Thread: Electrical or electronic

easy....

a mechanic looks after the engine transmission and the running gear
an Electrical fitter looks after the batteries and the electric motor
an auto electrician looks after the normal engines ancillary electrics and the BECM style electronics
and an Electronics Technical fitter handles the computer management side of business for the elctronic management hardware.

same as for trains.

Originally Posted by SuperMono

Electrical.

Having a printed circuit board does not make something electronic.
Being simplistic you need active components to be 'electronic'.
Things like fuses, relays and resistors* are 'electrical' or 'electro-mechanical'.
Things like transistors, diodes and microprocessors are electronic.

Agreed. (I was an electronics tech at one time, trained by DCA, worked for OTC.)

Originally Posted by superquag

I take it you're a COMMs boffin...yeah but never really worked on comms, mainly supporting or electro-optical stuff. Do you really want to work on a car, crawling upside down to reach under dash-boards, inside and under/around/through dirty oily (Diesel LRs.....) cramped engine holes... etc etc. ??? Nup

- And only get paid spanner-spinner rates ?

IMHO (and as often as I can at work) I have the cars first come into the boffin or elec shops for 'computer diagnosis'. Then off to the mechanics shop to change the broken bit out. Works a treat mostly, far faster than having a mechanic wallow on the problem.
That's not to make the mechs feel inferior, it's just a faster process thus faster turn-a-round time. In the same vein, I use fitters for the motor trimming, panel/paint, body and any welding/cutting etc leaving mechs to concentrate on the oily and noisy bits.

Ralph

When you start delving into the world of semi-conductors, then it becomes electronic (transistors, ICs, etc...).

Fuses, relays, wiring, etc... That's electrical.

M
(Trained as an electronics & electrical engineer!)

I always thought that electronics had "chips" and electrics didn't.

Wikipedia says electronics use active components and electrics use passive components
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronics"]Electronics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Originally Posted by Marshall

I always thought that electronics had "chips" and electrics didn't.

Wikipedia says electronics use active components and electrics use passive components
Electronics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think that's a bit too simplistic a view. For example, one might make an RC filter using resistors and capacitors which are both passive components yet it would still be an electronic item. Ditto for an LC filter using inductors and capacitors.

It seems that most (all?) agree with me that a fuse box is not an electronic item.

I bought one in the mistaken belief that a Freelander I was working on had a fault with the original one. It then transpired that Land Rover, in their wisdom, fitted the fuel pump relay in a completely different place than would first appear.

As such I no longer require a replacement fuse box and I want to return it. On the invoice for the fuse box it clearly states (in red):

Please Note: Electronic Items are not refundable.

I am going to take it back and argue strongly that it is not an electronic item, therefore should be refundable. I would even settle for a credit to be spent on other items.

Originally Posted by Ralph1Malph

IMHO (and as often as I can at work) I have the cars first come into the boffin or elec shops for 'computer diagnosis'. Then off to the mechanics shop to change the broken bit out. Works a treat mostly, far faster than having a mechanic wallow on the problem.
That's not to make the mechs feel inferior, it's just a faster process thus faster turn-a-round time. In the same vein, I use fitters for the motor trimming, panel/paint, body and any welding/cutting etc leaving mechs to concentrate on the oily and noisy bits.

Ralph

As an ex spanner spinner there's and old saying "If you can't fix it with a hammer, then it's an electrical fault"