General Insurance black box

[MG David]

We have just bought a 2012 500 for my daughter to use.

I went to put the little telemetry box provided by the insurer into the OBD2 port and discovered that the port was behind a trim panel to the right of the steering column. Once I tried to replace the trim panel I found that the cubby hole that is moulded into the panel conflicts with the black box.

Has anyone else had this problem and if so how did you overcome it?

We have left the trim off for the time being.

 

[jrkitching]

We have just bought a 2012 500 for my daughter to use.

I went to put the little telemetry box provided by the insurer into the OBD2 port and discovered that the port was behind a trim panel to the right of the steering column. Once I tried to replace the trim panel I found that the cubby hole that is moulded into the panel conflicts with the black box.

Has anyone else had this problem and if so how did you overcome it?

We have left the trim off for the time being.

This issue has certainly been reported before; read all about it here.

I'd suggest contacting your insurer in the first instance; there may be a different type of black box, or an extension connector that resolves the problem. In the previous case, the insurer sent someone out to hardwire a different type of black box.

Driving with the panel removed could be unsafe if your daughter were unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident.

 

[typecastboy]

Can you not buy some sort of ODB extension whereby a small amount of cable goes from plug to plug allowing the black box to sit in the recess behind the port? You could probably hold it in place with some velcro.

 

[UFI]

There's no space for even a connector. The only solution is making a new mounting bracket, or trimming the panel to clear. I don't recommend hard wiring, because this can cause issues down the track with other devices that might also want to use the OBD port.

 

[typecastboy]

I'm sure you could pick up a replacement second hand port cover on eBay for a few quid. Might be worth taking a rotary tool to it and cutting a hole in it so that it will plug in, at least that way you can still have the cover in place.

 

[Pathaleon]

Unfortunately I'm probably going to have to have a black box when I pass my test. Being an 18 year old lad isn't too accepted with the insurers I hope this isn't the case with all of the black boxes as I wouldn't be able to stand holes cut etc it would drive me mad!

Can't stand mess, especially wires.

 

[UFI]

For most cars it's not a big issue, but the 500 doesn't have space for anything to be plugged in with the cover on. Ten years ago when they were designed people didn't normally drive around with anything plugged in to the port.

But seriously a bit of scrap, some tin snips a drill and files and the problem is solved in 30mins. Another option would be to remove the connector from it's bracket and zip tie the insurance box to the old bracket.

 

[MG David]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will contact the insurer and see what they say in the first instance.

 

[swifty500]

I have a black box fitted and it is strapped directly to the battery!

 

[UFI]

I have a black box fitted and it is strapped directly to the battery!

Sounds like a GPS device that can only measure speed. An OBD box can read just about any thing.

 

[Pathaleon]

Sounds like a GPS device that can only measure speed. An OBD box can read just about any thing.

Much rather a gps device than an OBD one. Don't want them seeing my mad 7000rpm shifts! Haha

 

[jrkitching]

Sounds like a GPS device that can only measure speed.

And location - some policies in the UK prohibit or steeply surcharge if the car's location changes during certain times of the day.

 

[MG David]

This one provides a score for each journey based on your driving, time of day and the roads you use. Some time after the journey my daughter can go online and see the score. It has been particularly interesting to see which of the roads near us it likes and which it does not like. I guess the insurance companies have a lot of accident data to make these assessments.

Sometimes I drive the car and she can see how well I do. It was a very bad score when I was chasing after an ambulance that had my farther in law in the back!!

Turning to the idea of buying duplicate trim panel to butcher, what different colours are there?

On our car the panel is a grey colour. Did they only use one grey or are there a number of different colours that might be loosely described as grey?

 

[Pathaleon]

This one provides a score for each journey based on your driving, time of day and the roads you use. Some time after the journey my daughter can go online and see the score. It has been particularly interesting to see which of the roads near us it likes and which it does not like. I guess the insurance companies have a lot of accident data to make these assessments.

Sometimes I drive the car and she can see how well I do. It was a very bad score when I was chasing after an ambulance that had my farther in law in the back!!

Turning to the idea of buying duplicate trim panel to butcher, what different colours are there?

On our car the panel is a grey colour. Did they only use one grey or are there a number of different colours that might be loosely described as grey?

They should all be the same colour.

 

[Spectre93]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will contact the insurer and see what they say in the first instance.

I had this exact problem a few months back (on a 2014 Sport). After contacting my insurer about the problem, they told me to remove the black box, put the panel back on and that they would sort everything out. (I was told I could continue driving - you might not, depending on your insurer)

A week later someone came around to install a different type of black box - that was actually bigger than the original! Hard wired in under the dash, somewhere around the glove box area. The downside to this is that should I ever change/sell my car, I can't remove it myself and need to get someone to come round and take it out.

Didn't have to pay for the installation, and it also saved me trying to carve up a piece of trim

 

[Adambsmith]

Does anyone have the Admiral Little Box? It's likely we'll be getting one of those in a few weeks? Is it fitted out of sight?

 

[Noxide]

I assume mine is hardwired in based on all this.

Most are out of sight. Mine's somewhere behind the dashboard right trim panel.

To be honest once I leave my insurer I've got no intention of taking the thing out. Doesn't bother me. And if I sell the car, I'll just say the box is in there, and either the insurer can remove it or it can be left.

 

[Mick F]

Sounds like a GPS device that can only measure speed.

And location ..........

GPS only uses location in Lat/Long and elevation.

Speed is calculated using the Lat/Long points againt time.

Any recording will only be a series of points and the device will produce a "track" over time. The issue would be the storing of this track data, so maybe the device has an uplink to send the track data to the insurance company periodically.

Regards,
Mick.

 

[Adambsmith]

Had Admiral's "Little Box" fitted today - behind the trim to the right of the accelerator pedal. 30 minute job - looking forward to seeing how it reports back the results via the website.