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Comment by ams6110

14 years ago

Shutting down the connection is apparently something that they do remotely: it was difficult to ensure the data connection was shut down after canceling. I still have no guarantee OnStar did what they were supposed to

If it were me, I'd pull the fuse or if necessary cut the wires to the transmitter.

12 comments

ams6110

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shabble  14 years ago

"For your comfort, safety and security, OnStar technologies are now being directly integrated into your engine management unit. To ensure your safety even further, all protocols, wiring diagrams, instruction manuals and other materials are encrypted, obfuscated, and welded shut. Thank you for enjoying your OnStar Service!"

crenshaw  14 years ago

I once decided to cut cord to the vanity light in my car (long story why). Even though the car was off I was able to get quick a scare. Lesson, electricity in a car is not off when the key is out. I was close to winning one of those Darwin awards.

  • praptak  14 years ago

    The voltage in car circuits is usually 12V, not enough to do you real harm.

    Yup, the sparks when you short circuit can be spectacular (the car battery can provide quite a current), but the voltage can't kill you. It would suck if it could - high voltage cables all around you would make accidents very dangerous. The worst that could happen to you is burns from the wires getting hot.

    • arethuza  14 years ago

      Shorts in a car can generate an awful lot of heat and smoke - within the confined space of a car this can be pretty alarming.

      I've been in a passenger in a car that had a short in the facia while driving - the car immediately filled with dense choking smoke and we nearly crashed. Scary stuff. This wasn't recently though - I hope the standards for in-car wiring have improved a lot over the years!

  • ars  14 years ago

    Um, a car is 12v how did you manage to do anything at all scary? Even if you shorted it all you would do a blow a fuse.