Mysterious Box
avatar307
12-03-2004, 09:28 PM
I found a a control module type box in my car that I cannot identify, and it's just too intriguing to ignore.
1995 LeSabre, below and behind the heater outlets, above the center hump. As a collection of wires entering into the bottom in two seperate plugs of different sizes. The top of the box pops open (like a Cracker Jack box LOL) which makes this thing even more amusing. Inside, it looks to contain 4 mini relays on a circuit board.
What really intrigues me is the label on the front of the box. Which can be seen from the passenger compartment without opening the dash or anything. The box has a label with a grey background that's reads:
25621269 *19 GRY*(with a barcode) GRY
I take GRY to mean Grey, thus why I am intrigued. I have yet to understand the reference, the purpose of the box, or the relation between the two. I mean... my car has a grey interior, but what in world does the color of my carpet have to do with a control module?!?!?
Any ideas?
P.S. Just in case anyone is wondering, my air bag system is now functioning properly, the light has gone away, and I managed not to deploy the air bags in the process. (It was while tearing out my seat to get to the air bag system that I really took notice of this box. I thought to myself, "Grey, what in the h*ll does grey have to do with anything?")
1995 LeSabre, below and behind the heater outlets, above the center hump. As a collection of wires entering into the bottom in two seperate plugs of different sizes. The top of the box pops open (like a Cracker Jack box LOL) which makes this thing even more amusing. Inside, it looks to contain 4 mini relays on a circuit board.
What really intrigues me is the label on the front of the box. Which can be seen from the passenger compartment without opening the dash or anything. The box has a label with a grey background that's reads:
25621269 *19 GRY*(with a barcode) GRY
I take GRY to mean Grey, thus why I am intrigued. I have yet to understand the reference, the purpose of the box, or the relation between the two. I mean... my car has a grey interior, but what in world does the color of my carpet have to do with a control module?!?!?
Any ideas?
P.S. Just in case anyone is wondering, my air bag system is now functioning properly, the light has gone away, and I managed not to deploy the air bags in the process. (It was while tearing out my seat to get to the air bag system that I really took notice of this box. I thought to myself, "Grey, what in the h*ll does grey have to do with anything?")
buickmastermind
12-04-2004, 11:40 AM
the only thing I can think of is to follow one of the wires to see where it leads. Or, you could disconnect it, and see what happens. Who knows, that might be the reason for the non-working OBD-x connector. Probably not...
redly1
12-05-2004, 03:28 AM
could it be the "black box" that GM has been installing in various cars over the past decade??
avatar307
12-05-2004, 07:40 AM
The "black box" you are refering to is the Air Bag SDM/DERM/Control Module. In the event of accident, they record a multitude of data for reconstruction of the accident. Initial velocity, deceleration rate, engine RPMs, vehicle orientation, steering wheel position, throttle position, engine temperature, abs engagement, etc. are recorded every few milliseconds. The time arming and decriminating sensors are triggered as well as when each air bag is deployed is recorded.
Newer cars actually detect and record whether or not there is a person sitting in each seat and how much that person weighs. Newer air bags are even designed with the ability to deploy with less force, or the computer can override the deployment if there is no one in the seat.
The data is permanently recorded by the SDM/DERM and cannot be erased. After an accident, all damaged sensors must be replaced (There is no repair procedure for any air bag componet, replacement only.) After 2-5 accidents (depending on the car and the accident) the air bag computer must be replaced because it's memory is full.
My mysterious box is a little plastic box... just another plastic box. It's actually designed just like the case for the keyless entry (the top pops open). Initially, I thought it was the passenger compartment descriminating sensor (an air bag sensor). However, the fact that there are 15 wires going in, it's not metal, not sealed, and can be opened without removing any screw (let alone a security Torx) completely blows that theory away. You'd think for being in such a conspicuous place, that it would be obvious it's purpose... or that the label would give some indication of it's purpose.
It's just another one of the many, many, many little modules connecting into the vehicle wiring harness. Modules which could be combined into single units, containing circuit boards half the size of the enclosure. But no, lets scatter 15 random boxes throughout the car and put a fuse box deep in the underside of the dash in the stupidest and most inaccessable location possible.
GM is begining to consolodate some of the under dash mess... Class 2 data bus is actually helping with this (while making the shade tree mechanics life hell). Unfortunately one of the first things they did was to incorporate the Chime Module into the factory radio. Which makes sense initially, the chimes come out the speakers. Problem is, if you remove the radio, you lose your chimes. Beyond that, the radio is part of Class 2 Data Bus, removing it results in the computer losing communication with the air bags and a whole mess of other things. The result? Custom wiring harnesses to relocate the factory radio to the trunk so you can install and after market radio. ROFL
These are but a few of the reasons I don't particurally want a new car, I'll have to figure all this BS out again.
Newer cars actually detect and record whether or not there is a person sitting in each seat and how much that person weighs. Newer air bags are even designed with the ability to deploy with less force, or the computer can override the deployment if there is no one in the seat.
The data is permanently recorded by the SDM/DERM and cannot be erased. After an accident, all damaged sensors must be replaced (There is no repair procedure for any air bag componet, replacement only.) After 2-5 accidents (depending on the car and the accident) the air bag computer must be replaced because it's memory is full.
My mysterious box is a little plastic box... just another plastic box. It's actually designed just like the case for the keyless entry (the top pops open). Initially, I thought it was the passenger compartment descriminating sensor (an air bag sensor). However, the fact that there are 15 wires going in, it's not metal, not sealed, and can be opened without removing any screw (let alone a security Torx) completely blows that theory away. You'd think for being in such a conspicuous place, that it would be obvious it's purpose... or that the label would give some indication of it's purpose.
It's just another one of the many, many, many little modules connecting into the vehicle wiring harness. Modules which could be combined into single units, containing circuit boards half the size of the enclosure. But no, lets scatter 15 random boxes throughout the car and put a fuse box deep in the underside of the dash in the stupidest and most inaccessable location possible.
GM is begining to consolodate some of the under dash mess... Class 2 data bus is actually helping with this (while making the shade tree mechanics life hell). Unfortunately one of the first things they did was to incorporate the Chime Module into the factory radio. Which makes sense initially, the chimes come out the speakers. Problem is, if you remove the radio, you lose your chimes. Beyond that, the radio is part of Class 2 Data Bus, removing it results in the computer losing communication with the air bags and a whole mess of other things. The result? Custom wiring harnesses to relocate the factory radio to the trunk so you can install and after market radio. ROFL
These are but a few of the reasons I don't particurally want a new car, I'll have to figure all this BS out again.
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