Computers in Vehicles going bad?

[adsm08]

I'm with exbass. Out of 7 vehicles I've owned with EFI I have had 1 PCM problem, and I caused it by not being careful enough.

I have owned 1 vehicle with a carb and had nothing but carb problems. Constant adjustments, it was never right, and it got bad mileage.

The ranger fires right up and aside from a few worn parts it runs just fine, but then, it is 23 years old.

As for oilpatch's oldsmobile, there is a reason you don't buy GM vehices.

 

[cody93]

i think i wana get my hands on a diesel ranger realy bad now

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

I'm with exbass. Out of 7 vehicles I've owned with EFI I have had 1 PCM problem, and I caused it by not being careful enough.

I have owned 1 vehicle with a carb and had nothing but carb problems. Constant adjustments, it was never right, and it got bad mileage.

The ranger fires right up and aside from a few worn parts it runs just fine, but then, it is 23 years old.

As for oilpatch's oldsmobile, there is a reason you don't buy GM vehices.

exactly, my mom had this carbed s-1o that ran about 5 months ok and then 7 wrong.
she sold that and got herself a 93 EFI ranger. she had it for 12 years and the ECU never gave any problem. a couple bad sensors replaced and the truck always ran like new.

so yeah carbs are obsolete, only people that really likes to work with carbs will say they are best than EFI(like a buddy of mine who converted an EFI jeep into carbed)
and yeah GM engines suck

 

[Ranger Kip]

I singled out Toyota because they were one of the first to start using more computer than mechanisms.

I am not saying they are bad, but I'd rather have something more highly supported than a computer. Remember that computers outdate after around a year or so. I want something I can make cheaply, or buy off a shelf in the next 10 years, that wont cost me more than $20 or so.

This based on opinion mostly, but computers do outdate after a year or so. So after so long, the older ones become unsupported. And what happens if the electrical fails when driving? (slim chance, but still dangerous).

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

I singled out Toyota because they were one of the first to start using more computer than mechanisms.

I am not saying they are bad, but I'd rather have something more highly supported than a computer. Remember that computers outdate after around a year or so. I want something I can make cheaply, or buy off a shelf in the next 10 years, that wont cost me more than $20 or so.

This based on opinion mostly, but computers do outdate after a year or so. So after so long, the older ones become unsupported. And what happens if the electrical fails when driving? (slim chance, but still dangerous).

not computers actually, ECU on cars are a PLC, programmed logic controller
it has a series of inlets and outlets and depending on the program it has, the ins and outs became active/unactive.

a PLC is very uncommon to fail, if not check the automatized machines.
and house use computers outdate really fast, not PLC's.

 

[Ranger Kip]

not computers actually, ECU on cars are a PLC, programmed logic controller
it has a series of inlets and outlets and depending on the program it has, the ins and outs became active/unactive.

a PLC is very uncommon to fail, if not check the automatized machines.
and house use computers outdate really fast, not PLC's.

I kinda forgot about that >.> I feel dumb now.... but in general, I like mechanical over electrical. I see mechanical as a longer term in durability. Personally.

I do like my electronics though!

 

[mini274]

EFI to carb is like comparing a 4 banger to a small block... yes you have brute power out of a small block but look at the gas you save out of your 4 cylinder... and you can make just as much power out of that 4 banger as you do a mildly build small block... It come in a form called NITROUS

 

[exbass94]

What can I say, I'm 22 years old. I grew up around fuel injection. I look at carbs the same way I look at typewriters and 8-track tapes.

 

[adsm08]

What can I say, I'm 22 years old. I grew up around fuel injection. I look at carbs the same way I look at typewriters and 8-track tapes.

same here.

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

I kinda forgot about that >.> I feel dumb now.... but in general, I like mechanical over electrical. I see mechanical as a longer term in durability. Personally.

I do like my electronics though!

lol

it all depends, cuz yeah a mechanical t-case will outlast an electric, or maybe not, cuz if u dont knwo how to use it it will break.

EFI is more efficient , but maybe mechanical is more durable than electric.

and if u mess the wrong way, u have much more to mess on a carb than an efi system.
carbs cant be reassembled by an amateur, and almost nobody can miss to install a plug on the correct place, even more knowing they are idiot-proof.

 

[OilPatch197]

Fuel injection meters the fuel much more precisely than the carburetor. The carburetor meters fuel only by mechanical linkage and engine manifold vacuum. Electronic fuel injection uses signals from several sensors located on the engine. Based on these signals, a computer decides the best fuel / air mixture for the engine.

Fuel injection monitors engine vacuum, exhaust gas temperature, ambient air pressure, incoming air temperature, engine water temperature, throttle position. etc. Fuel injection is self tuning to fuel quality, engine condition, and atmospheric conditions. This is why we get small block V8 performance from a V6 while getting six cylinder fuel economy. This is why we get big block V8 performance from a small block V8 while getting relatively good fuel economy.

At the risk of dating myself, I learned to drive in the early 90s. With a carbureted car, you could not just start a cold engine and drive off and expect it to run right, especially in cold weather. If you didn't finesse the throttle, these engines were easy to stall. The car I took drivers education in had the equivalent of a 3.8 liter 6 cylinder. As for performance, even a small economy 4 cylinder car from today would run circles around it. Excluding the muscle cars, a typical car with a 350 cubic inch (5.7 liter) engine performed at about the same level as a 231 cubic inch (3.8 liter) of today, except that the 350 used a lot more gas.

Fuel injection is more reliable. But when you are having problems, the system is so complex that you need a professional mechanic with expensive diagnostic tools to repair. Even with its many parts, the carburetor was simpler. When you had problems, most shade tree mechanics could figure it out and make repairs.

That is why I got a carburetor.

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/carburetor_vs_injection/index.html

 

[adsm08]

I kinda forgot about that >.> I feel dumb now.... but in general, I like mechanical over electrical. I see mechanical as a longer term in durability. Personally.

I do like my electronics though!

Electronic is generally more reliable because you don't have moving parts to wear out.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

They can both run very well. Carbs don't last forever either and a new one isn't much if any cheaper than a new computer.

 

[TheOne]

doesnt most drag racers run carbs?

i rest my case