defects -do u tell them?

[davenl5l]

not hard to check your brake lights i look in the mirror to see them light up any nearby object day or night before every drive but in saying that still had the switch die between home and adelaide one trip only found out when i put a trailer on and re checked them.

[J.C.]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

But does not tell you if a brake light or head light globe has blown during the duration of your drive, at least once a day you know they all work.

Oh good God! How did we ever survive before such systems were introduced?

I know! We actually got off our a$res, got proactive and took responsibility for checks and preventive maintenance at a more personal level instead of replying on some little bulb to tell an individual if something "may have" failed or a service is now due or the engine requires oil cause the service indicator lamp failed which, in turn, obvisously didn't tell the operator the car is due for service cause one does not have the common sense to work out for ones self when it is due cause once again, we reply on a little light telling us so.

P.S. : I recieved your PM. Not once did I say "that the sensors and warning systems are not a good idea". I said they fail and not to be fully relied upon. They do give incorrect readings, even if no warnings appears.

[pottery beige]

wow.. so upset about ****y little light bulbs.... some need to chill tfo......

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by J.C.

P.S. : I recieved your PM. Not once did I say "that the sensors and warning systems are not a good idea". I said they fail and not to be fully relied upon. They do give incorrect readings, even if no warnings appears.

Nor did I ever say they were the be all and end all of vehicle maintenance, just a helpful tool that gives another level of vehicle check that helps manage the short comings of the human being.

By the way, you are welcome, it was no problem for me to admit I was wrong on a certain element of my previous posts as I stated in my PM.

It is a shame you have not been able to do the same, but I guess the final line of your signature explains why.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

wow.. so upset about ****y little light bulbs.... some need to chill tfo......

Completely agree, time to go sub zero on this. I have made my point and that is enough.

By the way, I have also on many occasions informed someone of a fault on their car and my efforts are often well received (sometimes not but not to worry). I even had to get the attention of a lady on the motorway once and get her to pull over so I could warn her that she had a fire under her bonnet. I also used the ambulance fire extinguisher to put it out for her.

[DBourne]

Originally Posted by J.C.

IN MY WORLD!!!
I take offence to that comment.

Let me tell you a little more about my world.
My job requires me to do prestart checks by law. Part of the safety auditing system that is required under certain regulations. I have found it a useful tool.

Let me put this more simply for you in the hope you will understand.
1. Anything man made will eventually crap itself. These systems you reply on are man made and designed.
2. Humans are dumb by nature. We are not born loaded with knowledge. The only way we learn is to be taught or learn from our mistakes or others.

Honestly, WTF do I know about this subject huh? The question you should be asking yourself is "where does my level of expertize truely lie?".

Oh. Congratulations on fixing the mini. You're damn lucky the light came on to tell you a bulb was blown...... Tell me. What if that little light was blown? No, no. Wait. I know. You'd get a text message .........right?
Phfffffffff.

Yeah that's not a knobby response at all now is it..

I personally don't tell people, purely because the reply I used to get when I did wasn't exactly a nice one.

[J.C.]

^^^^^^ And what value does your comment hold Sarge?

[RedHotGT]

Why don't we all just get into the habit of doing a walk around the car prior to getting in...

Didn't anyone play Police Quest when they were younger???
(if you didn't do a walk around before getting in the car - BOOM)....

[The Outsider]

Originally Posted by ryanstev

I'm not sure how you would get that idea, I had a 4 second following distance, perhaps your 4 sec gap was not enough for the conditions

he braked, but I had no idea, I only noticed that I was suddenly getting a lot closer to him, so I braked to keep my distance, but I was still getting closer so I had to brake even harder. that suggest to me that you where possibly not paying enough attention

He braked hard, but had no lights on, unless I had a telepathic ability to know he was braking, why would I brake when he did and why would I brake hard like he did? because all of a sudden the car in front of you is getting closer. if you left a safe enough gap then it wouldnt matter if his lights worked or not. you would then be in control of your own destiny and not relying on the roadworthiness of someone elses car

When you follow people and they have working brake lights, do you slam your brakes on as soon as you see their brake lights come on? No, you brake gently, no i dont brake at all.

keep reading

if you have a following distance you can then adjust your braking pressure if you realise that they are braking hard. because i pay attention and leave a safe enough gap to react to them i do not need to brake every time some donkey in front of me taps the brakes. if they are actually braking THEN i can start using my brakes accordingly

If their brake lights aren't working, then unless you brake hard straight away, you're going to get either very close to them, or hit them.no

you relied on something that was out of your control and you hit the other car. you might feel hard done by because the lights didnt work.
rather than lay blame on them why not look at what YOU could have done to reduce your risks and consider that next time you drive.
please dont feel like im attacing you, that is not my intention.
most of us learn from our experiences.
questions is, what are you going to learn from this event

Originally Posted by geckoGT

Most of the time, if you are at a safe following distance and an alert driver you will still have enough room to perceive the hazard and respond without the brake lights to warn you

gecko, if only we had more road users such as yourself, everyone would be much better off.

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

The Mini's also have tyre pressure warning as well as do many new cars. It will be good when these features filter down to all vehicles.

There are many cars these days fitted with tyre pressure sensors, however the cars fitted with these are generally fitted with low profile tyres and the cars are either of the higher pricing scale, or are European cars


The sensors average out at $300 each sensor and they are very easily damaged.

Now don't think I'm denying it's not a good idea, I'm mearly pointing out costing of them and the cars I see with them fitted

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by superpursuit83

You guys should check your light every day..

Maybe its embedded in me from driving the cranes/trucks, but every morning before I raise the garage door I check indicators and brake lights. Easy to do when they are reflecting off the roller door.

.

Very easy to do, IF you have something to have the lights reflect off. I don't
have a roller door, nor can I get the cars close enough to the house to get the light reflection off it. I have to rely on the weekend, for the misses to be home, so there are 2 of us to do the brake light check. The other light checks don't need 2 people, so that's not a problem.

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by superpursuit83

I check indicators

i know it depends on the actual car, but with any falcon, fairlaine, or ltd from 73 through to probably now (certainly until the 90's), you did not need to check your indicators. when a main indicator (not the repeaters) had blown, they would no longer click. they would just blink faster with no sound and then you knew an indicator had gone

[J.C.]

Just thinking outside the box here.
How does something like a brick, paver or piece of timber on the brake pedal sound to anyone wishing to check their brake lights and they happen to be on their own?
Just the slightest depression on the pedal activates the switch so you don't need anything all that heavy. A 12inch shifter probably do the trick.
Just a thought.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by svo supporter

There are many cars these days fitted with tyre pressure sensors, however the cars fitted with these are generally fitted with low profile tyres and the cars are either of the higher pricing scale, or are European cars


The sensors average out at $300 each sensor and they are very easily damaged.

Now don't think I'm denying it's not a good idea, I'm mearly pointing out costing of them and the cars I see with them fitted

The Mini ones on the R56 are not actually a sensor in the wheel, they work on a change in rolling diameter due to a deflated tyre as picked up from the ABS sensors.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by J.C.

Just thinking outside the box here.
How does something like a brick, paver or piece of timber on the brake pedal sound to anyone wishing to check their brake lights and they happen to be on their own?
Just the slightest depression on the pedal activates the switch so you don't need anything all that heavy. A 12inch shifter probably do the trick.
Just a thought.

That is how I do it when I wash the cars and it works well.

I am going to challenge the idea of getting everyone to do that every day though, it will never happen.

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

The Mini ones on the R56 are not actually a sensor in the wheel, they work on a change in rolling diameter due to a deflated tyre as picked up from the ABS sensors.

It's still operating via a sensor. Some have the sensor in the wheel itself some via the braking system. The can still be easily damaged and the cost of the sensor varies depending on the car. My quoting was a general overview, as I wasn't wasting 6 pages going through each and every car fitted with them, where they were fitted and the cost of replacement of them.

There is also an aftermarket system available, where by the sensor is the valve cap and sends a signal to a devise inside the car and reads the pressure. (Tyre dog is the name). The problem with that system is, little mongrels that nick valve caps, means you have to buy a complete new system @ $400 to $500 a pop.

I have also seen valve caps that are preset to 32 to 34 PSI. These show a green piece when the pressure is at this maximum pressure. This green section disappears if the pressure drops below that, but that system requires you to actually look at the valve cap. Again, little mongrel kids can pinch them.

There are also valve caps for truck tyres. These are preset to work between 70 and 130 PSI. Once the pressure drops below 70 PSI, it has a little red led light that flashes continuiously until you pump it back upto the right pressure. Again, this requires you to actually look at the valve cap and little mongrel kids can pinch them.

So there are various systems around, but the cost and how they work vary.

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by gtxb67

i know it depends on the actual car, but with any falcon, fairlaine, or ltd from 73 through to probably now (certainly until the 90's), you did not need to check your indicators. when a main indicator (not the repeaters) had blown, they would no longer click. they would just blink faster with no sound and then you knew an indicator had gone

Come to think of it, now you've mentioned it. There are other cars of this era that did the same thing. So maybe it was the "start" of the modern era of self checking.

[geckoGT]

Any car will change the rate of the indicator flash if a globe blows. A bulb is a resistor, the indicator flasher unit is a bimetalic strip that bends when it heats during current flow. If your lose a resistor (the bulb) from the circuit, less resistance = more current flow. This increase in current flow increases the heat through the bimetalic strip so the indicators flash faster.

Try it out, pull out one globe and your indicators will flash faster, replace the globe and they return to normal. It is the one sure fire way I know an indicator bulb is blown on my own vehicles and the work ones.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by svo supporter

It's still operating via a sensor. Some have the sensor in the wheel itself some via the braking system. The can still be easily damaged and the cost of the sensor varies depending on the car. My quoting was a general overview, as I wasn't wasting 6 pages going through each and every car fitted with them, where they were fitted and the cost of replacement of them.

There is also an aftermarket system available, where by the sensor is the valve cap and sends a signal to a devise inside the car and reads the pressure. (Tyre dog is the name). The problem with that system is, little mongrels that nick valve caps, means you have to buy a complete new system @ $400 to $500 a pop.

I have also seen valve caps that are preset to 32 to 34 PSI. These show a green piece when the pressure is at this maximum pressure. This green section disappears if the pressure drops below that, but that system requires you to actually look at the valve cap. Again, little mongrel kids can pinch them.

There are also valve caps for truck tyres. These are preset to work between 70 and 130 PSI. Once the pressure drops below 70 PSI, it has a little red led light that flashes continuiously until you pump it back upto the right pressure. Again, this requires you to actually look at the valve cap and little mongrel kids can pinch them.

So there are various systems around, but the cost and how they work vary.

You are spot on with all of the above except that you make it sound like the BMW system (and I am sure many others) uses a seperate sensor on each wheel that can be broken. This is not the case, it is the same sensor that is utilised by the ABS and on many cars the vehicle speedo (as many later cars use the ABS sensors for the speedo). Therefore it is not an extra 4 sensors worth $500 each that can be broken is it?

And trust me, considering I rotate the wheels on my cars every 5000 km I have seen the hubs enough to know there are no extra sensors there.

Here is a picture to prove it
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...76&hg=31&fg=10

[prydey]

The Outsider - ryanstev said in his original post that he 'almost' hit someone, so i would argue that he was driving to the conditions and did have enough of a gap otherwise there would've been a collision. not sure why you are suggesting otherwise.

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

You are spot on with all of the above except that you make it sound like the BMW system (and I am sure many others) uses a seperate sensor on each wheel that can be broken. This is not the case, it is the same sensor that is utilised by the ABS and on many cars the vehicle speedo (as many later cars use the ABS sensors for the speedo). Therefore it is not an extra 4 sensors worth $500 each that can be broken is it?

And trust me, considering I rotate the wheels on my cars every 5000 km I have seen the hubs enough to know there are no extra sensors there.

Here is a picture to prove it
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...76&hg=31&fg=10

Break a factory sensor, it'll cost round about $300 each to replace. (Give or take a few hundred depending on the car). Doesn't matter if the sensor is in the rim, or in the ABS system.

[SSD-85]

I once had a couple of burly maori blokes pull up beside me in a commodore. I got nervous as they winded down the window to speak to me. I braced myself for hospitalisation (for something I was desperately trying to figure out) when they kindly told me my fuel flap was open.

So after soiling myself I thanked them. Just goes to show....

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by svo supporter

Break a factory sensor, it'll cost round about $300 each to replace. (Give or take a few hundred depending on the car). Doesn't matter if the sensor is in the rim, or in the ABS system.

That is true, but they are there so why not use them for that other function. Because they are already there using for that extra and very useful function (it really does work at detecting a soft tyre), most cars have ABS, they have those sensors anyway so it is no extra equipment to break is it?

I do see your point but to me that is like saying I am not going to have air conditioning in the car because it might break and then it will cost me money. The similes to this line of thought are endless.

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

That is true, but they are there so why not use them for that other function. Because they are already there using for that extra and very useful function (it really does work at detecting a soft tyre), most cars have ABS, they have those sensors anyway so it is no extra equipment to break is it?

I do see your point but to me that is like saying I am not going to have air conditioning in the car because it might break and then it will cost me money. The similes to this line of thought are endless.

Mate, the sensors work from the wheels. Be it inside the rim or outside. So in short they can be broken, which in turn can cost a few bucks.

So instead of going along these lines, why not go back to the topic at hand

[geckoGT]

Yeah whatever

[The Outsider]

Originally Posted by prydey

The Outsider - ryanstev said in his original post that he 'almost' hit someone, so i would argue that he was driving to the conditions and did have enough of a gap otherwise there would've been a collision. not sure why you are suggesting otherwise.

my bad, seems like your right.

either way, blaming someone else for something that you should be in control of is poor form

ill go back and edit my post so others dont get the wrong idea

EDIT: seems like i cant go back and edit my post anymore.

rayn sorry for thinking you actually hit the car but i still stand by my comments regarding leaving a safe gap

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by svo supporter

Mate, the sensors work from the wheels. Be it inside the rim or outside. So in short they can be broken, which in turn can cost a few bucks

it seems to me that the sensors are there anyway. if they get broken for some reason they need to be fixed anyway

therefore if another safety feature can be built into the same sensor, without putting anymore risk into the sensor, then that is a good thing