The concept of Response Time of a diesel injector came about with the introduction of electronically-controlled injectors used in Common Rail systems.  It is a measure of the time taken for the injector to respond to the electrical firing signal, i.e. the time between the start of the electrical firing signal and the start of fuel actually being delivered from the nozzle.

It is an important performance characteristic giving an indication of the condition of the inner workings of the injector. To give an idea of the typical values you can expect, there is a distinct difference between injectors actuated by a solenoid valve and those actuated by piezo stack; piezo injectors have faster response times, typically 200 – 350μs, whereas for coil injectors the values can range between 350 – 700μs depending on manufacturer, injector design and vehicle application. Additionally, later generations of injector design have produced incremental improvements.

Want to read more about Response Time? Simply click on the button below