Is ctrl-alt-del on the steering wheel the answer?

[Sysman]

The moment a computer crash nearly caused my car crash

I should have tried turning it off and on again

I am a systems administrator. I work surrounded by various computers of all capabilities and description all day long, every day. And in the heat of the moment, it still simply never occurred to me that the car's computer could be responsible for such a thing.

[bless 'em all]

I was driving a Ford Focus on the M4 when the cam sensor failed. The computer decided the best course of action was to cut all power then kill the engine. I had to coast over to the hard-shoulder tuliping myself all the way.

I don't have a Ford anymore.

[Sockpuppet]

I was driving a Ford Focus on the M4 when the cam sensor failed. The computer decided the best course of action was to cut all power then kill the engine. I had to coast over to the hard-shoulder tuliping myself all the way.

I don't have a Ford anymore.

What do you think it should do. Carry on trying to guess when to initiate a spark?

[Peoplesoft bloke]

I was driving a Ford Focus on the M4 when the cam sensor failed. The computer decided the best course of action was to cut all power then kill the engine. I had to coast over to the hard-shoulder tuliping myself all the way.

I don't have a Ford anymore.

What have you got now?

[northernladuk]

That article is crap though...

The issue in detail was that while stopped at a red light, one of my wheels was apparently stuck on a patch of black ice, while the other wasn't.

Thus the traction control computer was actually trying to save me from what it perceived to be dangerous road conditions when in fact no such conditions were present.

I would call a patch of black ice dangerous conditions and the system was doing it's job?

[Paddy]

I was driving a Ford Focus on the M4 when the cam sensor failed. The computer decided the best course of action was to cut all power then kill the engine. I had to coast over to the hard-shoulder tuliping myself all the way.

I don't have a Ford anymore.

I had a problem on a Mondeo. It would randomly go full throttle and the only way to stop it was a switch of and re-start. The Ford garage could not pick the fault up on the diagnostics. In the end I solved the problem. It was a sticky control valve in the Bosch fuel pump. The computer would then recalibrated the new position as zero and increase then indefinitely the increase throttle. I took the pump apart, cleaned a lubricated the valve, it then worked fine. Diagnostics don’t pick up all faults

[bless 'em all]

What do you think it should do. Carry on trying to guess when to initiate a spark?

Well, Ford just recalled 1.2 million of them because of engine stalling defects. Federal safety investigators say that the camshaft position sensor on the engine can function intermittently and lead to stalling and the danger of a crash.
The sensor regulates the fuel going into the engine and if it doesn’t work right it can shut off the engine fuel — apparently even while the engine is running!

Just found that the same issue was the subject of a recall in the US.

[Support Monkey]

I had a problem on a Mondeo. It would randomly go full throttle and the only way to stop it was a switch of and re-start. The Ford garage could not pick the fault up on the diagnostics. In the end I solved the problem. It was a sticky control valve in the Bosch fuel pump. The computer would then recalibrated the new position as zero and increase then indefinitely the increase throttle. I took the pump apart, cleaned a lubricated the valve, it then worked fine. Diagnostics don’t pick up all faults

Thats the trouble with modern garages, technicians know how to plug in the computer but sometimes all it needs is good old fashioned mechanical know how

[JoJoGabor]

"Computers – especially the critical, embedded computers – need to be properly engineered. Not by a kid who read a book and learned come C#, but by someone with an iron ring. In our mad rush to virtualise this and write an app for that we have forgotten the importance of quality design and the value of truly paranoid engineering."

[Sockpuppet]

Just found that the same issue was the subject of a recall in the US.

You still didn't answer the question. Would you prefer the ECU just starts to guess when to spark / inject diesel? Suspect that might have more dramatic consequences.