A comment in another thread reminded me of something I was not aware of until reading the following editorial in March 2002 Transport Engineer (magazine Society Operational Engineers)
Not going to quote it all but, to put it in context, there was a significant part of the magazine, including the Car & Van Technology supplement, dealing with electronics in vehicles.
The editorial was titled "Intelligent technology and common sense"
quote.........
"One small example helps to illustrate one area of concern.
The owner of a small independant vehicle workshop near our office asked if we knew anything about electronic control units on Vauxhall petrol engines. Seems they were automatically shutting down or limiting engine speed if any non-Vauxhall spark plugs were fitted. It all sounded highly improbable but we nevertheless made the phone call to Vauxhall. To our surprise (and indeed that of the helpful press officer who followed up what must have seemed like a bizarre enquiry)the answer came that back was affirmative. Fit a "non-genuine" spark plug in one of the latest Z-range Vauxhall petrol engines and the electronic control unit will not only recognise it but also categorise it, we are told, under a "misfire detection code." Then engine speed will be limited until you replace the plug and have the ECU reset at your friendly local Vauxhall dealer workshop.
A Vauxhall spokesman says, rather aoplogetically, that his compnany is by no means alone in this and that it is "all to do with compliance with the latest exhaust emissions standards"
end quote
OK then gentlemen, please discuss.
(Slightly more relevant to the Backroom than the flat earth farce on the other side of the fence!)
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How the hell can this 'box' recognise when non-OE spark plugs are fitted?
The mind boggles....
Still, it's good for OE parts sales.....
MG-Rover Questions? Click on www.mg-rover.org
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Presumably once these cars become old enough to start falling out of the main dealership network in large numbers, NGK, Champion and others will pretty quickly produce the correct plugs. After all, it's going to be a large market.
There was a proposal a few years ago to change EU copyright law to make it illegal to manufacture 'pattern' parts, not just body panels but mechanical service replacement items as well. The car manufacturers were very keen on the idea, but it seems to have gone away. It looks as though Vauxhall are trying to achieve the same result (tying the car into the dealership network for life) by different means. I hope that they get nailed under EU competition laws.
Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com
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I think I know what Richard is referring to regarding the legality of 'pattern' parts and he is very close to the mark.
Design Right (not Copyright) was introduced in 1989 to provide automatic protection against copying the design features of a physical article for up to ten years from its introduction. Design Right is in force only in the UK but different types of protection apply in other countries (usually Utility Models, Registered Designs or Petty Patents). If the design is novel and inventive, then the protection is more likely to be via a full Patent, whatever the country.
About ten years ago, a motor car manufacturer tried to use the new Design Right legislation against copyists of motor car exhaust systems, but the car firm lost out after some long court battles. The legal decision was that the design features which enable an article to be functionally fitted or aesthetically matched to another article, so-called MUST FIT and MUST MATCH parts, cannot benefit from Design Right because the owner of the vehicle requiring parts such as gaskets, exhaust systems and body panels has no real choice but to buy a part which matches the rest of the equipment and the protection of these parts by Design Right would prevent healthy competition.
I know nothing of the Vauxhall spark plug affair but I wouldn't have thought that the purpose was to prevent aftermarket competition. My work was more in diesel engines than spark-ignition engines but I know that very small differences in components can have a huge impact on emissions and I can see that this could apply to spark plugs.
For a number of years we were compelled to obtain permission from the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) before we could modify any item on engines going into the United States where that item might be related in any way to emissions and we had to mark up all relevant drawings accordingly. It surprised myself and others just how many parts of an engine can have an influence on emissions!
Coming back to Vauxhall and their spark plugs, does anyone know for certain that the ECU will accept only the originally fitted make of spark plugs, or will it accept other makes having the same attributes? If the latter, I can see no problem.
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I just remembered that EPA stands for Environmental Protection Agency (not Authority).
Isn't it odd that the EPA was so demanding yet the current US President says, in effect: "Yeah, the US is the world's biggest polluter, but we don't give a damn. Making bucks today is far more important than the planet tomorrow".
David W - I'm sorry I've just submitted this controversial posting. Please don't condemn me to 'the other side of the fence' as FiF calls it!
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"How the hell can this 'box' recognise when non-OE spark plugs are fitted?"
Just what I was wondering - unless it has additional wires to the said plugs, it's difficult to see how it could 'know, unless perhaps they have a particularly large internal resistance. It might be worth testing this with a meter, in which case a simple fix should be possible (although resetting the ECU is another matter). Do the plugs look normal?
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My mech eng degree course only had a small module on electronics, but I can imagine how the ecu could be able to recognise the wrong plugs, provided the oe plugs have been "engineered" into the loop. The major manufacturers are constantly looking for ways to tie servicing into the main dealers for as long as possible, by whatever devious means possible. One obvious way is not releasing diagnostic programmes and fault codes into the general trade! But there are plenty of smaller less obvious ways too. Remember, extended service intervals mean less revenue into the service agents - they have to claw this back somehow.
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Are these engines distributorless, ie. individual coils for each plug ?
Kevin...
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Don't know - but I expect so. Most new stuff is one coil pack per cylinder/or pair nowadays
MG-Rover Questions? Click on www.mg-rover.org
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Just like old Wartburgs, then! (3 cylinders, 3 coils)
What goes around comes around...
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I doubt the "box" does recognize the make of plug;what the box does do is recognize misfires of various types and will light the MIL(malfunction indicator light) to tell you to take it to your dealer.To get plugs to be reliable for high milages with today's combustion temperatures means the plug points are coated with platinum-if you fitted a lesser plug-by quality not make as all plug manufacturers now make platinum-this could lead to early misfiring which will kill your cat.
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