New Aston Martin uses Volvo electronics?!

Well seeing as Volvo and Aston are both part of Ford it's not that surprising.

You're having a laugh right? Volvo's first gen CANBUS systems are all abit flakey, you get warning lights on, and things adjusting themselves without being asked, or just stop working until the system is reset!

Don't quote me on this, but I believe the DB9 uses alot of Volvo's CANBUS technology,[2] cos as yet, Ford havent got any EU cars on the market with canbus technology.[1]

Tim.. [1] I stand to be corrected on this. [2] Which may stop working without notice- but thats par for the course with Aston!

I don't want to sound negative, but aren't you forgetting about the abysmal fuse boxes in 2-series?

New technology always has bugs... I have friends with a 2001 V70 and it all got straightened out after a little while - software updates, one chip was replaced... Not bad considering the computer power in the car, it's bound it have glitches.

The wiring itself is quite good tho.

The fuse boxes in 200's have never given me much trouble, one car that was in Alaska for 2 years had corroded fuses, but unless the car leaks, the fuse box shouldn't cause much trouble and is easily accessed for maintenance should it require it.

Amazing. You've never experienced the problem of the fuses being loose in the plates and not working? I've found it to be a common problem with 264 and 265 fuel pump fuses...

I go to look at a car that won't go, fix the fuses, re-seat the tachometric relay (fancy name for the fuel pump relay that has a tacho input), start the car _then_ pay the "won't go" price...

Cruel, I know, but when they claim "no rust" and the rust under the trims runs all the way along under the rear side window of a

The first car, I had decided that I didn't want it, and the guy insisted that I make an offer. I offered AU$300, meaning it as an insult. He accepted. That's the car that now has the 350 in it, and it _only_ needed the fuse sockets tightened to run.

I think that out of 3 cars, all three have the fuse cover melted (a little bit) near the main fuel pump fuse.

Right on, "Athol". All 200 series owners should do regular maintenance on that fusebox, whether the car leaks or not. The fuses should be removed and the ends cleaned up 'til they're bright and shiny. (If you can find the copper-ended type, use them, and throw out the others.) The fuse-holders should be cleaned (wire-brushed or sand-papered). These holders should be re-tensioned where necessary, so that the fuses are held really tightly.

Andy I. ('58 445 wagon; '65 122S wagon; '57 121 sedan; '74 145 wagon; '74 142 sedan; '86 245 wagon; '93 245 "Classic" wagon.)

But you (and your friends) shouldn't accept this. This is the sort of thing that should be caught during product development. At least the product development cycle shouldn't include the first year(s) of customers!

First as for 240 fuse boxes - I'm with brackenburn... as soon as I did maintenance on the fuse box and put in new fuses every year, I never had problems. Before that I had one of the worst Volvo electrical designs - a 1971 142E. The fuel injection was an add on to the electrics in that car, so Volvo thoughtfully provided a new fusebox, complete with standard, corrosion prone fuse for the fuel pump. And where was this fusebox? Under the hood, just to make sure there were problems!

Second, I think some people missed the point of my original post... Which was to point out, if you're going to get Volvo engineers to help out your design team, the electrical system guys may not be the best ones to pick!

I think it's more of a response to the fact that the Aston was using electrics sourced from the Ford parts bin, which were widely considered to lower the tone rather.

For the record I found the electrics on my Mini were starting to need some attention by the time it was nineteen years old. But by then the body was starting to rot so I got rid of it. Planned obsolescence, eh? Who needs it?