Larry Jaques wrote:
....

Condensation (+ rust?) was apparently the culprit.
....

Don't know that we know...

Just got this from a embedded systems consulting guru whose newsletter I
subscribe to. His take at the moment--

Toyota Brakes
-------------
Over the last few days I've received an avalanche of email from
engineers asking for my take on the "software problem" in certain
models of Toyotas that leads to runaway cars. The blogosphere is full
of speculation about the problem as well, so much that Toyota's
software seems to stand indicted, convicted and tried.

I drive a Toyota Prius, a hybrid that has a regenerative braking
system. I'm told the brake pedal is just an input to the computer
with no connection to the hydraulic system. After 102,000 miles it
has never failed to stop the car, but does feel very subtly "weird"
very occasionally, like there's just something different, something
unexpected in the feel of the braking system. But it has never felt
unsafe.

Engineers who design ABS brake systems tell me the software is
qualified by highly experienced test drivers who zoom around the
track and come back asking for a different "feel," which is something
that can't be embodied in formal requirements. It seems
software-controlled braking is designed to model the century-old
manual controls, to give the driver the experience he is used to.

My take on the current recall is: we know nothing. Software, floor
mats, mechanical problems - it could be one of these, all of them, or
something else entirely. When the NTSB sets off to investigate an
airplane crash they leave DC with the most important tool that an
investigator possesses: an open mind. As inquiring engineers it's fun
to speculate about potential root causes of accidents, but that's
simple speculation, nothing more.

I do predict that if the software is involved, the engineering
community will learn nothing useful from this experience. Surely
details of the bug will remain shrouded in secrecy. My hope is that
someday we open the books on bugs so, just as is true in civil
engineering and the aviation industry, others can learn from our
mistakes. Alas, for now that hope seems completely naive.

Excerpted from

About The Embedded Muse
-----------------------
The Embedded Muse is a newsletter sent via email by Jack Ganssle.
Send complaints, comments, and contributions to me at
.

The Embedded Muse is supported by The Ganssle Group, whose mission is
to help embedded folks get better products to market faster.
.... [snip] ...

--

On Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:46:26 -0600, the infamous Dave Balderstone
scrawled the following:

In article ,
wrote:

How about a dwell meter and timing light??? Or a tachometer, even?????

I think my brother has my old timing light & dwell meter.

I still have both of mine (dad's old strobe timing light and vacuum
meter), and they have about 1/4" of dust on them now, under my toolbox
in a metal case, my dwellmeter in the bottom of the box.

--
Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire,
you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.
-- George Bernard Shaw

On Tue, 2 Feb 2010 22:12:23 -0700, Larry Jaques wrote
(in article ):

I think my brother has my old timing light & dwell meter.

I still have both of mine (dad's old strobe timing light and vacuum
meter), and they have about 1/4" of dust on them now, under my toolbox
in a metal case, my dwellmeter in the bottom of the box.

Vacuum gauges are still very handy for engine testing....

"Dave Balderstone" wrote in message
news:040220101822126674%dave@N_O_T_T_H_I_Sbalderst one.ca...
In article , Bruce
wrote:

On Tue, 2 Feb 2010 22:12:23 -0700, Larry Jaques wrote
(in article ):

I think my brother has my old timing light & dwell meter.

I still have both of mine (dad's old strobe timing light and vacuum
meter), and they have about 1/4" of dust on them now, under my toolbox
in a metal case, my dwellmeter in the bottom of the box.

Vacuum gauges are still very handy for engine testing....


But as there's no way for a home mechanic to REPAIR an engine, why
bother?

Oh stop. I still repair all of my vehicles. The oldest I own is my truck
(and it's an antique...) which is a '94. Our two other cars are 04 and 06.
I have not sent a car in for service (unless I just did not feel like doing
the work), for as long as I have owned vehicles.

True - today's vehicles take a different sort of repair effort than the old
days of throwing in a set of points and setting the dwell angle, but they
are very repairable in the home garage - without tens of thousands of
dollars worth of equipment.

Repair an engine? Of course you can. Why would you say you can't? Get
past the electronics of today's cars and what is so intimidating about the
engine?

The upside is you really do not have to repair much on today's engines.
They really do run quite reliably for 200,000 miles. Yeah - there are
ancillary systems that support the engine that you have to mess with from
time to time, but those are very much within the reach of any home mechanic
that is any kind of mechanic at all.


--

-Mike-

Mike Marlow wrote:


"Dave Balderstone" wrote in message
news:040220101822126674%dave@N_O_T_T_H_I_Sbalderst one.ca...
In article , Bruce
wrote:

On Tue, 2 Feb 2010 22:12:23 -0700, Larry Jaques wrote
(in article ):

I think my brother has my old timing light & dwell meter.

I still have both of mine (dad's old strobe timing light and vacuum
meter), and they have about 1/4" of dust on them now, under my
toolbox
in a metal case, my dwellmeter in the bottom of the box.

Vacuum gauges are still very handy for engine testing....


But as there's no way for a home mechanic to REPAIR an engine, why
bother?

Oh stop. I still repair all of my vehicles. The oldest I own is my
truck
(and it's an antique...) which is a '94. Our two other cars are 04 and
06. I have not sent a car in for service (unless I just did not feel
like
doing the work), for as long as I have owned vehicles.

True - today's vehicles take a different sort of repair effort than the
old days of throwing in a set of points and setting the dwell angle, but
they are very repairable in the home garage - without tens of thousands
of
dollars worth of equipment.

Repair an engine? Of course you can. Why would you say you can't? Get
past the electronics of today's cars and what is so intimidating about
the
engine?

The upside is you really do not have to repair much on today's engines.
They really do run quite reliably for 200,000 miles. Yeah - there are
ancillary systems that support the engine that you have to mess with
from
time to time, but those are very much within the reach of any home
mechanic that is any kind of mechanic at all.


That's why I enjoy my old 88 ford F-350 Flatbed, work truck. Easy to work
on and all kinds of room under the hood and it carries everything I need
for my line of work. Just replaced the engine a few months back and it
runs like a champ. 460 gets bad gas mileage but I figure if gas goes to
10.00 gallon I'm still a head of the game. No Truck Payments!
--
You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK !
Mandriva 2010 using KDE 4.3
Website: www.rentmyhusband.biz

On Thu, 4 Feb 2010 17:22:12 -0700, Dave Balderstone wrote
(in article 040220101822126674%dave@N_O_T_T_H_I_Sbalderstone. ca):

In article , Bruce
wrote:

On Tue, 2 Feb 2010 22:12:23 -0700, Larry Jaques wrote
(in article ):

I think my brother has my old timing light & dwell meter.

I still have both of mine (dad's old strobe timing light and vacuum
meter), and they have about 1/4" of dust on them now, under my toolbox
in a metal case, my dwellmeter in the bottom of the box.

Vacuum gauges are still very handy for engine testing....


But as there's no way for a home mechanic to REPAIR an engine, why
bother?

Depends on what you have/know 8^)


A modern engine can still have valves/ springs/ rings/hoses go bad.

On Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:22:12 -0600, the infamous Dave Balderstone
scrawled the following:

In article , Bruce
wrote:

On Tue, 2 Feb 2010 22:12:23 -0700, Larry Jaques wrote
(in article ):

I think my brother has my old timing light & dwell meter.

I still have both of mine (dad's old strobe timing light and vacuum
meter), and they have about 1/4" of dust on them now, under my toolbox
in a metal case, my dwellmeter in the bottom of the box.

Vacuum gauges are still very handy for engine testing....


But as there's no way for a home mechanic to REPAIR an engine, why
bother?

Perhaps to keep your mechanic honest?

--
Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire,
you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.
-- George Bernard Shaw