unidentified module added to car

[jtdb]

recently purchased mustang was adding sub box and found this. any one know what it is before i remove it

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[luca1290]

Could you please give us a little of context?
It's a close up picture of a glob of cables (probably somewhere near the blower of the AC).

 

[jtdb]

right by the fuse panel on passenger side. it’s that blue box that goes to another module i have no idea what it is. has no part number or markings on it. is tapped into harness

 

[luca1290]

The other module is the Body Computer Module.
Is it tapped only into the BCM or it goes somewhere else? If you unclip it, the car still runs?

Do you have any scan tools, like Forscan, available?

 

[jtdb]

yes i have forscan on my laptop

 

[jtdb]

will try unpluging it

 

[luca1290]

yes i have forscan on my laptop

Unplug it and scan the car for codes. Perform a BCM Self Test and rescan.

 

[luca1290]

will try unpluging it

After that we have to understand what the module does, maybe it's just a part of a more complicated system cabled somewhere else.
I suggest obtaining the PCM wiring diagrams so we can better understand where it's tapped into.

 

[luca1290]

will try unpluging it

On second look, the blue-pink cable is interrupted by the orange cable that goes into the box.
Something will stop working.

 

[jtdb]

code generated

 

[jtdb]

vehicle won’t exit park with it disconnected

 

[jtdb]

re connected and issue resolved. button on that fob does absolutely nothing. going to remove this and remove the switch that intercepts the wiring. annoying that they used wire taps it’s quite unfortunate that they damage the wire harness like that. i’m assuming the grey wire is the com wire that allows the transmission selector to unlock, weird little setup. wonder if carvana put it on when i bought it through them… didn’t finance with them though..

 

[Skye]

My initial thought is an anti-theft device. A tracking device. The small item that looks like a microphone, a receiver (?) tying back to the larger green/black item in the first photo.

I started Googling the topic of remote GPS trackers and kill switches. Threads abound. At one extreme, the units can be somewhat large. At the other, surprisingly small.

While there are some Redit posts advising Carvana does install these devices, I could not confirm the company uses them as a standard practice. I did read the used car industry is using them more and more, either for anti-theft or to later assist with repo.

Best Wishes on its de-installation and demise.

 

[luca1290]

I did read the used car industry is using them more and more, either for anti-theft or to later assist with repo.

And this is very sad. Tracking is becoming "standard" and your privacy in this is completely obliterated.

 

[jtdb]

yeah, especially when i didn’t finance the car.. aside from this i wonder if it may be the cause of my no 4g cell connection in head unit.. when i have time to pull the harness and repair it properly i going to remove it from the car.

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