AlanT Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 However "modern" and tempting electronics seems to be its really hard to make some thing cheap that has LONG-TERM reliablity. An iphone is a wonderful piece of smart high tech but the chips in it will self-destruct in about 10 years. I'd like to switch my electronic regulator back to a mechanical one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wayne taylor Posted July 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 Alan, how do you account for Voyager I then which launched in 1977 (36 yrs ago) and is destined to continue sending data back until 2020? Now thats reliability Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted July 31, 2013 Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 Thats exactly the point I made. Both points actually. You will note the word "cheap". Not the case on Voyager I expect. But the other thing is that 40 years back the internal "features" in semiconductors were built to 100micron rules. Now they are 0.2 microns or some such. This is what makes memories big and cheap now. But the data can now "leak-away". So in a while your new phone will get electronic Alzheimers. Now we come to the car related connection. A semifab is expensive. Billions to build new. After a while they move down a chain and make the less high-tech stuff and new fabs make the latest stuff which generates the biggest profits. So voltage stabilisers today get made with fabs that made memory chips 10 years back. 10 micon rules probably. The fabs have gone to China to do this. So we can expect to see a gradual decline in the long-term reliabilty of semiconductor devices in line with the increasing growth in "throw-away" culture. This is why I groan when somebody switches from an original part to some latest electronic thingy. Paradoxically I was one of the first people to put electronics into vehicles making an ECU for a Hillman Hunter in 1970. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peejay4A Posted July 31, 2013 Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 The temperatures in deep space probably contribute to the longevity of the electronics. Bring on room temperature superconductivity. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted July 31, 2013 Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 Also no humidity. Water vapour gets into chip pacakges where the connections come out. Once in there it gets turned to steam an this erodes the chip surface. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wayne taylor Posted July 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 OK OK I'm sorry I mentioned Voyager!!! Meanwhile back on planet earth: I am struggling to bleed the bleeding cooling system in that everything appears normal except after the engine has cooled down, I take the rad cap off and find the water level about 1/4" below the lip - tick. The overflow bottle is half full - tick. I then squeeze the top hose and or the little bypass hose going into the stat housing and both appear empty or devoid of water coolant. Why isn't the cooling system completely full? Each time I disconnect the bypass top connection to the stat housing and gently fill it full of water until it comes out of the stat housing and then quickly fit it back onto its nozzle in the stat housing. But next run - the same happens again and the top hose/bypass hose seem empty of water. Have I missed something here as my experience with modern cars teaches me that as much of the cooling system should remain full of water. If you squeeze any hoses on modern cars they sound full and the water level in the rad changes correspondingly???? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted August 1, 2013 Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 (edited) Don't feel bad. We come on here to pass on wisdom to the young before its too late. If it does not overheat, an empty hose would not bother me. Are you squeezing the hose when its hot or cold? Edited August 1, 2013 by AlanT Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peejay4A Posted August 1, 2013 Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 Wayne, you might already have covered this off so apologies if we're going over old ground. Does your radiator cap have two valves to allow it to draw back coolant from the overflow as it cools? Also does the overflow pipe go right to the bottom of the bottle, with a 45 degree cut on the end of the pipe to stop it sucking itself to the bottom? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wayne taylor Posted August 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 The cap looks like a basic spring loaded rubber seal type - no double valve thingamy? My overflow tube goes to the bottom of the overflow bottle but no 45 degree cut off just flat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peejay4A Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 (edited) In that case it looks like you have the wrong cap. You need a 7 lb (some say 13 but 7 or 4 is standard) and it should have a bidirectional valve. You also need to make a 45 degree cut on the overflow pipe so that when the radiator cools it doesn't suck the pipe onto the bottom of the bottle. Ah, having said all that it looks like yours is a 4, not a 4A. However it probably wouldn't do any harm to get a 4A type radiator cap which will allow coolant back into the radiator. After a couple of heating and cooling cycles if I remove the radiator cap the rad is full right to the top. Edited August 3, 2013 by peejay4A Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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