Hartridge Ltd Blog

5 Reasons Why The Sabre CRi Platform STILL Sets The Standard for Common Rail Injector Testing

Posted by Lee Jacobs on July 23, 2019

Top 5 Reasons Blog

The Sabre CRi series (or platform) features the Sabre CRi Master & the Sabre CRi Expert. The launch of this platform started with the Sabre CRi Master, which now may be considered one of our 'entry level' benches; offering the workshop a way into the market while keeping many upgrading options open, while its sibling the Sabre CRi Expert includes all these options as standard.

This inaugural machine of our compact, All-Makes test bench range is still setting technological standards for Common Rail Injector benches to look up to. These are the top 5 Reasons why the Sabre CRi Master/Expert features the best technology available on the market.

Reason 1: The Credit Management System

The Hartridge credit management system is integrated into the architecture of the Sabre CRi Master/Expert. The credit management system enables a Pay-As-You-Go approach which provides control & flexibility for all workshops of all sizes and volumes. Hartridge credits remove expensive upfront licencing costs to unlock OE quality coding and advanced functionality.

Hartridge Credit Coding CostsThe credits are simply purchased online through the Hartridge shop and uploaded onto the machine much in the same way as many other pay-as-you-go working models, such as mobile phones.

You can choose the size of bundle that is best for your needs and use them on advanced functionality when and if required. Below are some real life customer examples of credit usage on the Sabre CRi Master/Expert:

Customer 1:

Customer is a low volume workshop and repairs 16 injectors per month (1 car per week). The customer determines that all of these injectors require a new grading code and each new grading code costs 3 credits. If this customer purchases our smallest credit pack of 100 credits this equates to a monthly cost of £60.00 (€66). If the customer was to purchase our largest credit pack of 2000 credits then the monthly cost would reduce to £24.00 (€27). The choice is entirely up to them as the credit bundles do not expire once loaded into the machine.

Customer 2:

Customer is a mid-volume workshop and repairs 80 injectors per month (5 cars per week). The customer determines that all of these injectors require a new grading code and each new grading code costs 3 credits. If this customer purchases our largest credit pack @ 2000 credits this equates to a monthly cost of £120 (€133).

The concept of the credit system is simple; the more credits that you purchase the cheaper the overall cost. Some competitors charge to unlock coding by manufacturer; however the upfront costs can be as much as £1800.00 (€2000) per manufacturer, and in some cases also require an annual renewable subscription, which results in an expensive machine proposition.

Some competitors charge...The Hartridge Sabre CRi Master/Expert provides an extremely affordable and flexible approach for all customers regardless of business size, volume, and more importantly budget. The majority of our customers who invest in a Sabre CRi Master/Expert are low to mid volume users and are spending on average £70 (€78) per month to unlock OE quality coding across all manufacturer types.

Hartridge believe in honesty and transparency, therefore the Sabre CRi Master/Expert software, test plans and firmware updates are free of charge.

Furthermore, there are no subscription fees or any other annual licence costs for accessing advanced functionality. It is setting the bar high for what a real pay-as-you-go solution should look like & what licencing approach is the most beneficial for a workshop.

Reason 2: Advanced Functionality as Standard – No Hidden Extras

Hartridge understands the importance of correctly testing CR injectors. To comply even with the basic Euro 3 emission standards you need more control and measurement accuracy, not to mention the technical evolution to comply with Euro 6 standards. Response Time is a fundamental measurement that needs to be performed to correctly diagnose a CR injector.

Our Hartridge response time is measured from the start of the electrical signal to the point at which the injector delivers fuel, to capture a measurement of the full injection event.

We call this response time functionality FERTFull Event Response Time. Response time diagnostics are fundamental as this will determine if the injection event is occurring at the right point during the combustion cycle in the engine. Injecting too early or too late during the engine cycle will cause a number of significant issues, and in some severe cases even destroy an engine.

Discover a past blog: FERT & why it matters

Since response time is such a key diagnostic function, this measurement needs to be performed at each pressure and delivery point during the test plan. Measuring response time at just one test condition is not adequate as the response time could be correct at high pressure/high flow conditions but then be very slow at lower pressure/flow conditions.

Offer response time as optional...

Hartridge test plans automatically measure response time at each operating condition, which provides a visual pass/fail status to support quick and easy diagnostics.

Some competitors offer response time as an optional extra but at Hartridge we focus on correctly testing injectors rather than offering a lower cost alternative which compromises the very purpose of the machine. Therefore, every Sabre CRi Master/Expert is fitted with the response time hardware as standard and is able to perform this measurement “out of the box” – no licences, no hidden charges! 

Reason 3: Extensive Test Plan Coverage and Coding

The The Sabre CRi Master/Expert provides comprehensive All-Makes test plans and coding capability which replicate OE quality. We are constantly asked by our customer base why the Sabre CRi platform is not OE approved.

While the Sabre CRi platform has the required functionality and capability to be OE approved, this machine is not intended for the OE approved network as unfortunately adding OE approval would mean that we need to remove the access to our All-Makes coding.

Although the machine is not OE approved, it does have all the technical and quality traits of providing OE quality test plans and coding. This has only been possible by extensive reverse engineering at Hartridge and performing hundreds of hours of on-vehicle testing.

Below are just 3 example of how we have implemented our industry leading R&D, the mandatory coding requirements, and how to identify a “generic” coding solution.

Bosch Piezo:

The Bosch piezo family of injectors require a dedicated Injector Learn Voltage test step; this is defined as the “ISA” test. It doesn’t matter what variant of Bosch piezo injector you are testing, 115, 116, 117 or even the latest 118 family, they all need to perform this critical test. The Sabre CRi has this capability built into the machine and the required measurement is embedded into the test plan structure as a mandatory test step.

ISA Test Step GraphThis learned voltage is then translated into a single letter and is utilised as the last character within the final code, which can diverge by only +/- 1 letter. However, that learned voltage is more than just a letter identifier, it also defines a voltage correction parameter for all the other test steps in the injector test.

If your machine, or coding solution, does not perform the ISA test and/or always has the same last character within the grading code then it’s highly likely that it’s not replicating OE quality and it will not function correctly when re-fitted back into the vehicle.

Continental:

Continental Euro 5 coded injectors require a comprehensive closed loop control method to determine the amount of energy provided to the piezo stack. This control is essential to replicate the vehicle running conditions and to ensure correct injector diagnostics when tested off vehicle. It’s impossible to diagnose this injector without implementing this level of control, and for each test condition the injector drive parameters are adjusted and a level of closed loop correction is performed 25 times every second.

If your machine, or coding solution, does not have closed loop control and the ability to replicate the vehicle ECU conditions then it’s not replicating OE quality and it will not function correctly when re-fitted back into the vehicle.

Discover more: The essentials of injector coding

Denso Air CoolingDenso:

To test and code Denso coil injectors requires the use of forced air to cool the injector body during testing. Extensive R&D testing identified that it was impossible to achieve a consistent and repeatable result due to internal component separation due to overheating.

Unfortunately, no other injector control strategies were capable of eliminating the requirement for forced air cooling, as the electrical coil energy is not affected by heat. Therefore this has resulted in forced air cooling across the injector body being the only viable option to provide a grading solution which mirrors OEM quality.

If your machine, or coding solution, does not have forced air cooling to replicate the vehicle ECU conditions then it’s not replicating OE quality and it will not function correctly when re-fitted back into the vehicle.

Reason 4: Hartridge Backup Service and In-App Messaging

The magmahTouch software is very simple and intuitive to use and enabled the Sabre CRi platform answer customers’ requirements for 21st century injector testing. Automatically included in the magmahTouch software package is a new remote backup and In-App messaging service.

The Hartridge Backup Service provide the customer with the ability to upload all their result data, machine calibration and test plans to a dedicated backup server at Hartridge HQ. In the event that the customer accidentally deletes a result file, modifies a test plan incorrectly or they need to replace the main operating tablet then Hartridge can very easily recover the machine back to its last operational state.

In App Messaging ServiceNot only can we recover lost data but we also have the ability to inform customers as soon as a new software update is available, new injector coverage is launched, and special offers/promotions. This In-App messaging service is a fantastic way to communicate with our customers so they remain up to date with the latest technical and commercial information.

The Hartridge backup service and In-App messaging service is provided free of charge.

Reason 5: Advanced Machine Capability

The Sabre CRi Master/Expert is a highly engineered and technically advanced machine, however we focused our attention on making the machine as user friendly as possible.  Market leading levels of easy-use have been built in throughout the platform, making additional, advanced test steps straight forward for a workshop to navigate & start benefiting from. Below is a list of advanced machine functions that are firm favourites with existing customers:

  • Nozzle Leak TestNozzle Leak Test | This dedicated nozzle leak test step provides the ability to visually check the nozzle for leaks. It is impossible to measure for leaks using the machine delivery metering unit unless the nozzle is “flowing” and there is a constant flow, however in the majority of cases the failure mode will be a small occasional “drip” from the nozzle. The only way to correctly diagnose injector leak this is by performing a dedicated nozzle leak visual inspection.

 

  • Denso I-ART IC Diagnostics – Dedicated test step for testing the internal processor and pressure sensor within the latest Euro 6 Denso I-ART injectors. In-Injector sensors and memory modules will become the standard for future CR injector technology and it is impossible to fully diagnose an injector without this functionality.

 

  • Integrated Videos – All advanced test steps have integrated videos which demonstrate with ease how to configure the machine for a particular test step.

 

  • Dedicated Injector Cables – Some customers are surprised by the number of injector cables that Hartridge offer for the Sabre based on some competitors who provide just two flying pins and state 100% compatibility. However, having dedicated injector cables removes the risk of damaging the electrical components inside the injector as these can only be fitted in one orientation. When there are just two flying pins the workshop operator can accidentally connect the pins onto the incorrect terminals and destroy and injector – an expensive lesson that far outweighs a dedicated injector cable!

Thanks to its abundance of technology, easily accessible advanced functionality, & OE quality approach to testing the Sabre CRi platform continues to lead the way in the Common Rail injector testing market.

Hartridge Ltd

Hartridge Ltd

Topics: Common Rail Testing, Sabre CRi Master, diesel injectors, FERT, injector testing, Common rail injectors, Full Event Response Time, Injector response time, Sabre CRi Expert, injector coding

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