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EDIT: In the ensuing comments it was pretty much determined that the device could be easily and safely removed. It had been inactive all these years until we got a cellular booster antenna and installed it 50’ from where the vehicle is parked. It started picking up the cell signal and was looking for a, now nonexistent, home.

Before we could get to removing the device, lightning hit that antenna and our internet satellite dish. Totally fried both receivers along with a whole slew of electronics.

At that point removing the device was pretty much a moot point.

I’ve owned my truck for 5 years and this thing was tucked up under the dash. I found it when I took the dash out. It has an IMEI associated with an iPhone 4S. It’s also has an FCC number. That’s howi found it was a tracking device. It appears to be wired into the computer with red and black wires. There were several other wires of various colors attached but they’ve been cut and are no longer connected.

The lights on the device weren’t blinking and it wasn’t active but recently the lights have started blinking. I’ve determined it’s the cause of the recent perpetual battery drain I’ve experienced of late.

My question is can I cut the wires to this tracker without screwing up my computer, and if not, what do I do to deactivate it?

https://pic8.co/sh/31hdPa.jpeg

Edited to clarify the colors and plurality of the wires.

EDIT: In the ensuing comments it was pretty much determined that the device could be easily and safely removed. It had been inactive all these years until we got a cellular booster antenna and installed it 50’ from where the vehicle is parked. It started picking up the cell signal and was looking for a, now nonexistent, home. Before we could get to removing the device, lightning hit that antenna and our internet satellite dish. Totally fried both receivers along with a whole slew of electronics. At that point removing the device was pretty much a moot point. ***** I’ve owned my truck for 5 years and this thing was tucked up under the dash. I found it when I took the dash out. It has an IMEI associated with an iPhone 4S. It’s also has an FCC number. That’s howi found it was a tracking device. It appears to be wired into the computer with red and black wires. There were several other wires of various colors attached but they’ve been cut and are no longer connected. The lights on the device weren’t blinking and it wasn’t active but recently the lights have started blinking. I’ve determined it’s the cause of the recent perpetual battery drain I’ve experienced of late. My question is can I cut the wires to this tracker without screwing up my computer, and if not, what do I do to deactivate it? https://pic8.co/sh/31hdPa.jpeg Edited to clarify the colors and plurality of the wires.

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[–] • 3 pts (edited )

I can't comment on other places, but there's no reason to believe dealerships in other states don't want to track their fleet to make repossession easier on themselves, and maybe to earn some extra cash selling customer location data. The only WTF thing here involving California is that you can't register a new car purchased in another state.

If you've bought a car in the last few years, check your sales contract very carefully for language about GPS tracking. They often sell it to you as something like LoJack to recover your car if it's stolen, but that's just a Trojan horse. Also check behind your dash and take a close look at your ODBII port. The lover to plug in to that to gather vehicle data and power. They have a passthrough plug so it looks like a regular ODBII port unless you examine it closely.