TPS and RPM only?

[Tom Cloud]

I don't work at Packard ..... but let me give you a good
example of costs.  The power supply in your PC costs about
$30.  It has four outputs (+5, +/-12, -5).  It is a switching
power supply. Switching supplies cost more than linear supplies.
Guess how much power supplies usually cost?  A _single output_
linear supply (5V 20A) is about $150.  A 200 watt switching
supply with four outputs (like is in your computer) costs
over $250.  Why the difference?  Volume (and cheap Taiwan
manufacturing).

I've used connectors that cost over $100 each when I was
working in the defense industry on aircraft but the connectors
used in automotove applications are relatively cheap.  The
aftermarket harnesses are expensive for the same reason the
power supplies above are expensive -- volume, or lack of it.
The car manufacturers get them real cheap.  If you were to
try to manufacturer the same product (wiring harness), you'd
find the cost of your parts to be maybe $2 to $10 each for
the connectors and maybe another $10 for the wire, but the
labor cost would be high and the volume for each type of cable
would be very low so you'd have to charge lots to stay in business.

>Product price is ultimately determined by what the market will bear.
>Building harneses is a labor intensive job. The hi-quality conectors are
>probably very expensive also. Any one at Packard electric with typical cost
>for these types of connectors.
>
>GMD
>
>At 09:59 PM 3/26/97 -0600, you wrote:
>
>>>>Is there any particular reason that aftermarket wiring harnesses cost 
>>so much money. It would seem pretty simple to wire one up?

And yes, it is simple to wire one up -- that's why I don't
think I'll ever buy an aftermarket harness.

Tom Cloud <cloud at peaches.ph.utexas.edu>