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Despite being retired these days, I have seen the examples of bus fuses going away as only three of them were used in my ’78 Triumph Spitfire and everything else was purely mechanical, even down to the fuel pump that ran off the camshaft on the side of the 1500cc engine block. Electronics were “mostly” repairable except when it called for major components such as a original Lucas branded Alternator.
I remember the first frustration set in when I had later owned a classic Saab 900 Turbo and the fuse madness inside the car was simply nuts as I had been trying to track down an electrical gremlin that would pop the fuse the moment I would use the AC. It turned out to to be a wire that over the years of vibration had not only gotten through the paint finish but the insulation as well after tracing other faults that had my brake lights always lit when I turned on the headlights. Back on point, the modular fuse box with tight spaces in between had made pulling difficult if I didn’t keep spares along with a set of needle nose pliers since the plastic removal tool had cracked and was slowly returning to the earth rendering it useless.
Smaller components to me also mean a higher possibility of breaking if exposed to enough heat under the hood and the space to replace consumables such as headlamp bulbs with ever more crowded engine bays on newer cars and it’s absolutely frustrating. Still, in the end, LED units will be the standard and replacing them under normal circumstances will be pretty much unheard of possibly to the point where the label of doom appears “no user serviceable parts inside”…
In theory, If you ever end up working on such a car with such a sealed LED headlamp due to collision damage would be an absolute nightmare. Hopefully in that case, they still can be adjusted manually if needed if a fender bender had broken a bracket to hold the unit in place.
This was one such problem when dealing with a ’87 Ford Escort that had flush glass enclosures installed instead of the previous sealed beam “buckets” from the pre-facelift models. One of the plastic adjustment retainers for aiming the driver side headlamp was completely broken. Giving the car a “lazy eye” the only way to fix it was a complete replacement of the entire left headlamp assembly which was over $175 and change. A definite example where smaller, cheaper, had evolved into a disposable part in what was essentially a disposable car.
The reason is because Uncle Sam is pressuring the automobile manufacturers to produce better fuel efficiency. Just ask Volkswagon. You used to have to use a donut spare, and now your lucky to even get one.
However – even though most parts in essence have become lighter, the weight of the cars has not necessarily decreased (generally speaking) – nor have the dimensions. Talking mostly for the last 20 years, just look at all the models that become heavier and bigger. Latest Polo is bigger than the first Golf – etc – and the examples go on and on.
Oddly enough despite it being a bit bigger inside the kerb weight is down by 250kg .
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[quote=”Commodore665″ post=150307]Oddly enough despite it being a bit bigger length wise , the kerb weight is down by 250kg .
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In this case, yes, you are right. But in other cases (most of them actually) things are a bit different. Say for example For Mondeo Mk1, whose weight curb is 1295 Kg, vs Mk 3 whose curb weight is 1650 kg, and is also bigger.
[quote=”Skillz” post=149061]The reason is because Uncle Sam is pressuring the automobile manufacturers to produce better fuel efficiency. Just ask Volkswagon. You used to have to use a donut spare, and now your lucky to even get one.[/quote] Better fuel efficiency and more stringent emissions regs. That in itself is a balancing act and it is getting to the point of diminishing returns. Of course the politicians don’t know how things work here in the real world, nevermind how cars work and maximizing ICE efficiency.
The switch from full size spares to donuts was cost savings AND the move towards smaller cars. FSS are mounted under the vehicle or in the bigger older cars cases, on the rear of the vehicle or mounted to the side.
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