[Noisebridge-discuss] Interview about planned obsolescence?

[Jake]

On the subject of planned obsolescence, I was a mechanic in a former life 
and was working on a Ford Escort from the late 80's or 90's.

As in any modern gasoline car, the spark coil is activated by a 
transistor.  It is easy enough to make a transistorized ignition module 
that lasts the life of the car (and well beyond) but for some reason Ford 
couldn't do it.  The other mechanics I worked with told me "this happens 
to them right about 60 to 80 thousand miles, right when the warranty is 
up."

I thought something was fishy because here is a major car manufacturer 
having trouble with a very basic electronic component in their cars.  For 
example Volvo had a Bosch ignition box which i've never ever seen failed, 
and if it ever did it's easier to change than a headlight.  All cars from 
the 70s to the 80s had the same basic design, and it never gave a problem.

For some reason Ford was mounting their ignition module onto the side of 
the distributor.  There is no reason for this!  There is no problem with 
having five feet of wire between the sensor (in the distributor) and the 
ignition module, as every other carmaker had.  The distributor is mounted 
on the engine, where heat is an issue - not a smart place for an 
electronic module.

On top of this, the ignition module was mounted on the rear-facing side of 
the distributor - pressed up against the firewall of the car (below the 
windshield) where it was very difficult to get to.  The distributor is a 
precision component which has to be adjusted into position very carefully, 
so if the mechanic has to remove the distributor to access the ignition 
module (which shouldn't have failed in the first place) it will cost the 
customer another couple of hours while the mechanic does unnecessary work.

a ford ignition module (on the inaccessible side of the distributor):
http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forums/attachments/5-0l-tech/65737d1238791986-need-help-replacing-ignition-module-88152g11.gif

another diagram of same (notice distributor had to be removed):
http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/fordguy4u/2011-07-05_172925_a1.jpg

a chevy "high energy ignition" module from the 70's:
(easily removable with normal tools, without removing the distributor)
http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/heavychevy396/2011-10-19_165723_hei_module.jpg

To combat this problem, the auto mechanic toolmakers invented the "ford 
ignition module cheater wrench" which was designed to be short enough to 
fit behind the distributor with a couple of fingers around it, and with a 
narrow enough outer diameter to fit into the screw tunnels.  Yes, the 
screws were recessed inside 3/8" deep holes which were so narrow that a 
normal tool would not fit.  Most mechanics had a socket they had ground 
down to fit in there, but this "cheater tool" allowed them to skip 
removing the distributor!

"A Ford ignition module wrench is a tool specifically designed for 
removing 7/32" hexagonal retaining bolts on Ford ignition modules."
http://www.diseno-art.com/images_3/Ford_ignition_module_wrench.jpg

a website about an aftermarket solution to the problem:
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/remote_tfi.htm

Not so long after my first Ford TFI module failure, it happened again on 
another vehicle.  This one had never had the problem before, and I 
discovered something that totally blew my mind.

Ford had inserted plastic pieces into the holes, to make it impossible to 
insert the cheater tool and replace the module without removing the 
distributor, because you had to use a hot metal screw to remove the 
plastic inserts. Why would you shove plastic cylinders into these, holes, 
where screws (bolts actually, with heads almost as large as the holes to 
access them) were hard to get?

There is only one explanation.  They did it to make it more difficult to 
repair.

-jake