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What the heck is this mystery device?

Indavis01

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Not sure if this has been brought up already but. This is one they added on to mine and charged me for it (charged is a relative term- Good negotiating starting point). If you want to read something truly scary I'll post the EULA that you agreed to by activating the consumer side of the account. The dealer actually charges you for this as a feature.

https://www.spireon.com/kahu/
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JT850

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Had one in mine too.

IMG-20200804-WA0003.jpeg
 

cgflyer

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I found discussion about this thing on the Wrangler side - it's a dealer installed GPS tracker!
Now WHY in the XXXX would the dealer put a GPS tracker on this truck?
I PAID CASH. There was never any loan on it for any reason. I took them a check for the full amount, paid for by selling my other truck, one of my cars and some I inherited from my father. Cash. No lease, no contract, no bank, no Chrysler Credit.
There's no brake controller as FCA still doesn't have their act together on that.
I found it's inline with the OBD port - I thought I recognized the connector.

OK, questions now are -
Why would a dealer put this in the truck?
Why was it NOT MENTIONED?
Is there any reason to leave it ? The wires are clunky and in the way and the connector doesn't stay nice in the bracket with all that extra BULK.
Will the FCA GPS cops come for me?

Am I correct in that this is a dealer installed GPS tracking device?

Here's one that someone removed from their Wrangler -

Jeep Gladiator What the heck is this mystery device? IMG-20200804-WA0003
The break controller harness is under the dash, you plug any controller into it.
 
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ShadowsPapa

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For me it is the addendum annoyance and using a vamp tap on my otherwise perfect factory wiring harness. At least my dealership was up front that it was installed but the fact that they wanted to charge a 10X markup on a device I didn’t want in the first place is where I got a bit chapped. The device they installed on mine retails for $49 while the price they added to the addendum was $499. How is that for profit margin! But, most dealerships add them for inventory tracking and so they can allow the “here’s the keys” test drive. The buy here pay here lots use them for repossession purposes. Some sub prime lenders also require them installed for the same purpose. I do not fall into any of the aforementioned areas and prefer the dealerships to keep their dick beaters off my wiring harness.
Agreed - the non-intrusive (as far as WIRING) devices are one thing, but tapping into a wire through the insulation, that's just driven me nuts for years - be it trailer wiring or other devices, like this - you don't poke through the insulation like that. It's even worse if they did more than tap for power - that CANbus is a high-speed network, you even kink the wire and you have changed the properties. I can recall running IBM networking wiring between buildings at Principal Financial Group - through floors, up walls, over ceilings, then through the skywalk ceiling into the next building. Got 3/4 done and someone on the team pulled when they should not have and there's a kink in the wire - guess what? 3 or 4 hours work - ok guys, go back to start but don't collect $200, new spool, let's do this again. You definitely don't tap into or mess with the twisted pair wires - luckily they don't do that - it's apparently the power leads in your case. If I saw a poke in the bus wires, I'd be unhappy.
 
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ShadowsPapa

ShadowsPapa

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The break controller harness is under the dash, you plug any controller into it.
Uh, almost, and watch the wiring......... not all controllers have the same harness and in some cases, the leads are reversed.

The GPS device itself was hanging up under the dash, strapped to another bundle, and in the way if you wanted to work up in there.
 

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cgflyer

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Uh, almost, and watch the wiring......... not all controllers have the same harness and in some cases, the leads are reversed.

The GPS device itself was hanging up under the dash, strapped to another bundle, and in the way if you wanted to work up in there.
Right, this is an old topic already in this forum...lots of talk on the trailer brake controllers...what adapters are needed, what wires need to be reversed and when the factory one will be available. I went with the Curt wireless/bluetooth one. Haven't used it yet as I no longer have my trailer with electric brakes. Wasn't big on using a phone app to control it, but for the money it was worth not adding an aftermarket controller to my dash. And I wasn't trying to jump into your space...I know the actual controller isn't available...my JT was an April, 2019 order with the towing package (controller included)...no mention at all that it wasn't available.
 

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Damn got to check mine when I get home. Seems like a lot of you are finding these things installed.
Are they mostly plugged into where the Taser would plug in, or are you finding them in other spots as well?
 
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ShadowsPapa

ShadowsPapa

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Damn got to check mine when I get home. Seems like a lot of you are finding these things installed.
Are they mostly plugged into where the Taser would plug in, or are you finding them in other spots as well?
If you are lucky they are plugged into the OBDII port (yeah, where a tazer, etc. would go) using an extension with piggyback leads to the device.
Others seem to be finding them clipped to the + and - leads going to that port - meaning holes in the wire insulation.

The former you can simply unplug the devices' OBD extension and put the diagnostic port back into the bracket and remove the device with it's 2 or 3 feet of wire from under the dash...

The latter - remove the wire taps and remove the device - leaving holes in the wire insulation (nice on a truck rated to get wet)

OBD - OnBoard Diagnostics. There was OBD I in the 90s then along comes OBD II .............
Even OBD I used twisted pairs to certain sensors and for certain communications. I ran into a lot of it when grabbing the 4.0 and electronics and wiring from a 94 Grand Cherokee. If I had been smart I would have left the diagnostic port in place and used it in my car - no, I had to be smarter and clean that out. Now I have to flip the stupid key back and forth and read MIL light codes to find faults. Dummy me. (MIL = Malfunction Indicator Light - yeah, commonly called "your check engine light" in those stupid car warranty ads)
 

Gatorgladiatorcanuck

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This dealer is large but I can walk their lot and find vehicles in minutes - hard to imagine GPS being so accurate you find it within feet. Especially when you have the key fob - just hit the horn button!
I survey with GPS that is accurate to an inch on a regular basis, accuracy of a foot is no issue. Realistically it would only have to be 3-5' even 10' or more to be effective.
 

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ShadowsPapa

ShadowsPapa

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I survey with GPS that is accurate to an inch on a regular basis, accuracy of a foot is no issue. Realistically it would only have to be 3-5' even 10' or more to be effective.
Quite true. Even my Garmin has a "walking mode" that is pretty darned accurate. But I expect that from a full device. I suppose for some large Nebraska dealer where they are spread over 5 acres or more, or even Karl Chevrolet in Ankeny - a huge dealer spread out over a huge chunk of ground. Those people would absolutely need a map and GPS to find any specific vehicle.
Amazing how surveying has changed................. I recall the wire stakes and 100 foot+ tape measures I used to use marking out my fields for reporting acreage and other fun stuff. No GPS back then - not for civilian use anyway (1980s)
 

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When I bought mine the dealer had a 2nd sticker with his installed options, $2400 worth (window tint, paint protection, fabric (leather) protection, LoJack) . I told them I did not ask for any of that and I would not pay for them. They took the $2400 charge off and told me to keep the LoJack as it was too much trouble to take out. I guess it's still in there, probably should look
 

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Digging this one up from the grave. I found one today while installing a OBD scanner for JSCAn.
Spireon is the name on it. They advertise it for fleet tracking.

my truck was purchased prior to going through dealer prep and they tried to make me pay for the paint prep, tracking, etc...but I told them I didn’t need or want it.

image.jpg
 

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I'm curious if these are wired for power all the time or only when the vehicle is running?
 

Mr._Bill

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I'm curious if these are wired for power all the time or only when the vehicle is running?
The OBD port usually has a 12v line that is live all the time. There are solar chargers available that plug into the OBD port. The trackers are intended to be live all the time.
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