Are There Too Many Sensors?

[Lunentucker]

1,738 Results for 2021 Jeep Gladiator “sensor”

That's from @AllMoparParts.com when you search for sensor.
Granted, not all of he results are individual, and redundancies abound, but damn!
How many sensors are on these things, and are they worth their weight?

It seems that every day there's someone on here with one sensor or another causing confusion or chaos.

Overall, I appreciate the advances that have been made in modern vehicle reliability.
I don't miss dampness in the distributor, rear main seal leaks, and cracked vinyl dashes, but how much monitoring is too much?

But I also remember a vehicle just working until it didn't. Then you knew it was really broken, and not some bad sensor, frayed wire, or a shoddy pin connection.

I drove an 86 Ford Ranger turbo diesel in way too deep into a mudhole once.
Logging road 30 miles from home.
Water covered the hood completely.
Turbos and water pumps are fist cousins.
Hydolocked cylinder 2, crushed the bearings on the crank, bent the piston rod.
Number two was toast, but the other three made it some 30 miles to home. No CEL. No limp mode. No email to Ford.

Tore it apart and rebuilt it, and drove another 100,000 miles before selling it on ebay for way more than it was worth.

Having lived in both worlds, I do think that modern car makers are going a bit too far, and a vehicle that will still get you home, even with some damage, is worth something.

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[bleda2002]

1,738 Results for 2021 Jeep Gladiator “sensor”

That's from @AllMoparParts.com when you search for sensor.
Granted, not all of he results are individual, and redundancies abound, but damn!
How many sensors are on these things, and are they worth their weight?

It seems that every day there's someone on here with one sensor or another causing confusion or chaos.

Overall, I appreciate the advances that have been made in modern vehicle reliability.
I don't miss dampness in the distributor, rear main seal leaks, and cracked vinyl dashes, but how much monitoring is too much?

But I also remember a vehicle just working until it didn't. Then you knew it was really broken, and not some bad sensor, frayed wire, or a shoddy pin connection.

I drove an 86 Ford Ranger turbo diesel in way too deep into a mudhole once.
Logging road 30 miles from home.
Water covered the hood completely.
Turbos and water pumps are fist cousins.
Hydolocked cylinder 2, crushed the bearings on the crank, bent the piston rod.
Number two was toast, but the other three made it some 30 miles to home. No CEL. No limp mode. No email to Ford.

Tore it apart and rebuilt it, and drove another 100,000 miles before selling it on ebay for way more than it was worth.

Having lived in both worlds, I do think that modern car makers are going a bit too far, and a vehicle that will still get you home, even with some damage, is worth something.

This is the cost of modern efficiency. Your 86 turbo diesel was good for either 59 or 86 hp and 90 or 134 ftlbs of torque, today the ford 2.0 euro diesel gets 235 hp, and 369 ftlbs of torque. To get the most efficiency out of the fuel though the engines need the sensors to precisely control every part. Its an unfortunate side effect of wanting to do more with less is that the computers are really in charge.

 

[Lost1wing]

We don't stand a chance of getting away from all of these sensors. Some of them are needed to save us from ourselves. We didn't have the distractions from cellphones and large displays on the dash early on.
Example, the low washer fluid sensor is so you don't need to open the hood. When we checked the oil back in the day, we would grab the jug of washer fluid and top it off. Those days, opening the hood was a Saturday morning chore.
I am shocked that I haven't seen a low level sensor for transmissions.

I get all of the safety related sensors. If they keep someone in their lane and out of mine, definitely worth it. KIA will tell you if your eyes are not on the road (damn rental car). Weave in your lane and it tells your that you need coffee. Common sense driving is gone. Technology has been our best friend and our worst enemy.

 

[toddarama]

I am shocked that I haven't seen a low level sensor for transmissions.

I am pretty sure those sensors are there and just hidden behind the CEL instead of having their own messages. I am sure the engineers figure there aren't too many people who can do anything to service the transmission other than taking it to a mechanic, so why add another indicator into the mix.

 

[Lost1wing]

I am pretty sure those sensors are there and just hidden behind the CEL instead of having their own messages. I am sure the engineers figure there aren't too many people who can do anything to service the transmission other than taking it to a mechanic, so why add another indicator into the mix.

But how nice would it be to just have it serviced full and the leak repaired instead of running it long enough to destroy the transmission because of a low fluid level.

 

[Artsifrtsi]

I am pretty sure those sensors are there and just hidden behind the CEL instead of having their own messages. I am sure the engineers figure there aren't too many people who can do anything to service the transmission other than taking it to a mechanic, so why add another indicator into the mix.

And, even if you had the sensor to tell you it's low, where is a standard user going to confirm the level (manually with a dipstick) and/or add fluid?

I was asked to help a friend get ready for a roadtrip recently, because he couldn't find any way to check oil/trans fluid etc... in his defense, he has a Volvo XC90... there are ZERO dipsticks or fluid level checks that can be done with that hunk of junk.

 

[Lost1wing]

And, even if you had the sensor to tell you it's low, where is a standard user going to confirm the level (manually with a dipstick) and/or add fluid?

I was asked to help a friend get ready for a roadtrip recently, because he couldn't find any way to check oil/trans fluid etc... in his defense, he has a Volvo XC90... there are ZERO dipsticks or fluid level checks that can be done with that hunk of junk.

Yes, I hate that. I have serviced several transmissions with stand pipes. The scan tool is used to check temperature of the fluid. Some are at the mercy of the service center to report a leak. If lucky to be parked on a clean pad, one can see a leak before it's too late.

 

[redriderjf87]

Driving a well conditioned older car is always an option. Granted it won't massage your butt, but you also won't have to fix the butt massager at 100k.

I almost bought a square body Chevy K-10 if the Gladiator hadn't caught my interest.

 

[Vtur]

Many of those sensors are due to the many regulations over the years. I'm not a fan of these new Can-bus comm system though.

 

[ReverendZ]

Many of those sensors are due to the many regulations over the years. I'm not a fan of these new Can-bus comm system though.

Ahh yes, can bus systems. I still remember my first encounter sn learning about millionth changes and ohm changes being interpreted by the module connected to produce a desired output. Little corrosion or a pinched wire intermittent loss of contact causing arcfaults... man, good times. This is why I run points in my toys ?

 

[Vtur]

Ahh yes, can bus systems. I still remember my first encounter sn learning about millionth changes and ohm changes being interpreted by the module connected to produce a desired output. Little corrosion or a pinched wire intermittent loss of contact causing arcfaults... man, good times. This is why I run points in my toys ?

Contact Point is simple and cool, but there always a feeling shit can stalls at the lights lol

 

[Hootbro]

Many of those sensors are due to the many regulations over the years. I'm not a fan of these new Can-bus comm system though.

CAN-BUS systems reduced a lot of wiring vs. analog electrical and electronic systems they replaced.

The shame is that it shifted many techs who were comfortable with older analog vehicle electrical/electronic systems to have to rewire their way of thinking and understanding digital wave form signals vs. just simple power/ground troubleshooting. Not many could do it and even those going through the trade schools today just gloss over it and retain very little. Most places need a dedicated diagnostician that only does this. Once you understand CAN-BUS, it really is not that bad of a system and actually more helpful over older direct wire analog systems.

 

[Vtur]

CAN-BUS systems reduced a lot of wiring vs. analog electrical and electronic systems they replaced.

The shame is that it shifted many techs who were comfortable with older analog vehicle electrical/electronic systems to have to rewire their way of thinking and understanding digital wave form signals vs. just simple power/ground troubleshooting. Not many could do it and even those going through the trade schools today just gloss over it and retain very little. Most places need a dedicated diagnostician that only does this. Once you understand CAN-BUS, it really is not that bad of a system and actually more helpful over older direct wire analog systems.

I agreed with you here. Direct wired is much easier to troubleshoot. With canbus, you gets many unrelated CEL which makes it harder looking for a short circuit.

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