I have ordered an F250 cc, 4X4 that will be here in mid July. The first thing that is going to go is the black box event recorder. Does anyone know where it's located on the truck and what it looks like? Will removing this affect the way the engine runs?
I could care less about the air bags as they will be disposed of to.

Thank you for your help.

FP

 

I may be wrong but I don't think there is a physical "black box". The event data recorder you're referring to is an integral part of the truck's onboard computer system and can't just be unplugged and removed.

I don't like it either but I'd say we're stuck with it.

 

I think MountainHood is right. You won't find a "black box", it is just part of the total system. Also, be careful doing anything with the airbags. Those things are set off with sodium azide and potassium nitrate (solid rocket fuel). If you don't know what you are doing, the system could kill you. They contain capacitors so they can go off with the battery disconnected.

Matt

 

I watched a news clip a couple of nights ago regarding the event recorder. It came out of a GM vehicle (Vette) after it was involved in a crash. In the news clip, they indicated it was a stand alone
recording device that is integrated with the air bag system. It was about the size of two cassette cases stacked together. I may go ahead and order the shop manuals from Ford on this truck
and read up on it. I used to work on a large fleet of Ford trucks
and other mixed makes. There was a problem with the early 1994 F-series having unscheduled air bag deployments. Everytime we saw this happened was when the passenger side door closed. Vehicle stopped, engine running, trans in park.
I am totally opposed to having something onboard that is recording vehicle speed, brake input, steering input, etc that can
be used against you in court. I am a safe driver, never had a moving violation ticket, one minor bender in the 25+ years of driving. With a little information, I know we can make this little "black box" go away. Thank you for helping out.

FP

 

I can understand your concerns about the airbags deploying improperly and I have nothing to add concerning that.

But if you're safe & law-abiding driver why are you worried about black box info being used against you in court? If an accident is not your fault it might work in your favor by having the data verify what you claim. It also might help a technician find out what went wrong if one the vehicle's systems fails and causes you to wreck.

I'm not saying I am a fan of these recorders, just that they might not be all bad. At least it's not like GM's Onstar, which can track the location of your auto via GPS technology! That's alot scarier to me than an event recorder.

 

That is right! If you are a safe driver, the black box could end up being a great witness on your behalf. Like onstar, don't all new cell phones have to be able to broadcast your gps location even when off (in the name of safety)?

Matt

 

I would rather have the box as a witness as well. A friend of mine was in an accident and almost got taken to the "cleaners" because there wasn't a witness. Luckily he won but it would have been nice to be able to prove that he was stopped at the time of the accident.

As for the cell phones transmitting...not true at all. Police have to be able to locate you if you call 911 from your cell phone and that is it. Even that ability doesn't have anything to do with GPS and only happens if you call 911.

Mike

 

It's no big deal unless you plan on doing smuggling runs!

Kidding, but I just saw a post on some ricer's RSX engine getting blown up in a race, the dealer wouldn't warranty it casue the computer somehow showed the race by the rpm and shift history before it grenaded. Kinda cool I thought.

 

GPS on cell phones was an option when I got my service last week. You needed a special phone. As far as I know in AZ if you call 911 all the operator knows is that it's a cell phone. No location.

On Star is GM's way of softening the public. They want you to think it's a great thing but in actuality it's the precursor to OBD III. OBDIII will be able to transmit speed, location, emmissions all sorts of stuff to athorities.

 

http://www.fcc.gov/911/enhanced/

"The wireless E911 program is divided into two parts - Phase I and Phase II. Phase I requires carriers, upon appropriate request by a local Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), to report the telephone number of a wireless 911 caller and the location of the antenna that received the call. Phase II requires wireless carriers to provide far more precise location information, within 50 to 100 meters in most cases."


So who here thinks that they will only use the location technology when you call 911? Yea, right!

 

what else would they use the 911 tech for? I am not worth watching or keeping an eye on.

Hey, if someone steals my car and my cell phone is in it and they are able to get it back then great.

Yes, I don't wan't to be watched or be able to be tracked but I think that it has it's good and bad points.

Credit cards are the same way. You leave a trail of where you have been and what you have bought. You are able to be tracked that way as well. Can also help find a stolen purse.

I am not for or against these things. I will still have to see what comes of it all.

 

Maybe you'll fit the profile of the next sniper... maybe someone with your characteristics, someone that shares the same interests (they'll know where you've been). Could be a heck of a suprise.

I don't worry too much about it either and I have a GPS enabled phone. I just like to get things stirred up.

Matt

 

Far off topic, but...

The way they would locate you with a cell phone is to triangulate your position from the time delays that three different cells (towers) would receive your signal at.

They can come close with two, but with only one, they can't pinpoint you, except that you are within range of that tower.

Anyway, it doesn't require GPS, just a large number of converging cells from which they can triangulate your position, and a receiver setup that will listen to and catalog signals meant for other cells. That too, is scary.

Sorry to say it, but I was in a large telephone company's R&D facility as a consultant about 10 years ago. They already had the technology back then to find your position, but not the ability to relay it QUICKLY to 911 operators.

If the feds needed to find someone and knew what cell phone he/she was going to use, they could find them ... eventually...

ak

 

Geeze and here I was beginning to think I was the only paranoid fool out here... welcome to my world

There may be a "black box" associated with the airbag system on some vehicles but I doubt that they are common on ALL vehicles within a major manufacture. Usually the motivation is to PREVENT product liability litigation.

All Gen III cell phones will comply with GPS position info for 911 reasons and there are folks trying to get the software codes so consumers can turn it off. In ALL cases the off button will always hide your phones location. There are also ways to prevent the phone from knowing where it is by blocking the satellite signal to it.

The current PCM in all Ford vehicles captures much more data and keeps it longer than previous designs. You would be amazed at the ability for Ford to prove that you killed your tranny with 300ftlbs more power than it was designed to handle.


And the thought of taking a brand new beautiful Ford truck and driving around with ugly holes on the steering wheel and pass dash, just to get rid of the best safety device ever put in a vehicle is just plain absurd!

You obviously have never seen a head on collision, with and without, airbags. I have responded to both... Give me the "deadly" air bag any day... they work, they save lives EVERY day, and MATT is correct, unless you know what you are doing, they are dangerous to attempt to remove.

flame away....I know you are really all out to get me

 

I have seen my share of wrecks and pulled the dead and injured out of them. As for the holes in the dash and steering wheel, there will be none. The bags will simply not be able to fire. Any vehicle that has an air bag system has an event recorder that records the last few seconds of the life of the vehicle during an impact. I have taken a new truck home with less than 50 miles on it, pulled out the small block eng/trans (Dodge) and replaced them with a big block. Having all the parts before the truck got here, allowed a turn around time of three days. The only problem I had was the rear drive shaft getting twisted in half. That was cured by a custom unit. So, I will take a new truck apart if I cannot get it built the way I want it. When the new truck gets here, it will get the air bags disabled, black box removed, front frame rails filled with high strength concrete and rebar and a very
strong front push bar/cage unit.