Electronic 'Beancan' Sensors

[Bob_Roller]

I placed an order with Motorrad Electric, for some accessory sockets and plugs .

Asked Rick Jones the owner about the availability of the Honeywell 2AV54 sensors .

Honeywell sold the patent and manufacturing rights to some corporation in China .

He has had quality issues with the parts coming out of China and is working on the problem .

So there you have it, unless some other company starts making them, they are no longer available at the consumer level .

[tvrla]

I believe there are other manufacturers of our hall sensor. Last time I went looking it seemed there was a choice - they're really pretty common.

[Bob_Roller]

There are suppliers, but they require a minimum of 1,000-10,000 units .

If you know of a company that deals in smaller quantities, I'd like to know who they are .

[nhmaf]

Last time I checked, only ones available anywhere where in distributors in APAC, and who knows if they are the "real" units or cheap knock-offs?   Well, these distributors show an inventory of 40 pieces, depending upon pricing I might be willing to participate in a co-buy program with a few people.   I would *hope* that these parts are the real deal, as I found this link from the Honeywell distributor page.
http://www.stkcheck.com/evs/honeywell/honeywell.asp?mfg=honeywell-sensing&part=2AV54

Hmmm, hold a sec, clicking those links ends up redirecting to Farnell, a european distributor, but it then shows as not available.  Hmmmm.   This could be more of a challenge...

[nhmaf]

Bob - I have found what appears to be a source of substitute parts for the 2AV54 HE vane sensor.  They claim to be willing to sell single pieces for $60 ea, or a package of 25 pcs for $325.    Maybe we should consider starting a business.....

The distributor has offices in New York, which is promising.  The part which would appear to be the proper replacement with the same wire order on the sensor is part BBHME56.  Here is a link-
http://www.bbautomacao.com/products.asp?cat=14

This took some digging to find.  I am contemplating buying one or two at some point to test/evaluate.  Electrically speaking, their specs seem to be not far off from the Honeywell part as far as the airhead needs go.  But, what might be the sticking part is the activation/deactivation distance for the sensor's distance from the vane.

The honeywell part shows an activation distance of 1.19mm +/- .30mm and release distance of 1.04mm +/- .33mm.  This apparently Japanese or Chinese copy (their datasheet has both charactersets, so who can tell  where it is actually manufactured) has a significantly broader range:
1.45mm +/- .6mm activation and release is 2.29mm +/- .75mm. .... sooooooo, what this means is that the pulses to the ICU could begin sooner and/or end later than the pulses would from the Honeywell/Bosch part - essentially a broader pulse, which could affect ignition timing by a bit.   I haven't worked out the degrees of crank rotation that this could represent.   So, it *might* work, but it isn't an exact replacement, even though the supplier claims it to be.  Hence, the suggestion of some sampling/testing/evaluation... Hmm.

[montmil]

Whoa! $60.00 each? That's outrageous.

Sometime ago, I bought six of the Honeywell sensors for something like $14.95 each. Used one to repair a spare bean can of mine and recently sent a freebie to one of our forum members who had a need.

My remaining stash of four NIB Honeywell Hall sensors turns out to be a better producing investment than my mutual fund programs!

Think I'll put them in  a safety deposit box.

[nhmaf]

Yup Monte - I think those have appreciated much more than anything in my 401(k)!!

I have seen lower prices for these things from some distributors, but like Bob said, the minimum order is around 1000 parts.   Those might be the original spec parts too, and not copies, which I think these are.   The supplier that I found (above) claims that these are substitutes for about 8 - 12 different sensor models from 3 (former) manufacturers... so it is likely that they aren't a 100% exact match for any of them.   Mechanically, they do appear to be the right size, shape, etc.

I found another places which *claims* to be able to sell the honeywell 2AV54 sensor for around $32 each in small volumes, but there is at least 8 weeks lead time.
http://www.onlinecomponents.com/honeywell_2av54.html?p=11917575
[size=14]EDIT - Do not bother with trying this onlinecomponents source for this part, they have replied to my request for delivery quote by stating the part is discontinued and they have no replacements. 13-Sept-2012  from Maher Nizam[/size]

[nhmaf]

I am adding to this thread for my own personal future reference as well as general info sharing...

Finally, I think this Chinese-named company is the actual producer of these parts, and the distributor's office in Germany seems to have a much better price on them (perhaps they never update their pricing info on the webpage document) than the USA/New York distributor I mentioned previously.   Maybe they are worth a try, depending upon where you live and shipping costs:
http://www.cy-sensors.com/

[tvrla]

I can't imagine the greater sensitivity being a problem. Consider that the difference in sensing distance is about .002". That's not going to affect timing in the least!

[nhmaf]

The nominal actuation distance of the substitute part (1.45mm) is actually about .010" greater than the nominal on the original (1.19mm), and is basically the same as what the maximum activation distance is speced for on the original.  The release distance is more problematic, as the substitute part (2.29mm nominal) is almost 1mm greater than the maximum range of the original part, and the allowed tolerance for the substitute part could extend that another +.75mm further.     As long as the ICU coil pulse trigger is active on the leading edge, there shouldn't be much difference, but the wider pulse width may have some other consequences - I just cannot recall at the moment.

I haven't worked out the arc angle of crank rotation that this distance represents, but the timing pulse from the substitute units WILL be wider than the original part.  Depending upon the distances involved, it could represent a small offset in the range of timing advance.   It could probably be compensated for by a slight adjustment of the bean can orientation if it is noticeable, but this is why I think some evaluation may be warranted.  

The earlier post indicated Rick Jones had some issues with a substitute part from Asia (quite possibly these) though we don't know yet what the issue(s) are.

It is sad that we cannot just order up 1-2 of the original units from Newark or Farnells like one used to be able to do even about a year ago.  But, this is what happens in the electronics industry - I deal with it all the time.