge about auto-mechanics. One such area of our engines that has had a lot of press as of lately, especially in California, is the engine control system.  But it’s safe to say that most vehicle owners and operators in the United States have never even heard of an engine control system; much less know how it works and why it’s so important.  Until now.

What is the emission control system?

For a broad overview statement, the emission control system of a vehicle controls the amount of pollutants that escape into the air from the engine.  To help you further understand the basics of emissions control systems, the following are a few points on the various types of emissions control systems, as well as their function and purpose:

• The control system of exhaust emission is a type of emissions control that deals with negating pollutants in the exhaust of the engine.  One example of an exhaust emission control system are those systems that use a catalytic converter in line with the exhaust system of the vehicle that convert harmful carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons into carbon dioxide and water.
• Emission control systems that deal with vapor fuel emissions are known as evaporative emissions control systems. These systems work to direct vaporized fuel into the engine to maximize fuel efficacy and lower pollutant exhaust as well as house carbons to absorb fuel vapors that would otherwise leak from the automobile.
• Crankcase emission control systems deal with pollutants from the engine that tries to escape through the crankcase by sending the pollutants back into the engine to be properly burned as fuel.