Re: Net for VW-Audi Mechanics

[Gerard <gerard@poboxes.com>]

> We even discussed a recent Q-lister's idea of recording and
> transmitting  strange sounds made by a component that was being
> diagnosed prior to service. That was you, Gerard, in South Africa, on
> 2/27/98. We sent a "ding" test message and you verified it. Maybe that
> ding will get to VW headquarters.

Maybe. Yesterday I looked incredibly strange to the neighbours. There
I was, the dash under the driver's side off, relays exposed, hood open,
engine running and me with a medical stethoscope listening to the beat
of the relays. Often my car puts out that wobbly rumbling sound that
sounds like a bearing or something. This is heard all the
way through the car. I can hear it in the car, in the engine bay and
at the rear of the car, middle of the car, everywhere. Putting my ear
to the bodywork brings the sound out well. Even thought it was
coming from a over-noisy, over-loud fuel pump as I can hear it at
the tank as well. The stethoscope helps. But I do feel like an idiot
out in the driveway pressing a stethoscope to the bodywork. (It might
be bad turbo bearings, very bad bearings. Perhaps, since I'm doing
the "doctor doctor" thing I might as well give it the old doctor's
remedy: a few tablespoons of cod liver oil!). I still want to do
some recordings of the sounds, but need a good microphone for it.

I guess it would be real nice to send the mechs at the base info of
the car. Such as sound recordings, digital meter outputs, oscilliscope
outputs from various systems and then let them "virtually diagnose"
the problem. But you can imagine how much training a average mech
(or monkey guy, as some lister labelled them, I think in regard with
those lubrication workshops) will have to be given in order to get
them to use data effectively. Besides, this camera thing of relaying
video to headquarters for a more capable mech to analyse really calls
for high-quality and high frame rate video as I can imagine pointing
one of those desktop vid-cams at the thing on a slow net link: flash,
flash, freeze, blur, blur, freeze, flash flash. Perhaps high quality
MPEG stuff like the Formula One broadcasts would be ideal.

On another note, this idea would be great as one could database data
and a suitable diagnosis for future problems. Saves time, wouldn't it?
Then again, would a VW/Audi agent want to reduce the time needed to do
the  work? Less time, less money for them, especially in this country
where they DO charge an arm and a leg (preferably with the hand on the
arm holding both eyeballs which were removed as an extra amount to cover
the misquoted prices of the parts!!!).

I just think the idea would be great, but they'd need to train a lot
of people in a technology (internet) that they'd normally have never
used. Unless they have perhaps one person collecting the info from the
mechs and being responsible for relaying this to HQ.

> Stay tuned for further developments. And don't give up on believing
> that Audi might eventually listen to customers. This may be the way
> they are going to do it.

This thing really sounds good to me. We would never see anything like
that here. However, I'd love to try an implement it for VW/Audi SA. :)
Price: one 1999 S8 and one 1999 S4 wagon, please (including source
code for both ECU chips!). Or, as a cheaper alternative: full run of
the parts division at HQ for 3 months!!

G.
-- 
"a thousand miles from here, there is another person smiling"
1990 Turbo (200t, MAC13A ECU, 1.4-1.6 bar (1.8 bar with faulty WGFV!),
FWD auto)
name   : gerard van vught
tel    : +27-21-696 0331 (h) / 082 923 9609 (cell)
url    : http://www.poboxes.com/gerard/
e-mail : gerard@poboxes.com  / han.solo@galaxycorp.com