2. Different load controls

This equipment controls the heat engine load via two types of commands:

• mechanical control (gas pedal actuator);

• electronic control (electronic accelerator pedal).

Mechanical controls are the most widely used systems, acting directly on the vehicle's physical components. Nowadays, with injection control by the engine's electronic control units (ECUs), these systems are connected to the only remaining mechanical element, in this case the pedal in the passenger compartment (or the potentiometer fitted to it). In the past, this equipment was connected directly to the mechanical injection pump or throttle valve.

The most widespread technologies all feature an electric motor, either rotary or linear.