S10 > Passenger seat > "black box" > ?

Briefly: I got a great deal on a new 2003 Chevy S10 extended cab model at the local dealer's year-end close-out specials.

Unbelievably great price after nearly 2 days of haggling, good size engine, nice extras, great color, interior, magnificent sound system, all the amenities -- or so it would seem...

Friday, I went to stuff my laptop under the passenger seat, and to my surprise, the space is filled [with an object] and neatly and completely carpeted over.

Hmmm, I peeled back some of the carpet from the trim, and it's an electronic box of some sort. Can't really tell whether it's bolted or welded to the chassis' floorboard.

I took her back around to the dealer; talked with the fleet salesman who said he'd never seen anything like it, and I was referred around to various sales and maintenance folks. Finally the truck manager looked up the vehicle's records and said that they had acquired it from another dealer [in Atlanta] so it may have had some speciality destination; however, he had no idea what the object was/is/could be except that [according to his best judgment and experience] it was included with the vehicle from factory manufacture because of the way the carpet fit, etc.

Well, that was half a day down the tubes without any satifactory answer... except that they are all pretty sure it's not going to 'blow up' (o;!

I wonder if anyone in here might know what is the deal, without me having to tear out the seat, rip back the carpet, and generally dissect the vehicle?

Many thanks in advance for any information!

H-Mac

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Reply to
Harold MacDavid
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It's probably the event data recorder (EDR) ... search google for sir s10 "black box" ... for more info.

system,

Reply to
Markeau

Somehow,on Sun, 07 Dec 2003 11:22:49 -0600, Harold MacDavid managed to spout out:

possibly the event data recorder(EDR). careful, 'big brother' is watching you.

Mike `02 Silverado 2500HD

Reply to
Janitor Boy Jr

Harold MacDavid wrote in news:Pv6dnS0CxJR0 snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

"Markeau" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Janitor Boy Jr wrote in news:DnLAb.2012$ snipped-for-privacy@nwrddc01.gnilink.net:

Thank you for the information and for the links!

Wondering if anybody knows whereabouts I can find the "Anarchists Handbook to Disable or Destroy Event Data Recorders Without Damaging the Vehicle"?

Big brother may well be watching me - LOL! - and IF he is, I'm going to whack-off right now just to show him that I'm independent!!!

Strike that: the GF just vetoed that idea.

The thing that strikes me about this situation is the lack of information about it? Not in the manual, not in the insurance papers anywhere, not on the sales materials, and not in the warranty papers, and of all things, not in any of the sales or maintenance staff's repertoire. Am I the only one with a laptop that needs to be stowed? I certainly think not! LOL.

Do'h? I don't particularly mind the gathering of information, but I really need the room under that seat - for my 'quipments! LMAO...

Thanks a lot for the information and reassurances (and if anybody knows where to sure-'nuff find that handbook, can ya discretely post a lead somewhere?) (o;

H-Mac

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Reply to
Harold MacDavid

Somehow,on Mon, 08 Dec 2003 18:34:23 -0600, Harold MacDavid managed to spout out:

if it is in fact the EDR, I believe(not positive yet, still researching) that it is an integral part of the air bag system. from what I understand so far, it is a requirement for proper operation of the system. now, what happens to the stored data _after_a crash is another approach... supposedly it's the last 5 seconds of information before the event trigger that is stored on an EEPROM inside the unit. I have to open mine up myself to verify this, but if it is true, then it is easy to have said data disappear.

ah, but it is in the manual. read through all the paragraphs in the air bag section.

"You vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and diagnostic module, which records information about the airbag system. The module records information about the readiness of the system, when the system commands air bag inflation and driver's safety belt usage at deployment. The module also records speed, engine rpm, brake and throttle data." (last paragraph, page 1-29, 2002 Silverado manual)

Mike `02 Silverado 2500HD

Reply to
Janitor Boy Jr

Reply to
Bobo

Hi!

Well, you ought to be nice. It's the spirit of the group! :-)

I've kept quiet on this so far, but now I have to weigh in...

Seriously, I'd never touch it so long as the truck remains whole. But if it is ever wrecked, that module will disappear faster than drinking water on Jalapeno sampler night. I consider myself a safe and responsible driver, and --although this will be hard to explain-- I don't want to be contradicted by a computer that was subjected to extremely abusive conditions in its last moments and therefore might report seriously screwy, albeit possible data.

Seriously, what do you do if that little computer goes bonkers in a bad wreck and reports that the vehicle was doing 95 down a 55 highway when you weren't???

Am I being paranoid? Perhaps so...but all my years working on computers has taught me one thing--you just don't really know sometimes why the results that you got are the way they are...

Justifiably not, as you give reason for below. And perhaps a goodly part of the population doesn't care where all that lives. I wonder what the factory service manual or a Haynes or Chiltons might have to say about the little box?

Say what you will, think what you like...but I assure you that module will be coming out and getting "erased" if the airbags go off.

William The Guesser -- longing for the comparative simplicity of his '84 Sierra Diesel....

Reply to
William R. Walsh

Somehow,on Wed, 10 Dec 2003 01:37:40 GMT, "William R. Walsh" managed to spout out:

now that has been my bottom line thinking all along since I learned of this little treasure. today, as I was doing a little thinking about it, I began to wonder what kind of legal issues that would bring up. would it be considered tampering with evidence? I don't remember signing anything giving anyone permission to monitor my driving activities, much less who actually has the rights to stored data. I'm more interested in preventing it from storing any data at all. nothing stored-no evidence to tamper with?

of course, I'm sure a few well placed pokes with a cattle prod after triggering the bags will corrupt the data nicely.

Mike `02 Silverado 2500HD

Reply to
Janitor Boy Jr

If I'm not mistaken "tampering with evidence" can get you a jail term. For what it's worth I think people are overreacting to this black box thing. I don't see it coming into play all that often and when it does it will bring the truth into the courtroom. Bob

Reply to
Bob

Reply to
sidewinder

I now BIG BROTHER will be reading this.... so all you who just made those statements better run when someone knocks on the door.... as to storing data, I don't even think gm is doing it anymore.. It started out as a diagnostic during designing and testing as a way for the designers to see what the module was seeing in a real world enviorment, someone found out about it and figured out a way to access it... It was never even used in court.. They just bluffed the lady until she confessed..Even if it was, I wouldn't worry about erreroneous data being stored, it's pretty accurate, If you were screwing around,They would need other evidence besides that brief burst of data... 30 to 40 milliseconds velocity data to prove anything... I am not saying I agree with it , just that I wouldn't lose any sleep over it...then again, I am a little different driver than when I was 16 or so... You know after you hit a hundred twenty or so in a chevy pickup, the wiper blades will rattle so much they end up cycling like delay wipers.... been a lotta years since then....

Reply to
Bobo

Somehow,on Thu, 11 Dec 2003 00:50:32 GMT, "Gary Glaenzer" managed to spout out:

not entirely.

Mike `02 Silverado 2500HD

Reply to
Janitor Boy Jr

Hi!

Much of the support circuitry doesn't matter...all you'd need to get in one piece is a little bitty EPROM or some other kind of nonvolatile memory. That's what you'd go after...

William

Reply to
William R. Walsh

Hi!

I don't know for sure, but unless the rules of buying things have changed, I own that box and can whatever I darn well please with it.

Simply put, I'm an honest person and you can count on me to tell the truth. I don't need a computer's help and I won't have it.

Keep it from storing any data at all? Too bad I don't have a junk one to play with. Otherwise I'd love to analyze the firmware inside just to see and know *for sure* what it does. Then I'd remove any little bits I didn't like...

Buzzing the PCBs and components to dust with a grinder might also work.

William

Reply to
William R. Walsh

Wrong, you may think you own the vehicle, but you don't. If you want your insurance company to honor a claim you have to play by their slanted rules whether or not the vehicle has clear title, sorry.

Rita

Reply to
Rita_A_Berkowitz

If you tamper with anything that is part of the vehicles "Safety System", Not only will your insurance company refuse to pay anything if you have a claim, they will also take you to court for fraud. Also if you caused any damage or injuries to another vehicle or person(s) their insurance will rake you over the coals as well.

Being honest doesn't matter in court any more, if they have evidence that you were in the wrong your toast(unless you have OJs money)

Reply to
Steve W.

Hi!

Well, no, not really. Not at all. I'll take responsibility for what I did but I'd rather be accused by something with a little more sense than a few bucks worth of computer parts.

William

Reply to
William R. Walsh

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