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CT scans of BYD car parts

lumafield.com

131–140 of 402 posts

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#131
post #46
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think BYD would be a hit in the US as they are in Europe. It’s an entirely different market. They may be relatively successful just not to the point of taking an important market share, they would probably be like Mazda. Many of the subsides for Chinese EV ended this year too, and they are now realizing price alone is not a differentiator. So even if BYD eventually makes it to the US, they will be priced clos…

BYD only entered the Australian car market in 2022. They are now the 2nd biggest seller after Toyota ( https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/insight/byd-overtakes-rivals-... ). They are also priced much lower than KIA and Tesla. FWIW I now own a GWM Cannon Αlpha PHEV pickup. Have also owned a Jeep Wrangler - the tech, build quality and reliability is not even on the same planet. I can't imagine how the US manufacturers woul…

In Australia, the cheapest BYD EV is cheaper than the cheapest Toyota.

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having a mechanical key hidden in the electronic key fob is nothing new, it’s common on many cars.

I guess my intent was not to point out that it has a mechanical key, rather that the description of the key on the webpage was wrong (it is not hinged). The mechanical key fallback pattern is standard across the industry for sure.

Before keyless became defacto standard, most keys were fixed on a hinge - you'd first unlock your car by pressing a button on the fob, then swing the key open and use it to start the car.

Nowadays the physical key is only a backup, safely stowed inside the fob. It is meant to be pulled out only in an emergency.

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My grandfather in the 1970s used to complain about crappy Japanese tools. By the 1980s they were world-class. Same is happening with Chinese manufacturing.

There is a joke just about that in Back to the Future (1985)!

In BttF2, it is taken to the logical extreme and Marty's boss is Mister Fujitsu-san: https://youtu.be/UlEFqR4SaVA

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#134
post #6

Nice. Those are small parts, though. The interesting part is the E-axle. BYD builds a unit with an integrated motor, differential, axle, and wheel hubs. That, plus an electronics box and battery, is the power train. This simplifies vehicles considerably. There are E-axle teardown videos. There's no big secret about how to do this. Copying this is hard for Detroit, because they have a huge investment in "engine plants…

You have some false beliefs about Detroit’s product lines. Fords mustang mach e is unrelated to the gas one. Totally different platform. It was designed from the ground up as an electric platform. The electric F-150 was a shrewd bet that didn’t pay off, but a pretty defensible decision to try to electrify the most popular vehicle in North America without changing the outside look too much. Under the sheet metal it do…

> Fords mustang mach e is unrelated to the gas one.

That is right! Some might even go as far as to call the electric Mustang an abomination, a disgrace of the Mustang name.

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#135

> Fourteen pins in two parallel rows carry every signal this panel produces to the rest of the vehicle. Automotive connectors are among the most common failure points in modern cars: corrosion, fretting, and thermal cycling work on these joints over years of use. One connector failure on a module this integrated takes out mirrors, windows, locks, and child safety all at once. Pack that shit full of silicone dielectri…

This sounds like copy written by someone who hasn't actually spent a lot of time with the automotive world and in trying to sound like they have. Electrical connectors on automotive harnesses are far, far more reliable now on modern cars than they ever have been in the past, even with the increase in number of such connectors. Companies like Delphi and Amphenol put immense engineering effort into the way modern conne…

I think the point is that all those "dumb" switches, terminals or cables that get worn out can be replaced relatively easily (ie you need a multimeter and some patience to find the bad one). But if something in the integrated module fails, well good luck repairing that. These things are probably designed to be replaced as a whole, which is fine if you can get a new one. But as the cars get older, this is going to be a problem.

Strong old-man-yells-at-cloud vibe, I know. ;)

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#136
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess my intent was not to point out that it has a mechanical key, rather that the description of the key on the webpage was wrong (it is not hinged). The mechanical key fallback pattern is standard across the industry for sure.

It's entirely possible that the BYD key they scanned and the BYD key you possess are of different designs.

This: different markets get different style keys.

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This simplifies vehicles considerably. On the contrary, this much integration makes repairs nearly impossible, meaning you might have to swap the whole unit(for a lot of $$$) when something small inside it inevitably breaks. Check out the articles published by EVclinic that cover such cases. Aftermarket EV repairs are already big business due to how difficult and expensive the OEMs make it.

I don't have so much knowledge about EV repairs, but I got burnt by this on ICE cars already - had a car fail a regular fitness test on suspension bushes, they weren't replaceable without replacing the whole arm(s). What should've been a $40 part was being quoted as more than the cars value. (I'm not sure if there was a way around this, there may well have been but I had other things going on and sold for scrap)

> (I'm not sure if there was a way around this, there may well have been but I had other things going on and sold for scrap)

I've heard of people (who own a press) simply pressing out the existing bushing and pressing in a new one.

The trick is to get a new one - typically you'd have to press out the existing one, then run around town to find a match.

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#138

Folded into the base is a mechanical backup key, a flat metal blade in a hinged housing. It reads warmer than everything else in the scan. It exists for the moment the battery dies or the RF link fails. Every BYD keyless entry system includes this fallback. It's simple things like this which incumbent manufacturers need to avoid losing sight of.

My 2019 Ford has this as well, this is not novel.

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess my intent was not to point out that it has a mechanical key, rather that the description of the key on the webpage was wrong (it is not hinged). The mechanical key fallback pattern is standard across the industry for sure.

Before keyless became defacto standard, most keys were fixed on a hinge - you'd first unlock your car by pressing a button on the fob, then swing the key open and use it to start the car. Nowadays the physical key is only a backup, safely stowed inside the fob. It is meant to be pulled out only in an emergency.

Mercedes changed to the IR key in maybe turn of the 90's. The plastic blob would be used to turn the ignition like before, but the locking part was electrical (optical). There was still a metal key that could be pulled out and used on the exterior locks if the central locking was out.

When keyless start came, there was a dummy button that fit in the ignition lock that could be pushed to start. If there was a problem, you could pop it out and use the key as before.

IIRC, all that, so may have mistakes. Just crossed my mind that they went a few decades between no metal ignition key and keyless. MB being MB, I wouldn't be surprised if they still had models with that same "old" system and keyless as an option.

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#140
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This simplifies vehicles considerably. On the contrary, this much integration makes repairs nearly impossible, meaning you might have to swap the whole unit(for a lot of $$$) when something small inside it inevitably breaks. Check out the articles published by EVclinic that cover such cases. Aftermarket EV repairs are already big business due to how difficult and expensive the OEMs make it.

Why would it be less repairable? Power electronics are still modular and are easily swappable. Mechanical parts are more integrated, but they so simple that they can last for decades. And once they give out, you can just replace the whole unit for maybe $2000.

> Power electronics are still modular and are easily swappable.

Depends. These parts are custom designed, physically, and difficult to find off-the-shelf replacements for.

The heater fan-controller on my wife's SUV died. This is simply a current-limiting device: receives (I assume) CAN signals from the dashboard rotary encoder and determines what current to send the fan.

While I could have dragged my 'scope to the car, determine what signals it's getting from the dash system (all integrated, btw), it was easier to find one in China and wait six weeks.

(I may have chosen the first option if this happened in the winter, but in summer the heater is never used anyway).

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