Automatic Cold Start Control Assistance Advantages

The flexible fuel applications in Brazil demanded some local challenges to be implemented and one of the most explored and difficult maneuvers is the cold start with alcohol. The cold start with alcohol is much more difficult than when compared with gasoline. Some cold start assistant systems were developed and the Automatic Start Control (ASC) is one of these technologies. Basically this system controls the engine crank based on objective parameters independently from the driver's sensitivity. Considering the instability and difficulty of an alcohol cold start, this automatic start system avoids some driver variability during cold starts. This paper discusses the advantages of the Automatic Start Control assisting a cold start with alcohol in different temperatures. A comparison between Automatic Start Control and a Conventional Start (CS) is performed focusing the main advantages and disadvantages of each system.