Any ideas what this is - small black box in car near fuse box

Working_in_pyjamas

[Deleted User] said:

Pretty much answered in the previous comments that it is a hardwired GPS vehicle tracking device almost certainly installed when it was a fleet car rather than a personal blackbox from insurance companies.

I can't believe nobody has tried the phone number yet, interesting result. The phone number has a recorded message saying the regional office is now on a new number 01772 442 442 - which is a number based at HMP Buckley Hall Prison.

So a good guess is this was a company car or pool car for staff at the prison and had a GPS tracker hardwired.

I'd definitely remove it if you are concerned with privacy, some of these devices also include a microphone as well as GPS tracking and telemetry from the ECU.

Good thinking! When the number didn't come up on google I thought it was a dead end. I would like to remove it but think that would involve taking the car to pieces as the cable disappears up behind the fusebox and can't be traced any further. Given my incompetency with all things mechanical and electrical I don't think it;s wise for me to start dismantling the car!

RumRat

Check the battery terminals. It may go out into the engine bay and be wired directly. 

Working_in_pyjamas

RumRat said:

Check the battery terminals. It may go out into the engine bay and be wired directly. 

Thanks, just had a look and nothing extra attached to the battery - there's also a fuse box in the engine compartment but I couldn't even get the lid off when I last tried (the manual said a fuse puller was in there which I was going to use with the failed dashcam hardwire.).

NaughtiusMaximus

[Deleted User] said:

I'd definitely remove it if you are concerned with privacy, some of these devices also include a microphone as well as GPS tracking and telemetry from the ECU.

Surprised there's not a legal obligation to remove these before selling the car on.

pbartlett

maybe there is !

RumRat

It would be illegal for anyone to track your car without your consent. If it is a fleet tracker it will have been disconnected from the system when the car was sold.
Check the logbook and see if it was a company owned vehicle.

Working_in_pyjamas

RumRat said:

It would be illegal for anyone to track your car without your consent. If it is a fleet tracker it will have been disconnected from the system when the car was sold.
Check the logbook and see if it was a company owned vehicle.

V5 logbooks don't show the previous keeper details nowadays, data protection apparently! I saw the V5 when I bought it from the last owner and it only had their name/address on, not the owner before them.

oh_really

RumRat said:

It would be illegal for anyone to track your car without your consent. If it is a fleet tracker it will have been disconnected from the system when the car was sold.

My employer had a fleet of vehicles, following disposal the admin girl could tell me my old car was being driven around Essex (from Scotland), this was almost a year later.

All the vehicles disposed off sti tracked.

RumRat

oh_really said:

RumRat said:

It would be illegal for anyone to track your car without your consent. If it is a fleet tracker it will have been disconnected from the system when the car was sold.

My employer had a fleet of vehicles, following disposal the admin girl could tell me my old car was being driven around Essex (from Scotland), this was almost a year later.

All the vehicles disposed off sti tracked.

No doubt, but it was/is illegal without the owner/drivers consent.

Working_in_pyjamas

A quick update... as @[Deleted User] discovered the number on the device was for the 'North West Regional Office' and the new number on the recorded message related to the Prison Service. I rang the number the other day and asked to speak with the fleet manager, someone called back and was adamant it wasn't one of their cars (very small non-prestige car) and that they did have fleet cars but never that make/model. So it's still an unsolved mystery.