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Faulty electronics - bulging caps? - Diggr
Sorry if this has been raised before, Im new here.

Ive seen several references to "mysterious" failures in ECUs, eg in the Audi climate control thread. Some people have even referred to failed electrolytic capacitors.

Has anyone here heard of the infamous "bulging caps" problem thats been the scourge of the computer industry for the last couple of years? I think it may be relevant, particularly regarding sudden, mysterious death of electronics in 1999/2000 cars.

Google for "bulging caps" for more info. Add "stolen formula" to cut to the chase. :)

HTH.
Faulty electronics - bulging caps? - GGH
Diggr,
Have a look at Satcure (Grundig PSU page) on Google. I have replaced many bulging caps mostly on Grundig/Thomson equiptment.
Best wishes GGH.
Faulty electronics - bulging caps? - pmh
Look at
www.niccomp.com/taiwanlowesr.htm

Although the article relates to PC manufacture there is presumably no reason why similar low ESR components could not have been incorporated into ECUs ICE etc.

One article I have read talks of failures after 2000 hrs (another 250 hrs!), presumably for a typical car application this could be 6 years or 60k. The suggestion is that the faulty components were sourced during 2001, is there time bomb hidden out there waiting till the out of warranty time?

Can anybody comment on who actually makes the ECUs used in the car industry?




pmh (was peter)
Faulty electronics - bulging caps? - Aprilia
Bulging electrolytics have been a problem in the PC industry (e.g. most famously on ASUS motherboards) and also other consumer electronics.
I have seen several cases where electrolytic capacitors have bulged and ruptured on BMW instrument packs - this is a well-known problem. The cure is simply to replace the faulty capacitors.

Automotive ECU's are manufactured by a wide variety of companies; too many to list here. Major suppliers are Motorola, Bosch, Siemens, Matsushita, AC-Delco (GM), SAGEM.
Faulty electronics - bulging caps? - DL
Automotive ECU's are manufactured by a wide variety of companies; too many to list here. Major suppliers are Motorola, Bosch, Siemens, Matsushita, AC-Delco (GM), SAGEM.


And they all suffer failures, one way or another!

--
groups.msn.com/honestjohn/problems.msnw?Page=1 - Pictures say a thousand words.....