The Charged Air Cooler or Turbocharger Intercooler

The turbocharger is supported by an air-to-water charge air cooler system, which uses fresh air drawn through a heat exchanger to reduce the temperature of the warmer compressed air forced through the intake system. Inlet air temperature can be reduced by up to 100°C (180°F), which enhances performance. This is due to the higher density of oxygen in the cooled air, which promotes optimal combustion.

The intake manifold housing has an integrated intercooler. The intercooler uses conventional coolant in a system that is separate from the engine cooling system. The intercooler system includes an air cooler/heat exchanger built into the intake, a charge air cooler radiator assembled in the front fascia, and an electric coolant pump. Coolant is pumped through the intercooler, enters through inlet port, is directed into and through the charge air cooler/heat exchanger, and exits through the outlet port and pumped back to the charge air cooler radiator. The charge air coolant pump is a solid state device. Ignition voltage is supplied from a fuse and ground is provided at the chassis. When the engine starts, the ECM sends a request via serial data circuit to the charge air coolant pump causing the pump to operate at the desired speed. The charge air coolant pump provides operational and diagnostic feedback to the ECM on the serial data circuit. If a condition exists with the physical pump, or microprocessor logic, the device will report fault specific information via the serial data circuit to the ECM. The ECM will then set the corresponding DTC. If the device fails to communicate or a condition exists with external circuits, the devices corresponding U-code will set.