Electronic fuel injectors are some of the most precise components on an automobile. Able to regulate fuel flow within milliseconds and for millions of cycles. How often should such a precise device need cleaning and maintenance? The answer may shock you.

On its most basic level, the fuel injector is simply an on/off valve. It opens and fuel flows. It closes and the fuel stops. At the heart of the injector is the needle, often called a pintle and a seat. This is the actual valve component. A spring inside the injector pushes the pintle into the seat. This closes the valve.

Attached to the shaft of the injector needle is a permanent magnet. There is also an electro-magnetic coil, mounted in the body of the injector. In most instances, power is supplied to one side of the coil, whenever the ignition is on. The other side eventually connects to ground, through the power control module (PCM.) 

Several sensors supply input to the PCM.  Sensors tell it when the cylinder will fire, the amount of air entering the engine, temperature and many other factors.  By applying and removing the ground from the fuel injector, the PCM can very precisely control the fuel that enters each cylinder.

When it is time for an injector to spray fuel, the PCM grounds the coil. This allows current to flow, energizing the coil. The permanent magnet is drawn into the coil and overcomes the spring. The needle lifts off the seat and fuel is sprayed.

The amount of fuel needed is closely calculated, but injectors do not vary their flow. Rather, the PCM controls the time the injector is open. The longer it is held open, the more fuel will flow. This is normally a matter of milliseconds. The system is also designed to double-check the mixture and fine tune itself as needed.

Because of the shape of the pintle and seat, fuel injectors are designed to be self cleaning. Each time the injector closes, the pintle forces debris out of the seat. Combine this with the detergent in a good grade of gasoline and injectors will rarely need any attention.

Routinely adding fuel injection cleaner to the vehicle does no good. Too much cleaner can damage the fuel tank and injectors. So called fuel injection flushes, marketed as maintenance, are much the same. Injectors simply do not require routine cleaning. Instead, the client’s wallet is being cleaned with this wallet flush.

The electronic fuel injector is a marvel of engineering. Dependable, reliable and in need of almost no service. The next time you hear "Flush your injectors" substitute the word wallet and just say no. Instead go to AGCO, we don’t work on cars, we fix them.