North American Motoring - Electrical Electrical system in our new MINI's, is it Lucas?

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Electrical system in our new MINI's, is it Lucas?

I got in an argument with someone the other day, and I need to now the answer if somone know. Who does the electrical for the BMW MINI, hopefully not Lucas.

Hell no - it RUNS, doesn't it?

Bosch, I think?

If it were Lucas, there'd be an extra gas cap on the other side where you add the liquid smoke.

More signs, courtesy of the Internet:

The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark."
Lucas denies having invented darkness. But they still claim "sudden, unexpected darkness"
Lucas--inventor of the first intermittent wiper.
Lucas--inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.
The three-position Lucas switch--DIM, FLICKER and OFF.
The other three switch settings--SMOKE, SMOLDER and IGNITE.
The original anti-theft devices--Lucas Electric products.
"I've had a Lucas pacemaker for years and have never experienced any prob...
If Lucas made guns, wars would not start either.
Did you hear about the Lucas powered torpedo? It sank.
It's not true that Lucas, in 1947, tried to get Parliament to repeal Ohm's Law. They withdrew their efforts when they met too much resistance.
Back in the '70s Lucas decided to diversify its product line and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners. It was the only product they offered which didn't suck.
Quality Assurance phoned and advised the Lucas engineering guy that they had trouble with his design shorting out. So he made the wires longer.
Why do the English drink warm beer? Lucas made the refrigerators, too.
Alexander Graham Bell invented the Telephone.
Thomas Edison invented the Light Bulb.
Joseph Lucas invented the Short Circuit.
Recommended procedure before taking on a repair of Lucas equipment: check the position of the stars, kill a chicken and walk three times sunwise around your car chanting: "Oh mighty Prince of Darkness protect your unworthy servant."
Lucas systems actually uses AC current; it just has a random frequency.
Lucas is an acronym for Loose Unsoldered Connections and Splices.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlimeyCabrio (Post 1402513)

Bosch, I think?

If it were Lucas, there'd be an extra gas cap on the other side where you add the liquid smoke.

More signs, courtesy of the Internet:

The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark."
Lucas denies having invented darkness. But they still claim "sudden, unexpected darkness"
Lucas--inventor of the first intermittent wiper.
Lucas--inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.
The three-position Lucas switch--DIM, FLICKER and OFF.
The other three switch settings--SMOKE, SMOLDER and IGNITE.
The original anti-theft devices--Lucas Electric products.
"I've had a Lucas pacemaker for years and have never experienced any prob...
If Lucas made guns, wars would not start either.
Did you hear about the Lucas powered torpedo? It sank.
It's not true that Lucas, in 1947, tried to get Parliament to repeal Ohm's Law. They withdrew their efforts when they met too much resistance.
Back in the '70s Lucas decided to diversify its product line and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners. It was the only product they offered which didn't suck.
Quality Assurance phoned and advised the Lucas engineering guy that they had trouble with his design shorting out. So he made the wires longer.
Why do the English drink warm beer? Lucas made the refrigerators, too.
Alexander Graham Bell invented the Telephone.
Thomas Edison invented the Light Bulb.
Joseph Lucas invented the Short Circuit.
Recommended procedure before taking on a repair of Lucas equipment: check the position of the stars, kill a chicken and walk three times sunwise around your car chanting: "Oh mighty Prince of Darkness protect your unworthy servant."
Lucas systems actually uses AC current; it just has a random frequency.
Lucas is an acronym for Loose Unsoldered Connections and Splices.

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!!!! That's halarious!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

That is great. I actually took the Europa out for a short drive in the dark today and the lights worked :eek2: ! I don't complain about the intermittent flickering :nod: .

Oh, yeah, I also believe MINI uses Bosch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle_John (Post 1147527)

The theory of smoke in electrical systems:

Positive ground depends upon proper circuit functioning, the transmission of negative ions by retention of the visible spectral manifestation known as "smoke". Smoke is the thing that makes electrical circuits work; we know this to be true because every time one lets the smoke out of the electrical system, it stops working. This can be verified repeatedly through empirical testing.

When, for example, the smoke escapes from an electrical component (i.e., say, a Lucas voltage regulator), it will be observed that the component stops working. The function of the wire harness is to carry the smoke from one device to another; when the wire harness "springs a leak", and lets all the smoke out of the system, nothing works afterwards. Starter motors were frowned upon in British Automobiles for some time, largely because they consume large quantities of smoke, requiring very large wires.

It has been noted that Lucas components are possibly more prone to electrical leakage than Bosch or generic Japanese electrics. Experts point out that this is because Lucas is British and all things British leak. British engines leak oil, shock absorbers, hydraulic forks and disk brakes leak fluid, British tires leak air and the British defense establishment leaks secrets...so, naturally, British electronics leak smoke.

Sorry UJ but it's legendary!

I've heard running the correct gauge wires will make most British car starters spin noticeably faster :nod: . But then you don't have to fill up on Lucas dust as often :cry: . I won't even go into that positive ground thing...

Lucas, prince of darkness

(how could we have missed that one?)

The Mini electonics

are truely world sourced. They come from all over. The ECU is Seimens FWIW....

Gone are the days when one company does all the electronics....

Matt

I also noticed that the blinker/washer controls are Alps Electric, which is the parent company of Alpine car audio, Japanese:thumbsup:

I remember Seimens made the airbag module for the Honda Element that I had.

Errr..... I spoke too soon....
Never really noticed this before....

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co.../500/Lucas.jpg

Guess I'd better stock up...
http://www.colgin.com/i/Instore_032003_011.gif
Luckily, you can buy it in gallons - $20 a gallon, but a gallon will keep your Lucas system going for quite some time...

The alternator & starter are from Valeo, a French company. They also provide OEM stuff for GM & BMW.

A French starter? No WONDER my Mini sounds so sexy...