I love train drivers (engineers?) They keep us wrench jockeys busy fixing the mistakes they make on millions of production vehicles. Case in point- - - -when GM introduced the downsized 100 amp alternator back in the 1990's on virtually all their small and mid-sized vehicles, some unholy alliance between the engineers and the corporate bean counters resulted in the installation of a marginal-capacity sealed ball bearing in the rear end frame. Yep- - - -they failed- - - -by the thousands! The lucky car owners just got a locked-up alternator that would keep the engine from being cranked because the other weight-saving attempt- - - -the permanent-magnet starter motor that was also used extensively on those vehicles didn't have enough torque to take the cap off a screw-top wine bottle! The unlucky ones experiences the alternator rotor shorting itself out against the stator windings, causing electrical meltdowns and fires that destroyed whole vehicles!
Yep, I love automotive engineers! Those kinds of mistakes kept me and my family fed for a lot of years, and paid off a hundred acres of Tennessee backwoods. Now the kids and grandkids of those engineers keep me busy driving all over the southeast evaluating warranty claims over their current screwups!
Jerry
