Schematic View - Adaptive Shock Absorber Fluid Control
| ITEM | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| A | Rebound |
| B | Compression |
| C | Main fluid flow |
| D | Controlled fluid flow |
| 1 | Adaptive shock absorber piston rod |
| 2 | Adaptive shock absorber body |
| 3 | Damper solenoid |
| 4 | Adaptive shock absorber piston |
In each adaptive shock absorber, the damping adjustment is achieved by varying the fluid flow around the shock absorber. This is achieved by adjusting the hydraulic solenoid valve to restrict the fluid flow. Due to the adaptive shock absorber design, the fluid inside only flows in one direction.
Under compression or rebound, the fluid inside the adaptive shock absorber is forced through the orifices at the top of the internal damper rod. This fluid is then forced through the second internal tube into the control valve. The control valve varies the fluid flow to control the compression and rebound characteristics.
The damper solenoid in each adaptive shock absorber is operated by a 2 kHz Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signal from the Chassis Control Module (CHCM). The CHCM controls the PWM duty ratio to provide 0.38A current to operate the adaptive shock absorber in the soft setting. The current varies continuously as required, to increase and decrease the damping force individually in each of the adaptive shock absorbers.
When the Adaptive Damping (AD) system is active the applied current is in the working range between 0.38A to 1.6A. The firm damping is achieved at 1.6A. When the damper solenoid de-energized (0.0A), the adaptive shock absorber is in the failsafe setting, due to fault conditions. The CHCM also deactivate the damper solenoid, when the vehicle is stationary and the engine is running (Power Mode 7) to reduce power consumption.