Automotive electronics

"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:8N-dnRnaWI22PqnNnZ2dnUVZ_r-dnZ2d@earthlink.com...
Klaatu wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:fd2dnWfbQd9X3a_NnZ2dnUVZ_gudnZ2d@earthlink.com...

Klaatu wrote:

Anybody know where the audio amplifier is on a 2007 Chevy Cobalt?


Have you asked the local dealer? I never had problems getting
answers from the parts/service department. Some '70s Delco car radios
had the output transistors mounted on a separate heatsink, that was
mounted to the inside of the firewall. They had a pair of TO-3
transistors, and a six wire cable to the unit. People would bring them
into the shop for service, without the outputs and insist we should
just
use the outputs from another radio. We refused, because of the
percentage of bad output transistors left in the cars meant extra work
for us.

The former local dealer has gone out of business as a Chevy dealer, and
will
offer nothing for free. Don't like him anyway due to past dealings. So,
I'm off to the salvage yard to ask them.


There are a lot of hits for Chevy forums, if that doesn't help you.

https://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=1Zn&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=chevy+cobalt+forum&oq=Chevy+Cobalt+f&gs_l=serp.1.1.0l10.20700.33355.0.36232.4.4.0.0.0.0.92.357.4.4.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.b_tom4n-AuY

Another interesting fact from the salvage yard....evidently all the factory
audio electronics are married to the cars computer, and can't be
interchanged without a dealer computer interface.
So if your radio tuner dies, you can't just buy a salvage replacement, stick
it in and get it to work. You have to tell the cars computer to authorize
it, and provide the VIN of the car that the
salvage part came from, or it wont work, and may trigger the anti-theft
system.. It was also interesting to learn that to get cruise control
installed on my car, all you need is the control unit, everything else is
already built in. And you have to go into the cars computer using a dealer
interface, and "authorize" cruise control (yes/no choice). The visit was
quite informative.
 
On Saturday, August 18, 2012 9:58:49 PM UTC+8, Arfa Daily wrote:
"William Sommerwerck" <grizzledgeezer@comcast.net> wrote in message

news:k0nrgb$vn4$1@dont-email.me...

The electronics in modern vehicles are extremely reliable,

despite the anecdotal tales that people always seem to

have about their friend's brother-in-law's aunty's cousin who

had to fork out 1000 quid for a new ECU because the headlights

wouldn't come on.



I don't know how modern is modern, but my 1987 Chevy Beretta twice

required

computer replacement at 400 bucks a pop.









But that was 25 years ago. I'm calling 'modern' up to say 10 years ago. If

you buy a car older than that, then I would have thought that its

electronics were going to be the least of your problems. Auto electronics

have evolved hugely since the time of your Chevy, and given the myriad of

real-time tasks that the ECU is constantly performing, including looking

after the injection, ignition timing, airflow monitoring, exhaust gas

monitoring, temperature monitoring, environmental control, ABS and ETC

computer monitoring, warning systems, even the radio, and further given the

extremely hostile and unforgiving circumstances that it does it in, I think

that auto electronics are a shining example of what can be achieved in terms

of elegance of design, and staggering reliability levels in a mass produced

item.



Of course, there are going to be exceptions, and your Chevy would appear to

be one, but when you consider how many millions of cars are tooling around

on our roads, I really don't think that the occasional failures anything

like outweigh the multitude of advantages. And actually, I don't think that

$400 is too bad for an ECU replacement. You could easily shell out that

amount on a full brake service or new clutch ??



Arf

I have a friend who was told by the dealer here ECU was defective and had to be replaced at a heavy cost and was non-repairable, being an electronics guy I did not believe it could not be repaired and checked on line, found a place in Germany that repairs them. The unit was sent to them for repair, they found no problem!! It was re-installed in the car and the dealer rechecked it while I was there, again it was found defective! I was watching the test and asked the guy why he did not call up the model of the car on his test computer.... He replied "we don't have that model on our computer sir, but its OK" I tore him and his manager off a piece and got them to refund the cost of having the unit checked in Germany

Make sure your dealer knows how to use a computer diagnostic program
 

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