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I have heard that also. Is it true that they can unlock the car if you accidently lock the door. So if they can then they can also turn it off and lock the door can they not?
Now this obd3 stuff I just found about it, I had heard whispers that it was being developed but I thought it was years away. I also learned something new on the PCM that I thought I new a good bit about.
I mentioned that computers in general were origionally for emmissons only.
Most scanners can captuer a freeze frame while scanning. Well the PCM has a screen capture all its own. Any time an emmisons sensor sets a code it captures the readings of the relavant sensors associated with the event.
If the event does not repeat 6 times the buffer is cleared. Not much room in that buffer[extra memory storage] I do not know the total memory capacity of the PCM. So I do not know how much it can actually store or for how long.
I think OBD has been lead to great improvements in engine power and economy. More precise control of the air/fuel mixture and ignition timing alone are worth the hassle of a few sensors and actuators. Add in altitude compensation, variable valve timing and dynamic tuning of all that stuff to the conditions and adjusting power levels as needed then throw in anti lock brakes, traction control, and intelligent trans shifts and what's not to like?
I enjoyed working on carbs and distributors, still do. Nostalgia is nice but have you been to a race track lately? Many of our old familiar systems are computer controlled on the highest horsepower automotive engines on the planet!
Going from an 8bit word length in the old 1553 buss to a wider data path and quicker clock speed is a no brainier in a car just as it is on a conventional computer. Smoother, faster data in allows for more precise control of the thing your controlling. Someday there may be an OBDIX and we'll be talking about how to work around it to improve performance and reliability-Lord willing.
As far as laws and government intervention. Right this minute without passing anything new, I suspect they could pull the registration on at least a third of the trucks belonging to members right here in this forum. So why don't they? They're addicted to the taxes we pay and don't have the infrastructure to enforce existing laws. Sure they could WI-FI all new vehicles or add some blue tooth like system we ain't heard of yet and make us pay for it, but who's going to monitor all that data? Think of how many cars are on the road. Who's going to come to your house and take your truck or tag? an automated system would be similar to what we have now except it would eliminate the third party inspection stations but law enforcement would have to increase a bunch if you flipped a power increasing switch in your truck one day and they come and take your truck the next. With our current laws the registration process is the filter where they snag the law breakers and I don't see that changing.
Considering current laws, a couple of years ago I bought a little Jaguar XJS with a small block chevy in it. The car had been modded years ago and I did notice it had a working A.I.R. Pump and a feed back Quadrajet carb complete with a GM ECM under the dash and an OBD port in plain sight under the steering wheel. I was vaguely aware the car had come from Georgia. The plan was to yank the wheezing 305 and drop a budget 383 stroker motor in it and have some fun. Sounds reasonable right? Well, here is where it gets complicated. A CarFax revealed the V8 swap was done in the mid 80's and it was clearly noted it had passed Georgia emission testing every year until the early 2000's. This got me curious so I did some research. The state of Alabama currently has no inspection system in place for passenger vehicles so right now I could go ahead with my plan but how long before we start inspections? Ten years? Two years? If i do an engine swap it will never be registered in any of my surrounding states so it would have to be refitted (again) with an "approved" engine and emission equipment or become a race car or parts car in order for me to sell it outside of the state. Kind of a pickle for me.
Speaking of "approved" engines. In general this means an unmodified (CARB approved mods are acceptable) engine from a later model vehicle (engine same year or newer than the car) and it must include all emission equipment that came on the engine and the vehicle must keep all the emission stuff that came on it like EVAP etc. These guidelines came from the state of California and were later adopted by many other states including Georgia. That's why Georgia recognizes a California Air Resaerch Board (CARB) certification. Their language is a Xerox copy of the California documents. I assume many other states have done the same. As goes California......
As far as outlawing older vehicles I don't see that happening either. The cash for clunkers thing was a joke, even politicians know it was a money wasting joke. I believe there are provisions to legally register a model T anywhere in the country and I've never heard of the government forcing anyone to scrap an old car unless it was a weed infested junk pile in a nice neighborhood or something similar. I did read of some decent vintage vehicles being destroyed in Cali but the owners sold them voluntarily under a government program. Some people traded their guns for cell phones or something like that also, so we can't protect our prized junk from the stupid among us. I guess it's time to start hoarding.
I would think when they really get into it they will
remove that type of solution for the problem.
Just like pulling the PCM power relay. Then
your back to horse and buggy. At least they have
not found a way to put a kill switch on a horse short
of shooting it. The bang would be a bit of a give away.
I think if they put a GPS system to track miles driven mine
might have an encounter with a taser right after I pulled all
the wires from it so I would not also kill the PCM. Or that does
not work then some peanut butter on the antenna cable and
maybe some cheese in a can. Add 2 rodents and sit back.
Gee, Officer must of been rats that got in you know how they love Ford wiring.
