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There is a huge installed userbase of simple filament lamps in automotive applications.
A failed lamp can result in a ticket, or worse an accident.
BorgCo have developed an aftermarket technology to address this.
The new BorgCo lamps incorporate a low power RF transmitter. This transmitter only
activates when the filament in the lamp has failed. Drawing power from the lamp supply, it broadcasts a "FAILED: nn" code where nn is an 8 bit code designating the type of lamp, thus aiding diagnosis.
The receiver is a small unit that can easily be fitted to the dashboard.
The downside is that the receiver will pick up and display false "FAIL" indications radiating from nearby vehicles.
Use optic fibres
Rear_20light_20function_20indicator
[Toto Anders, Mar 12 2016]
Alarm tones
http://www.youtube....outube_gdata_player
About 1 minute in; the "bip"s of the scram alarm confidence tones, and the peeping of PADs, can clearly be heard. [8th of 7, Mar 23 2016]
[link]
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Shirley most cars these days have bulb warnings
already? |
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What happens if the warning lamp fails too? |
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A recursive string of warning lamp failure warning lamps, like fairy lights all round the interior of the car. |
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//What happens if the warning lamp fails too?// |
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Therein lies the problem. You could make it so that the
warning lamp is on when the signalling lamp is OK, but
people don't tend to notice when a little dashboard light
goes out. I suggest the solution from the Simpsons, the
"everything's OK alarm" a loud klaxon goes off every 3
seconds if there are no problems. If there is a problem, this
will be revealed by the eerie silence. |
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I'm going to mod the one in my car such that it sends additional 8 bit codes describing my state of mind, and up the broadcast power. |
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So, broadcasting "null... null... null... null..." to the Universe at large ...? |
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// If there is a problem, this will be revealed by the eerie silence. // |
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Baked. In the nuclear industry, Criticality alarms are designed to emit "confidence tones" every few seconds in an unmistakable "bip... bop" sequence. If they ever stop... wel, no-one's ever hung around long enough to find out. |
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/baked in the nuclear industry// Homer is a nuclear
safety technician... |
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// The receiver is a small unit that can easily be fitted to the
dashboard// |
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Smartphone...Bluetooth/wifi? |
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I saw a custom car, in the 80s, that piped the light to the
dashboard using fibre optic bundles. |
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// I saw a custom car, in the 80s, that piped the light to the dashboard using fibre optic bundles. // |
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So much for my fresh and crisp and thouroghly half-baked idea (see link). |
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My pre-LED signal lamp 2000 Ford Windstar senses when the resistance on a bulb goes infinite (ie it burns out) and lights a big yellow bulb icon on the panel. The system has been 100% reliable for the past 16 years, but has a major practical shortcoming: The vehicle has 10s of bulbs, everwhere from front running light to the he far end of the interior floor, but just a single warning light. I’ve had it go on, and been unable to find the burned out bulb (or even remember there was a lamp there). A pro at a garage couldn’t find it either, until plugging the old beast of a minivan into a diagnostic gadget that gave the ID of the failing bulb, which the shop manual pinpointed to one of the obscure interior ones. |
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So I’d call the idea, functionally, baked for at least the past 20 years. The idea of using network protocols (wireless or built-in wired) to check on bulbs, is new to me. [+} |
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Volvos had "hard-wired" lamp failure detection (for paired lamps, at least) back in the 1970's, using balanced-bridge circuits. But there was one fault indication for everything - very like early aero engines, where the only diagnostic was an abrupt, ominous silence. |
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CAN bus gives failure detection as an intrinsic part of its operation. But there doesn't seem to be an aftermarket option. |
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" the only diagnostic was an abrupt, ominous silence " |
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That's not an optimal stall warning, but I guess it would do... |
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// optimal stall warning // |
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A "warning" has the implication of possibility rather than certainty. |
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An alternate way to implement this Idea is to put a
voltmeter on the wire feeding the lamp. When the
lamp is working, there is a small voltage drop on the
line, compared to when the lamp is burnt, yet the
power is switched on. The voltmeter would only be
activated when the lamp circuit is on, of course. |
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Detection of a failed lamp could involve a simple wire
feeding an indicator light on the dashboard, so that
that light only turns on when power is on for the lamp,
but the lamp is not actually on. |
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Just put all the lights on top of the roof, like a cop car but with turn signals, brake and headlights. Extendable out to the sides in case you've a dresser wedged partways in the trunk. |
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//failed lamp could involve a simple wire feeding an
indicator light on the dashboard// |
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Since the "you've got a light out" light came on in my
girlfriends car, I've now got skin in this game. The above
comment, would, in the case of a mildly crashed 2001
RX300 result in a lot of wires. Tail, brake, fog, running,
reverse, turn-signal x2 for the two rear clusters x2 again
for the front with a couple of substitutions. You think
you're on top of it at this point.... and you would be in a
1995 Renault clio poverty special. But no, there's 2x
license plate lights, inside of the trunk lid, inside of the
trunk roof, at least one in the side of the trunk, then 2
for the rear passengers.... it goes on. Still haven't found
it. |
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// In the nuclear industry, Criticality alarms are designed
to emit "confidence tones" every few seconds in an
unmistakable "bip... bop" sequence. // |
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I can't find a source or further explanation for that with a
cursory Google search. And I was under the impression that
criticality is generally the desired condition in a nuclear
reactor. |
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How odd. The "cuckoo" is ubiquitous in fuel processing and
storage facilities. |
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