New Aston Martin uses Volvo electronics?!

According to the Globe and Mail newspaper, about the new Aston Martin
DB9: "Lots of electronics are at work here -- in fact the entire
electrical architecture was developed in partnership with Volvo -- ..."

Draw your own conclusions.

Or read the whole article at:
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040401/WHASTONBEZ01

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

NOTE: new address!!
Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

 

Well seeing as Volvo and Aston are both part of Ford it's not that
surprising.

 

Well I know a few British guys who admit British electrical systems are a
little weird, and potentially touchy... so maybe this is a good thing.
Electrics have always been a no-problem affair on our Volvo's... New ones
seem solid too, despite the odd burnt out headlamp (a problem with all the
newer cars now it seems, must be because they are brighter and whiter...
reduces lamp life)

 

You're having a laugh right? Volvo's first gen CANBUS systems are all abit
flakey, you get warning lights on, and things adjusting themselves without
being asked, or just stop working until the system is reset!

Don't quote me on this, but I believe the DB9 uses alot of Volvo's CANBUS
technology,[2] cos as yet, Ford havent got any EU cars on the market with
canbus technology.[1]

Tim..
[1] I stand to be corrected on this.
[2] Which may stop working without notice- but thats par for the course with
Aston!

 

I don't want to sound negative, but aren't you forgetting about the
abysmal fuse boxes in 2-series?

 

Our family had one from 1976-1985 and the only problem was that it leaked
oil, and the windsheil seal was garbage and it leaked onto the dashboard...

Basically I have no recollection of our 240, or the first 740 we had, too
young.

 

New technology always has bugs... I have friends with a 2001 V70 and it all
got straightened out after a little while - software updates, one chip was
replaced... Not bad considering the computer power in the car, it's bound it
have glitches.

The wiring itself is quite good tho.

Hell the wiring system in our 11 year old 960 looks brand new - wires,
connectors, sensors etc... very nicely done I must say.

 

The fuse boxes in 200's have never given me much trouble, one car that was
in Alaska for 2 years had corroded fuses, but unless the car leaks, the fuse
box shouldn't cause much trouble and is easily accessed for maintenance
should it require it.

 

Amazing. You've never experienced the problem of the fuses being
loose in the plates and not working? I've found it to be a common
problem with 264 and 265 fuel pump fuses...

I go to look at a car that won't go, fix the fuses, re-seat the
tachometric relay (fancy name for the fuel pump relay that has a
tacho input), start the car _then_ pay the "won't go" price...

Cruel, I know, but when they claim "no rust" and the rust under
the trims runs all the way along under the rear side window of a
265, the "won't go" price is borderline on being too much.

The first car, I had decided that I didn't want it, and the guy
insisted that I make an offer. I offered AU$300, meaning it as
an insult. He accepted. That's the car that now has the 350 in
it, and it _only_ needed the fuse sockets tightened to run.

I think that out of 3 cars, all three have the fuse cover melted
(a little bit) near the main fuel pump fuse.

 

Right on, "Athol".
All 200 series owners should do regular maintenance on that fusebox,
whether the car leaks or not.
The fuses should be removed and the ends cleaned up 'til they're bright and
shiny. (If you can find the copper-ended type, use them, and throw out the
others.) The fuse-holders should be cleaned (wire-brushed or sand-papered).
These holders should be re-tensioned where necessary, so that the fuses are
held really tightly.

Andy I. ('58 445 wagon; '65 122S wagon; '57 121 sedan;
'74 145 wagon; '74 142 sedan; '86 245 wagon; '93 245 "Classic" wagon.)

 

But you (and your friends) shouldn't accept this. This is the sort of
thing that should be caught during product development. At least the
product development cycle shouldn't include the first year(s) of
customers!

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

NOTE: new address!!
Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

 

First as for 240 fuse boxes - I'm with brackenburn... as soon as I did
maintenance on the fuse box and put in new fuses every year, I never had
problems. Before that I had one of the worst Volvo electrical designs -
a 1971 142E. The fuel injection was an add on to the electrics in that
car, so Volvo thoughtfully provided a new fusebox, complete with
standard, corrosion prone fuse for the fuel pump. And where was this
fusebox? Under the hood, just to make sure there were problems!

Second, I think some people missed the point of my original post...
Which was to point out, if you're going to get Volvo engineers to help
out your design team, the electrical system guys may not be the best
ones to pick!

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

NOTE: new address!!
Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

 

It probably DOES work fine during their tests tho... Thats why they ship it,
i'm sure they wouldn't ship something they know doesn't work... The car did
obviously work for a while... Maybe in a certain condition, at a certain
time etc etc etc these people all had issues, and they couldn't anticipate
it, so Volvo had to update something... who knows

It's like this with everything that has computer technology in it, it seems.

 

I think it's more of a response to the fact that the Aston was using
electrics sourced from the Ford parts bin, which were widely
considered to lower the tone rather.

For the record I found the electrics on my Mini were starting to need
some attention by the time it was nineteen years old. But by then the
body was starting to rot so I got rid of it. Planned obsolescence,
eh? Who needs it?

--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

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