The new news 24 thread

[Parky]

My Chevette had a Lumenition system and it was about the only part of the car that didn't break on me. That was early 90's.

 

Currently sitting in Costa while the daily gets its MOT. Ten years old next week with a perfect score on MOTs so far. Could today's be a step too far?

 

Key factors seem ok. Obviously I can't check the emissions unless I spend some time with the exhaust gases, and whilst the front tyres are just legal I might get an advisory there. God it's like awaiting an exam result isn't it?

[alcyonecorporation]

Got my Sparkrite SX4000 that I bought from SimonBBC off eBay. I believe Accuspark sell the same unit too. Quite cheap at £30 and that included 4 spark testers too.

 

Naturally the first thing I did was to rip the lid off. I can't say I'm totally impressed with the build quality nor how long it'll last though. Take a look at this:

 

The green LEDs is haphazardly bent across. Looks like the case designer didn't speak to the PCB designer. The red LED with a resistor is bodged in onto the switch and badly soldered to the back of the PCB. While the switch itself is not a waterproof or sealed unit. Moisture and condensation will get in and rust that out pretty quickly.

 

The input wires are held in place by the back of the lid. No strain relief and worse, a sharp edge. Likely to chafe through and short out. As most older cars don't have their ignition circuit fused, this can easily cause a fire.

 

The two electrolytic filtering capacitors on the back are not secured and left hanging. Fine for products in the home that aren't move but in an automotive environment they're likely to fall off from vibration work hardening the leads.

 

The other side of the PCB isn't much better. There is solder residue left from some hand soldering. The routing of the PCB tracks is awfully messy and really not optimal. Looks like whoever designed the PCB either didn't really know what they were doing or did not care one jot.

 

There is also no conformal coating on the PCB at all, so it's almost certainly going to corrode and rust away over time as moisture gets in. Before it does that, it's likely it'll cut out and die.

 

The input voltage regulator doesn't appear to either be automotive rated. As automotive is a hostile environment electrically and environmentally, it's likely this will degrade and die. At least they bothered putting a TVS diode to try and soak up some of the bigger peaks. However this is a 53v part and the voltage regulator has a maximum input of 24v. So spikes will damage the part anyway.

 

It's interesting they used a microcontroller. Not sure entirely what it's doing but I imagine it's probably debouncing the points and maybe sorting the dwell period. I may dig out my Microchip programmer and see if the memory is locked down from reading it. Then I can see what it's actually doing and going on.

 

Also concerning is the lack of low impedance decoupling caps on the microcontroller power pins. Again it gives off a design smell that the designer didn't really know what they were doing. Even a bog standard 100nF capacitor is better than the zilch on here and literally fractions of a cent. So cheap that a lot of Chinese PCB assemblers don't bother charging for them.

 

What looks to be a diode across the distributor points appears to be a late addition to the design as there is no footprint markings on the PCB for it. At least they used a automotive rated coil driver J-FET for driving the coil though. Probably the only decent part of the design.

 

As the design is so simple, I quickly sketched a schematic of the board. It's a tad messy, as the last time I hand drew a schematic was over 10 years ago when I was at uni.. I didn't include the input switch or red LED but that basically only switches the distributor points input directly to the coil output.

 

 

I honestly don't think I want to put this in my car given the crappyness of the design. At the very least I may swap out the switch for a waterproof one and give the PCB a spray of Conformal Coating.

 

2/10.

 

Well, that's your classic car business sorted. 

 

When's the website going up? 

[Stanky]

Hopefully its a good day for MOTs Parky - the wife-mobile is in for its annual inspection as well today. Its at a garage I've not used before too due to the tester being really quite unwell at the usual place, so added nervousness and increased wear and tear on the f5 key on the MOT website this morning.

[320touring]

Hopefully its a good day for MOTs Parky - the wife-mobile is in for its annual inspection as well today. Its at a garage I've not used before too due to the tester being really quite unwell at the usual place, so added nervousness and increased wear and tear on the f5 key on the MOT website this morning.

You dont have time for that -get the GEEP running!

[fordperv]

Sparkrite alarms and immobiliser stuff is utter pish - always has been. When I used to sell that sort of thing these were GUARANTEED to be fucked in under a year, almost always due to damp ingress.

A misfiring alarm is a pain in the arse and an unreliable immobiliser is a nightmare...

You say that but we put one with the central locking interface and all that on my dad's sierra and it worked faultlessly in all the years he had it, but that could be down to the way he fitted it and the fact it was an old one, i took it off when the car rotted away its sat in my mum's loft

[Stanky]

How did you get an entire Sierra into the loft?

[Parky]

Hopefully its a good day for MOTs Parky - the wife-mobile is in for its annual inspection as well today. Its at a garage I've not used before too due to the tester being really quite unwell at the usual place, so added nervousness and increased wear and tear on the f5 key on the MOT website this morning.

Thank you Stanky - it was indeed a good day, another pass with an advisory on the front tyres (as expected). Nothing else to worry about, everything else is tip top apparently.

 

Good luck with the wife-mobile!

[Stanky]

Thanks, I got a clean pass for the second year running, not bad for a £500 stop-gap car.

[Guest Hooli]

How did you get an entire Sierra into the loft?

 

Piece by piece.

[phil_lihp]

Kinda spurred me on to want to make my own mappable Ignition system - especially as the original distributor for my MGB is knackerd. Aftermarket distributors don't seem to have a lot of details on the advance curve of them. So they won't be running as the originals did. Also with modern fuels, the ignition timing isn't likely to be optimal either. It's why I originally bought that cheap £27 Accuspark distributor to play with. However that at the moment has been put into duty in the MGB.

 

As others have said, sounds like you could make your own better-quality system, you certainly seem to know your stuff.  

[SiC]

Well, that's your classic car business sorted.

 

When's the website going up?

Is there any money in such a product and in classic cars in general? I can imagine there is in the top end stuff but at the hobby/enthusiast level?

 

Problem with making it a commercial product like this is that the design and implementation is only one part of bringing it to market. Not only the marketing, manufacturing, sales, support and stocking, but to get a product like this to market involves a lot of approvals process. It should be properly type approved and that's expensive + time consuming.

 

I'd love to see the certificate of conformance for that Sparkrite module. Mostly because I suspect there is none. It's not heavily policed so no questions asked but that's all well and good until someone sues for liability. Even if they have product liability, under H&S grounds can make the directors personally liable too. Also without type approval, the liability insurance could be found to be null anyway.

 

Also having set up and ran a startup of my own previously, it's bloody stressful hard work. Right now in my life, a regular 9-5 with a decent salary is what I need and have.

 

If/when I do make my own ignition system, I'll just do it in my own time and probably ultimately open source it. That way I can stop & start the project as I have the mojo for it without stressing having deadlines and worrying about burn rates, budgets, marketability, etc.

 

First things first though is that I need a bench test jig to aid development. Does anyone know of any Distributor testers for sale?

[tooSavvy]

... Sparkrite Clone burns down multistorey car park.... I see it all now....

 

*OLLI have the crown atm.

 

 

TS

[omegod]

Looks like the old AS whore Rover 220 sli has passed it's MOT so lives on, not sure who has custody but well done 

[stuboy]

Collegue asked me to pump up hes rear tyre (again) as he said it was not handling very well, 4.5psi and a nail right on edge .. looked at both rears advised to replace tyres as there perished...they wanted to know how long last... safety last eh.

[catsinthewelder]

Looks like the old AS whore Rover 220 sli has passed it's MOT so lives on, not sure who has custody but well done 

 

Currently with Nisfan,  good to hear it's passed.

[New POD]

Got my Sparkrite SX4000 that I bought from SimonBBC off eBay. I believe Accuspark sell the same unit too. Quite cheap at £30 and that included 4 spark testers too.

 

Naturally the first thing I did was to rip the lid off. I can't say I'm totally impressed with the build quality nor how long it'll last though. Take a look at this:

 

The green LEDs is haphazardly bent across. Looks like the case designer didn't speak to the PCB designer. The red LED with a resistor is bodged in onto the switch and badly soldered to the back of the PCB. While the switch itself is not a waterproof or sealed unit. Moisture and condensation will get in and rust that out pretty quickly.

 

The input wires are held in place by the back of the lid. No strain relief and worse, a sharp edge. Likely to chafe through and short out. As most older cars don't have their ignition circuit fused, this can easily cause a fire.

 

The two electrolytic filtering capacitors on the back are not secured and left hanging. Fine for products in the home that aren't move but in an automotive environment they're likely to fall off from vibration work hardening the leads.

 

The other side of the PCB isn't much better. There is solder residue left from some hand soldering. The routing of the PCB tracks is awfully messy and really not optimal. Looks like whoever designed the PCB either didn't really know what they were doing or did not care one jot.

 

There is also no conformal coating on the PCB at all, so it's almost certainly going to corrode and rust away over time as moisture gets in. Before it does that, it's likely it'll cut out and die.

 

The input voltage regulator doesn't appear to either be automotive rated. As automotive is a hostile environment electrically and environmentally, it's likely this will degrade and die. At least they bothered putting a TVS diode to try and soak up some of the bigger peaks. However this is a 53v part and the voltage regulator has a maximum input of 24v. So spikes will damage the part anyway.

 

It's interesting they used a microcontroller. Not sure entirely what it's doing but I imagine it's probably debouncing the points and maybe sorting the dwell period. I may dig out my Microchip programmer and see if the memory is locked down from reading it. Then I can see what it's actually doing and going on.

 

Also concerning is the lack of low impedance decoupling caps on the microcontroller power pins. Again it gives off a design smell that the designer didn't really know what they were doing. Even a bog standard 100nF capacitor is better than the zilch on here and literally fractions of a cent. So cheap that a lot of Chinese PCB assemblers don't bother charging for them.

 

What looks to be a diode across the distributor points appears to be a late addition to the design as there is no footprint markings on the PCB for it. At least they used a automotive rated coil driver J-FET for driving the coil though. Probably the only decent part of the design.

 

As the design is so simple, I quickly sketched a schematic of the board. It's a tad messy, as the last time I hand drew a schematic was over 10 years ago when I was at uni.. I didn't include the input switch or red LED but that basically only switches the distributor points input directly to the coil output.

 

 

I honestly don't think I want to put this in my car given the crappyness of the design. At the very least I may swap out the switch for a waterproof one and give the PCB a spray of Conformal Coating.

 

2/10.

 

I'm waiting for MikeR to respond on this one. He spent 30 years man and Boy at GecPlesseyTelecomunications which became MarconiComs ending up as a senior test engineer. I once gave him a very fucked central locking module off a mk2 cavalier, which had been sitting in a box which was full of water. It came back 2 weeks later with extra wires and new components and working. Apparently it had been fixed at "Lunchtime" with "reject parts" . 

[alcyonecorporation]

Yay* stomach bug. 

[BorniteIdentity]

Busy arse day today - Friday I'm flat out anyway, and now trying to squeeze a car collection in this afternoon so as to not lose family time tomorrow afternoon with the kids.

 

The plan WAS to sell my w202 to 'Balbir from Heathrow' this morning and then use that money towards the new one.  However, being an internet buyer, he's all of a sudden gone quiet.  Surprise surprise.  Joke will be on him, as I'll re-advertise it for £295 at which stage he will immediately become keen again, and I'll either tell him to FRO or just waste a bit of his time by not turning up.

 

The new purchase is having it's MOT today so it comes with 13 months, so I'll be eagerly F5ing the DVLA website almost constantly.

[BorniteIdentity]

Busy arse day today - Friday I'm flat out anyway, and now trying to squeeze a car collection in this afternoon so as to not lose family time tomorrow afternoon with the kids.

 

The plan WAS to sell my w202 to 'Balbir from Heathrow' this morning and then use that money towards the new one.  However, being an internet buyer, he's all of a sudden gone quiet.  Surprise surprise.  Joke will be on him, as I'll re-advertise it for £295 at which stage he will immediately become keen again, and I'll either tell him to FRO or just waste a bit of his time by not turning up.

 

The new purchase is having it's MOT today so it comes with 13 months, so I'll be eagerly F5ing the DVLA website almost constantly.

 

Update - he's warmed up again, offering only £485 despite the call yesterday where I said explicitly that I wouldn't sell the car for that price - and that if he was to try again tomorrow I'd politely decline again and go back to work.

 

He said ok.

 

I said thanks for your interest.

 

He's now calling me constantly offering £535 - more than I would have taken tbh.  I'm leaving him to sweat it, because I still reckon he's a fucking messer.

[Parky]

You just know that even if you settle on £550 or whatever, when you actually meet to do the deal he'll "only have £350 with me mate, my Mums ill and my hamster needs an x-ray, both my sisters have just had babies and my council tax has gone up".

[BorniteIdentity]

You just know that even if you settle on £550 or whatever, when you actually meet to do the deal he'll "only have £350 with me mate, my Mums ill and my hamster needs an x-ray, both my sisters have just had babies and my council tax has gone up".

 

We went through a lot of this yesterday.

 

"Yeah but he's gotta tax the car innit".

Yes. They all require that old boy.

 

"And the last car bust the gearbox after a week innit".

Sorry to hear that, but it doesn't affect the value of this car.

 

"He's at uni aint got much money innit".

I've a cheaper car you can buy.

 

I've told the guys from work to come out when he arrives.  Not for solidarity or security, but because it's likely to be a right old laugh.

[BorniteIdentity]

We went through a lot of this yesterday.

 

"Yeah but he's gotta tax the car innit".

Yes. They all require that old boy.

 

"And the last car bust the gearbox after a week innit".

Sorry to hear that, but it doesn't affect the value of this car.

 

"He's at uni aint got much money innit".

I've a cheaper car you can buy.

 

I've told the guys from work to come out when he arrives.  Not for solidarity or security, but because it's likely to be a right old laugh.

 

This bloke is fantastic.

 

Remember - I said on the telephone yesterday that I wouldn't sell to him for less than £525.

 

 

"Spoke to my son he says £535".

 

 

then I told him if he's genuinely wanting the car, fine - but don't try and have another chip when you get here.   He says cool, what's the address? I ignore him as I'm balls deep in work atm.

 

 

"Can we pay £510 and the deal is done

 

 

I've told him to go away.  It's a shit tonne of grief over a cheap car, and he's lost it for the sake of £15.  Well bloody done.

 

I'm going to take some nice pictures on my MiL's gravel driveway, shine it up and stick it on ebay.  If anyone needs a benevolence vehicle for a while then I'd gladly stick it out on loaner.

 

Gr10 entertainment. 

[Rusty_Rocket]

Ugggghhhh, Bornite, I totally sympathise. Why do the cheap cars always attract the idiots?! (that is not a comment about the good people of this site BTW!) Parky is right of course. Even if you told him he could collect it for free, with a full tank of pez, he'd still not turn up at the right time/ ask you to deliver it to a random relative. How do these people get through life?!

The right buyer will turn up.

[Kiltox]

If you offered it for free he would ask you to pay him to take it away.

 

Cretins.

[bramz7]

It's part of the reason why I hate selling cars to the public.

I had a guy message me (presumably) offering a swap for the AX. All he said was 'ST150'.

 

I didn't reply.

 

Someone else offered £250.

 

I get the whole ' don't ask don't get ' mentality but get a grip.

 

I've had people in the past expect me to lower prices due to distance too. That's like me driving to a supermarket 100 miles away and blaming them for it.

[Guest Hooli]

Yay* stomach bug. 

 

 

Busy arse day today

 

 

Is it catching?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Bornite, yer man sounds like the worst kind of messer who doesn't even know what he wants himself (worse than the sort who does know, but doesn't see that its not achievable). He ain't gonna buy it at any price. Just tell him to FRO and block his number on your phone.

[BorniteIdentity]

Bornite, yer man sounds like the worst kind of messer who doesn't even know what he wants himself (worse than the sort who does know, but doesn't see that its not achievable). He ain't gonna buy it at any price. Just tell him to FRO and block his number on your phone.

Absolutely. He called 10 times in 13 minutes once I said ok thanks anyway.

 

Blocked.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Ha!!!!! Nice work.

[scaryoldcortina]

Remember my nightmare customer with the fucked up focus? Yeah, her...

 

I got a call at half seven last night, she's driven the replacement focus into floodwater and hydraulic locked the engine. She rang again just now to say they've dragged it out of the river but it still won't start, can I come and have a look.

 

No, I can't. I'm putting a timing belt on a DCi engined clio right now and there are other jobs in the queue for people with who aren't a complete luckless nightmare.