• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.77-84
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• 2013

A small engine-oil-deterioration detection sensor was developed and installed at the tip of a dipstick gage. The sensor part was manufactured using printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing technology. A set of sensor covers was installed in order to protect the sensor and realize good signal stability. The small engine-oil-deterioration detection sensor system comprised a dual sensor having etched copper electrodes coated with gold and ceramic, a flexible PCB (FPCB) acting as electric wire, and a dummy PCB with only a lock connector. The sensor can easily be installed by insertion through the guide tube of a dipstick gage. Thus, a driver can easily handle it without further installation equipment. The sensor can determine the level of deterioration in the engine oil by estimating the corresponding dielectric constant of the engine oil.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.143-148
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• 2013

In this study, several sensor parts used to obtain better signal stability are designed, a separate control circuit for the sensor is developed, and the results obtained using this control circuit are analyzed. The capacitances of the whole sensor system are measured using the control circuit connected to an improved flexible printed circuit board and an asymmetric dual sensor coated with a ceramic material. To realize good discrimination for a small change in the measured capacitance as the engine oil deteriorates, a commercial application-specific integrated circuit is installed on the control circuit as a capacitance-to-digital converter. The absolute error of a measured signal is found to be approximately ${\pm}4fF$.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.156-167
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• 2014

This paper presents the test results of small dipstick-gage-type engine-oil-deterioration-detection sensor. The measured sensor signal characteristics for the capacitance and temperature are analyzed. The engine oil deterioration condition correlates with the electrical property of the dielectric constant that comprised with physical properties such as TAN (Total Acid Number), TBN (Total Base Number) and viscosity. Several problems encontered during the test of the sensor system are improved. The results of vehicle tests show that the capacitance signal is stable after the engine stops. Therefore, the sensor should start measuring the parameters for monitoring the engine oil condition after the engine stops. The engine is considered to be in a stopped state if the difference between the maximum and minimum values of the oil capacitance measured every 1 min is below 0.02 pF. The key test results in this paper will help in the development of an engine oil change warning algorithm.