Rats! Qantas in dispute over chewed wiring

[UP4014]

I guess issue for the Aston is that the wiring loom maybe just a single cable. I had one panel (front right guard) sliced through by another vehicle in an accident and it also cut part way through the wiring loom.

My car was a write off with only only panel damaged. It was a Nissan. The wiring was a small number of wires but it would have needed re wiring to every switch and light bulb so not worth it.

but I have no sympathy for this guy, the valet parking would be cleaner that most car parks in Adelaide that I have seen.

matt

 

[harvyk]

I guess issue for the Aston is that the wiring loom maybe just a single cable. I had one panel (front right guard) sliced through by another vehicle in an accident and it also cut part way through the wiring loom.

My car was a write off with only only panel damaged. It was a Nissan. The wiring was a small number of wires but it would have needed re wiring to every switch and light bulb so not worth it.

but I have no sympathy for this guy, the valet parking would be cleaner that most car parks in Adelaide that I have seen.

matt

That's a bit strange that damage to a wiring loom is enough for the car to be a write off, I wouldn't say it's easy to work on cars as they do have a habit of routing wires and pipping via some very convoluted routes, but it's not impossible, esp as most switches and lights in cars are not individually wired in, but rather come as units sitting on printed circuit boards (PCB) which simply have a single set of wires plugging into it much like you would plug in a vacuum cleaner into a power point.

Repairing cuts in wire is not impossible either, I've done it before, the parts to do it, even if they are to carry serious voltage / amps only cost a couple of dollars for some hookup wire and shrink tubing... Even someone who is only an amateur should be able to make the soldier joins and shrink tube it in 5 minutes per wire.

 

[NM]

I guess issue for the Aston is that the wiring loom maybe just a single cable. I had one panel (front right guard) sliced through by another vehicle in an accident and it also cut part way through the wiring loom.

My car was a write off with only only panel damaged. It was a Nissan. The wiring was a small number of wires but it would have needed re wiring to every switch and light bulb so not worth it.

but I have no sympathy for this guy, the valet parking would be cleaner that most car parks in Adelaide that I have seen.

matt

That's a bit strange that damage to a wiring loom is enough for the car to be a write off, I wouldn't say it's easy to work on cars as they do have a habit of routing wires and pipping via some very convoluted routes, but it's not impossible, esp as most switches and lights in cars are not individually wired in, but rather come as units sitting on printed circuit boards (PCB) which simply have a single set of wires plugging into it much like you would plug in a vacuum cleaner into a power point.

Repairing cuts in wire is not impossible either, I've done it before, the parts to do it, even if they are to carry serious voltage / amps only cost a couple of dollars for some hookup wire and shrink tubing... Even someone who is only an amateur should be able to make the soldier joins and shrink tube it in 5 minutes per wire.

Of course part of the issue is the cost to do the repair properly verses the cost to make it look/work ok. The insurance company has an obligation to repair the damage properly since they have to provide a warranty for the repairs. So that would mean a full re-wiring job as noted. But the insurance company can sell the written-off vehicle at auction to recover some of their payout costs, and they may have determined that the difference between the insurance write-off payout and the sale value is less than the cost of repairs, so take the lowest cost option.

Then someone will buy the damaged vehicle at auction, do a quick-and-dirty wiring repair to make it "work" and then sell the vehicle privately and hence no warranty. There used to be quite a racket where the repair shops would over-quote the repair costs hoping the insurance company would write it off, then they buy the wreck at auction, repair it and make a tidy profit. I believe the insurance industry has tried very hard to clean this up in recent years so I expect it does not happen as much as it may have done in the past. But there may be some still working the system in this manner.

As to the original reported issue, the difficulty he is going to have is proving the damage occurred while the vehicle was under the care of Qantas Valet Parking. I expect its up to the complainant to prove it happened while at the airport rather than being up to the defendant to prove it did not happen there.

 

[samh004]

I wonder if he is a member of AFF?

Would have assumed he'd have posted by now if he was, trying to drum up support. Probably would have posted before anyone else...

 

[The Rok]

You cannot repair multiplex wiring, replace only.

 

[harvyk]

You cannot repair multiplex wiring, replace only.

Unless I'm missing something multiplex wiring is nothing more than wire, it's the data transmission which makes it "cleaver" and in each case that would be controlled by a device at each end not the wire itself. Provided the data can still be sent up and down the wire with an error rate which is tolerable there is no problem if a part of the signal goes via a piece of non original wire. I've built extension boxes in the past for this exact purpose and didn't see any noticeable increase in the error rate.

Of course in a modern day car, things are no longer repaired, but instead completely removed and replaced as one giant unit.

Of course this is going a little of topic.

 

[The Rok]

Multiplex wires are a specific length. Signals are sent down the wire a specific distance. Altering the length of the wire even a fraction can cause problems.

Odds are that if you performed the repair correctly then the device which runs off it will still work, however with the risk of error warnings left right & centre,

As this car is a fairly new Aston Martin with a very complicated multiplex wiring system (borrowed from a Ford Mondeo) then the repair would need to be carried out by an Authorised Aston Martin repair centre, and I cannot see ANY Authorised Aston Martin repair centre repairing a wiring loom instead of replacing it.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Given the plaintiffs position and car I would be more discreet about this matter.

 

[EmilyHoward]

One does wonder just how the Plaintiff will be able to prove his case on the facts presented. I don't imagine he can win this case, however, it is said 'there is no bad publicity' and he is certainly getting plenty of free advertising as a Liquidator over this matter.

EH

 

[Sprucegoose]

One does wonder just how the Plaintiff will be able to prove his case on the facts presented. I don't imagine he can win this case, however, it is said 'there is no bad publicity' and he is certainly getting plenty of free advertising as a Liquidator over this matter.

EH

yes there are some who would say he was the Rat!