Randall Young wrote:
> I think you're over-reacting here
Hehehe always a possibility...
> It takes a lot more than a willingness to learn to figure out today's
> computer engine management systems...
>
> If you're working on a points-type distributor, you can just...
Agreed, but as an engineer, my tendency is to think of
things in terms of total cost-of-ownership.
The vast majority of cars never have a computer problem in
their life, and go to a junkyard for other reasons with the
original computer still working fine. Many junkyards don't
even pull the computers out of the junked cars unless you
ask for one, because they sell very few. Demand is low, because
computer failures are very rare.
Computer failures are generally at most medium complexity to
diagnose, and fairly simple and inexpensive to repair. If
your car is new, the warranty would cover, as long as the
car is a few years old, a junkyard computer for most cars
is a couple of hundred bucks.
(please, no stories of your uncles-neighbors-daughters-husband
who spend $320,000 on a computer for a Ford Escort, there are
always exceptions, and misinformation is bred from basing
decisions on out-of-band data)
Points are simple and cheap *PER SET*, but over the
cost of ownership of the car, the amount of time spent on
them is very high, and the expense starts to become
non-trivial. As well, because adjustment requirements
are frequent, you can guarantee that a lot of cars out
there spend a fair percentage of time running in sub-optimal
settings.
It's a oft-stated point that "hey, with points, if they
break down I can easily fix them by the side of the road!". I'd
rather have the computer that won't break down at all, even
if it does mean I have a one in a thousand chance of
some day needing a tow truck and a junkyard visit.
I still run points on some of my cars though, because,
well, that's the way they came. That doesn't mean I'm
going to delude myself into thinking I am actually
better off. ;>
--
Trevor Boicey, P. Eng.
Ottawa, Canada, tboicey@brit.ca
ICQ #17432933 http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
"My car gets 40 rods to the hog's head, and that's the way I like it!" -Abe
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