THE USE OF MICROCOMPUTER CONTROLS, monitors and displays is now common in passenger cars and heavy agricultural equipment, and a great deal of effort is in process to develop similar systems for line-haul trucks and other applications of heavy-duty diesel engines. The service conditions for these latter applications are quite demanding, and significantly different from those in passenger cars.
This paper is one of a series of SAE overview papers which the author has presented, documenting progress in the use of sensors for the control of vehicles, and especially for engine control. Specifically, this paper treats the robust sensors being applied to heavy-duty diesel engine control and other heavy-duty vehicle controls both on and off the road. How these sensors must differ from light vehicle control sensors and the concepts favored for pressure, temperature, speed, and timing measurement control are emphasized.