RE: Does the Year 2000 bug affects Audis???

[Brett Dikeman <brett@pdikeman.ne.mediaone.net>]

>... I guess I must say that it surprises me that any car would be affected
>by the Y2K bug ... they typically know nothing of the year.  Older cars
>don't have computers that are that sophisticated and _I_ would think that a
>car that was designed in recent years would have taken Y2K into account ...
>perhaps that's Detroit's new method for "planned obsolescence" ... :-)
>
>I don't know what year Audis you are considering, but I would say that
>anything older than about 1996 (before OBD-II) should not be an issue.
>Certainly model years before 1990 there will be no issue ...
>
>If you do think Y2K is a threat to the operation of your car you may want to
>contact that guy with the "Y2K supply sale" in his sig ... perhaps you can
>keep a load of water and groceries in your trunk ... just in case ... ;-)
>
>Steve Buchholz
>San Jose, CA (USA)
>
>... contemplating restoring my old '78 Fox so that I won't have to worry
>abut Y2K or those new EMP-based automotive disablers that I've seen ... :-)

Electro-Magnetic Pulse?  Please.  All the engine electronics are shielded; 
you'd have to generate one freakin' big pulse to even cause a blink on a 
sensor wire.  We're talking knifes-in-the-kitchen-drawer-cartoon-style 
pulses.  You've been watching "Viper" too much :)

Children, there is little you will have to worry about the (begin booming 
voice)"Year 2000 problem"

Your:
-alarm clock
-coffee maker
-shower
-car
-garage door opener
-toll booth
-traffic lights

will all work, which is more than enough to get you into work come January 
1st(and who the hell does anything on January 1st anyways?  Everyone is 
gonna have a hangover from hell, and probably won't give a flying 
you-know-what until at least 3pm.)

So many devices with clocks in them know only what time it is(or maybe the 
day of the week.)  Nothin' more.  Your coffee maker, despite how ABC News 
would have it, doesn't have any freakin' clue what the hell year it is.

Basically, the whole thing is causing mass hysteria amongst the public. I'm 
not going to book reservations and go around the world, and I probably 
won't plan on taping anything with my VCR(if I'm still using a VCR then) 
but I'm not going to hide under my bed, that's for sure.

I'd bet that OBD-II cars only keep time in reference to the present(ie, "2 
days, 2 hours, 34 minutes and 12 seconds ago, my owner over-revved me!")

Brett
------
Brett Dikeman
brett@pdikeman.ne.mediaone.net
~)-|
"Diplomacy is the art of telling someone to go to hell and making them 
happy to be on their way." - Mark Twain

"Oh no.  Not again." - The bowl of Petunias

"... it is important to realize that any lock can be picked with a big 
enough hammer." -- Sun System & Network Admin manual

Statler: "Hey, this one sounds cute."
Waldorf: "You old fool, that's not the personals, it's the obituaries!"
------