Date: Sat, 4 Sep 2010 08:19:18 -0700
Reply-To: David Marshall <mailinglist@FASTFORWARD.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Marshall <mailinglist@FASTFORWARD.CA>
Subject: Re: Goofy CB + Coolant LED Stuff! (sorta friday content)
In-Reply-To: <4c8189f5.0f79e50a.05a6.60ac@mx.google.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
We are basically have this now (since about 1998) and in a lot of ways it
makes things better.
Most modern cars have Controller Area
Network or CAN bus. In effect it is a twisted pair of wires that
goes to each device and a controller in the device knows how to deal with
the commands and away it goes. This is what enables a GMC CVT gear
box to be attached to say a VW engine and everything "just
works". This is also cutting the amount of wiring down by about
40% on a typical vehicle and is a better design for the environment this
way. All a tail light will need is four wires going to it.
Power, ground and the twisted pair CAN wires. The CAN controller
gets a signal from the dash assembly that it wants the left signal light
on and the brake light on. The CAN controller sends down the wire it
wants this and the tail light reports back that it is doing this, but the
brake light is out so the CAN controller reports this to the driver
display and all is well and all is done over 4 wires.
I agree
that the mid 80s to mid 90s are the sweet spot for troubleshooting
electronics in a vehicle, but how many 80s cars do you see with a burnt
out light and the driver doesn't know it? A micro-processor isn't a
bad thing and it doesn't always make things more complicated. Four
wires running to each device is kinda cool and the fact that a Ford device
will work electrically in a Nissan product is kinda cool too.
David Marshall
VW Adventure Driver and BMW
Adventure Rider
HasenWerk
http://www.hasenwerk.ca
On Fri, September 3, 2010 16:45, David Beierl wrote:
> At
01:58 PM 9/3/2010 -0700, neil n wrote:
>>Is that goofy or
what?? ;)
>
> What. It's a major reason why automobile
manufacturers spend so much
> time testing. When that
eighteen-wheeler right behind you keys his
> kilowatt rig you'd
really like your electronically controlled motor
> and
transmission not to get funny ideas. Or your electric power
>
steering or your fly-by-wire brakes, which of course you have not got.
>
> Yours,
> David
> ps -- did you know
there have been serious proposals to run a single
> 48 or 96 volt
bus around an entire vehicle, with all the electrics
> simply
attached directly to it? Power and instructions all passed
> down
the single wire. Already your typical fancy car has some
>
ridiculous number like 50 or 60 microprocessors.
>
>
Thank God for the '80s, say I. I think mid-80s to mid-90s are the
> sweet spot in modern automotive history.
>
| 
