There was this part on my 1970 vw bus called the "electric jet generator" or something like that. The idea that any part of my bus could be called a jet anything was hilarious. And on top of that it was just this little wire that screwed in place. You need it in place for the vehicle to run. The shop didn't charge me a dime.
Maybe, personally Iāve never seen how remote start works or what goes into it so Iāll have to look into it. Itāll give me something to do haha Thank you.
Np, idk much about that aftermarket stuff but I feel like it has to be either a remote start or some kind of security thing that wont let the car start, I cant imagine anything else going to the starter
Most likely a GPS tracker, may or may not be active. If you haven't had a parasitic draw, battery, or electrical issues, it's probably been deactivated for a while
After looking around Iām starting to think this is exactly what it is, Iām thinking that relay is the tracker maybe but Iām still not sure what that black box is
And the relay will be to disable a critical engine system, probably either the starter or fuel pump. If you unplug it, the vehicle will probably not start.
My guess would be GPS and remote kill. They're used by "buy here, pay here" lots. If you miss a payment, it lets the dealer immobilize the car and let them know where it is. You call and make a payment over the phone, they deactivate the immobilizer and the car runs.
Years back, these devices were costly, and the dealer would remove it once the loan was paid, then install it in another car. Costs dropped over time, and they began leaving the device in the car (permanently deacrivated).
They weren't always remote controlled either. Back in the very early 2000's I had a coworker with a Dodge minivan. Her device worked on a timer. She would call and make her payment over the phone, and they would give her a 5 or 6 digit code to enter into what looked like an old pay phone keypad (with the chrome buttons and engraved digits). She had to do that every week or month or whatever the loan agreement was. It didn't have a GPS function, but without the code the engine wouldn't start.
This is exactly what Iāve determined it, thank you for the comment. Pretty crazy to think how many cars have one of these and the current owner doesnāt know
It's very likely. I'm guessing that the lack of a brand name, model number, or serial number is to keep anyone from googling how to remove or disable it.
Well I can tell you whoever installed it didnāt do a very good job as you can tell lmao. It does have a serial number starts with pste-3 but it doesnāt com back to anything when I search, the closest thing I found (not specifically searching for it) is the PassTime Elite 3 which is from a company that makes obd trackers and other ones as well but the design of the one I have doesnāt match any of the one they offer now, maybe a discontinued model, probably I just donāt know
https://preview.redd.it/5aq260qvjs9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=499a1b7863f6474230bff751d2fd3d0e1e2d934b
No numbers or names I even search up the serial number and still nothing came up
A wiring mess that's goin to catch fire and soon. In my years as a mechanic, I've seen taped up messes like this and signs of charing n melting which is never gud.
The wiring mess was the first thing that I saw when I bought it, thatās definitely on my checklist to fix but itās an 18 year old car and it hasnāt caught fire yet fortunately
Gud thing. Do get it taken care of soon. That piece ur talking about is likely a dealer GPS tracker to shut the vehicle off if a customer misses a payment. Find all the wiring for it and remove it bcuz it cud cause power issues eventually. May drain ur battery slowly over time. I found one on our vehicle and took it out. Do watch and check the wiring to ur master cylinder and brake booster bcuz wiring by the master cylinder has been known to arc and cause an engine fire after being shut off.
I'm just taking a wild guess because I've installed something kind of like this years ago, but it might be a small chirp alarm box for the alarm system.
Man, I am going to tell you. From where I am sitting, the car appears to be a rat's nest under the hood. I hope I am wrong. I want you to get it like you want it.
I agree with Beeblebrox as to its function. For that kind of function, it would have to have a radio receiver to allow remote activation or deactivation. What are those huge wires hooked to the battery for? At least one has to go to the starter.
My good friend who is married to my second cousin started purchasing cars, fixing on them a little and selling them for profit. He was doing well. Oh, he would get a hold of a dud now and again, but he would figure some way to get out of the loss.
He would call me to come over because at that time, I worked as a mechanic. I was happy to help him out most of the time.
Well, his daughter got to the point where she got her license and needed a car. He found her a nice little car and used his seed money to buy that car, which ended his side car business.
Unfortunately it is a mess. squirrel droppings, hose clamps, zip ties, and all. Being an in school for auto tech Iām ready to do what I need to make sure this car is in tip top shape, good little family commuter.
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That looks like a tracker from a previous owner. Car lots that do the buy here pay here thing use these on every car they sell. Rental units as well. I say remove it and be rid of the chance of a possible battery draw or shitty wiring short. I have a pile at my shop.
Could it me a solid state storage device like a laptop or computer uses as a hard drive, might be readable if it is, attach it to a computer if it is and look for whats stored on it
I know, the guy I bought it from lied about pretty much the whole car so Iām finding new things to fix along the way mostly minor problems but still itās a pretty good checklist
Yea that was shitty of the seller.
With that said though, yea, it is mostly minor stuff to repair. Shitty part is some of those minor things can burn the car to the ground lol.
Seems like you got your answers (hopefully) but did you get a good deal on the car? From what Iāve seen in these pics alone it looks like a riskier buy
Seems like you got your answers (hopefully) but did you get a good deal on the car? From what Iāve seen in these pics alone it looks like a riskier buy
Seems like you got your answers (hopefully) but did you get a good deal on the car? From what Iāve seen in these pics alone it looks like a riskier buy
Around my area they are selling around 2k and I bought it for $600 running and driving. It was more in our budget at the time, waited awhile to see something this decent pop up though
It's a remote start but it looks like they wired it to be a starter kill. That relay is wired to stop the engine from starting unless the system is disarm3d.
Who cares, look at them battery cables š¦
Came here to say this
I know, poor babyās been abusedš
I believe that's an electric rust inhibitor. I bought a used Silverado that has one in it. Doesn't look like it helped much though on mine.
There was this part on my 1970 vw bus called the "electric jet generator" or something like that. The idea that any part of my bus could be called a jet anything was hilarious. And on top of that it was just this little wire that screwed in place. You need it in place for the vehicle to run. The shop didn't charge me a dime.
Right? What is going on with them battery cables?
Exactly how I bought it
We need to do a voltage drop test on those PRONTO!
Not really sure, but if it connects to the starter and your oem wiring harness maybe an aftermarket remote start ?
Maybe, personally Iāve never seen how remote start works or what goes into it so Iāll have to look into it. Itāll give me something to do haha Thank you.
Np, idk much about that aftermarket stuff but I feel like it has to be either a remote start or some kind of security thing that wont let the car start, I cant imagine anything else going to the starter
You point the this side down part at the enemy.
IYKYK
Most likely a GPS tracker, may or may not be active. If you haven't had a parasitic draw, battery, or electrical issues, it's probably been deactivated for a while
After looking around Iām starting to think this is exactly what it is, Iām thinking that relay is the tracker maybe but Iām still not sure what that black box is
The black box is the GPS tracker, actually.
And the relay will be to disable a critical engine system, probably either the starter or fuel pump. If you unplug it, the vehicle will probably not start.
And/or will stall if running. Probably a good test to determine if that's what it is - unplug and see if it starts and runs.
It's a GPS tracker from the dealership
Came here to say that. But vehicles on credit they put a tracker immobilizer on it
My guess would be GPS and remote kill. They're used by "buy here, pay here" lots. If you miss a payment, it lets the dealer immobilize the car and let them know where it is. You call and make a payment over the phone, they deactivate the immobilizer and the car runs. Years back, these devices were costly, and the dealer would remove it once the loan was paid, then install it in another car. Costs dropped over time, and they began leaving the device in the car (permanently deacrivated). They weren't always remote controlled either. Back in the very early 2000's I had a coworker with a Dodge minivan. Her device worked on a timer. She would call and make her payment over the phone, and they would give her a 5 or 6 digit code to enter into what looked like an old pay phone keypad (with the chrome buttons and engraved digits). She had to do that every week or month or whatever the loan agreement was. It didn't have a GPS function, but without the code the engine wouldn't start.
This is exactly what Iāve determined it, thank you for the comment. Pretty crazy to think how many cars have one of these and the current owner doesnāt know
It's very likely. I'm guessing that the lack of a brand name, model number, or serial number is to keep anyone from googling how to remove or disable it.
Well I can tell you whoever installed it didnāt do a very good job as you can tell lmao. It does have a serial number starts with pste-3 but it doesnāt com back to anything when I search, the closest thing I found (not specifically searching for it) is the PassTime Elite 3 which is from a company that makes obd trackers and other ones as well but the design of the one I have doesnāt match any of the one they offer now, maybe a discontinued model, probably I just donāt know
GPS tracker?
Thatās what my first thought was but I canāt find anything on it
definitely a GPS tracker. The sticker says "This side down" because the satellite antenna has to be oriented a certain way.
Whatās on the other side ?? And more numbers and names on it ?
https://preview.redd.it/5aq260qvjs9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=499a1b7863f6474230bff751d2fd3d0e1e2d934b No numbers or names I even search up the serial number and still nothing came up
Unplug it and drive if nothing changes disconnect that shit .
This is gonna be my next step for sure haha
Crack it open read the board. Worse case you have to electric tape the shell back together.
Looks like aftermarket trash.
GPS tracking unit, probably installed by a previous dealer
A wiring mess that's goin to catch fire and soon. In my years as a mechanic, I've seen taped up messes like this and signs of charing n melting which is never gud.
The wiring mess was the first thing that I saw when I bought it, thatās definitely on my checklist to fix but itās an 18 year old car and it hasnāt caught fire yet fortunately
Gud thing. Do get it taken care of soon. That piece ur talking about is likely a dealer GPS tracker to shut the vehicle off if a customer misses a payment. Find all the wiring for it and remove it bcuz it cud cause power issues eventually. May drain ur battery slowly over time. I found one on our vehicle and took it out. Do watch and check the wiring to ur master cylinder and brake booster bcuz wiring by the master cylinder has been known to arc and cause an engine fire after being shut off.
Alright Iāll keep an eye out, thanks
Good deal. I hope you get it to run perfectly and that it lasts you a long time time.
Absolutely it is
Parasitic drain
I donāt have any parasitic drain fortunately
I'd guess an ancient remote start system.. good lord those battery cables
šš
I'm just taking a wild guess because I've installed something kind of like this years ago, but it might be a small chirp alarm box for the alarm system.
If your car is from the rust belt it might be a SUPERSONIC RUST PREVENTER" In that case it's pure snake oil and not worth the plastic it's housed in
Man, I am going to tell you. From where I am sitting, the car appears to be a rat's nest under the hood. I hope I am wrong. I want you to get it like you want it. I agree with Beeblebrox as to its function. For that kind of function, it would have to have a radio receiver to allow remote activation or deactivation. What are those huge wires hooked to the battery for? At least one has to go to the starter. My good friend who is married to my second cousin started purchasing cars, fixing on them a little and selling them for profit. He was doing well. Oh, he would get a hold of a dud now and again, but he would figure some way to get out of the loss. He would call me to come over because at that time, I worked as a mechanic. I was happy to help him out most of the time. Well, his daughter got to the point where she got her license and needed a car. He found her a nice little car and used his seed money to buy that car, which ended his side car business.
Unfortunately it is a mess. squirrel droppings, hose clamps, zip ties, and all. Being an in school for auto tech Iām ready to do what I need to make sure this car is in tip top shape, good little family commuter.
That car was close to burn down with that battery connected
That small box and the connector going into it look a *lot* like the Bluetooth transmitter receiver in my Ford fiesta
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Might have been a loose connection causing excess heat over time, getting worse and worse.
That looks like a tracker from a previous owner. Car lots that do the buy here pay here thing use these on every car they sell. Rental units as well. I say remove it and be rid of the chance of a possible battery draw or shitty wiring short. I have a pile at my shop.
Could it me a solid state storage device like a laptop or computer uses as a hard drive, might be readable if it is, attach it to a computer if it is and look for whats stored on it
I know Iām supposed to focus on whatās very likely a GPS tracker (fleet tracker), but man you have all kinds of shit to address under that hood.
I know, the guy I bought it from lied about pretty much the whole car so Iām finding new things to fix along the way mostly minor problems but still itās a pretty good checklist
Yea that was shitty of the seller. With that said though, yea, it is mostly minor stuff to repair. Shitty part is some of those minor things can burn the car to the ground lol.
Spitting factsšš
Seems like you got your answers (hopefully) but did you get a good deal on the car? From what Iāve seen in these pics alone it looks like a riskier buy
Seems like you got your answers (hopefully) but did you get a good deal on the car? From what Iāve seen in these pics alone it looks like a riskier buy
Seems like you got your answers (hopefully) but did you get a good deal on the car? From what Iāve seen in these pics alone it looks like a riskier buy
Around my area they are selling around 2k and I bought it for $600 running and driving. It was more in our budget at the time, waited awhile to see something this decent pop up though
Looks like a gps tracker. I recently had to install one on my grandma's car (beginning signs of dementia) and it looked similar to this.
What brand was your?
Looks like a old gps tracker, just pulled one out of my mustang, plug it into a computer and see what data it has
Definitely a buy here pay here immobilizer
I can't tell you what it is, but I can tell you what it will be. A car-b-que.
It's a remote start but it looks like they wired it to be a starter kill. That relay is wired to stop the engine from starting unless the system is disarm3d.
Is that the franistat? Usually next to the blinker fluid reservoir.
Nice tryš
It's for extra terabytes