I've plugged a black box from the insurance company into the diagnostics but now I can't get the front panel back on as the box is preventing it, has anyone else had this problem?

It would have been interesting to see a photograph of the 'black box' in situ. I can't help thinking though, if the black box supplied by the insurance company sticks so far out of the OBDII port that it permanently obstructs the replacement of the panel, then without some form of modification, if it can be done without ruining the panel, then you're probably going to have to leave the panel off. Probably not want you want to read!

I believe some of the insurance 'black boxes' are installed out of sight, either in the engine bay or somewhere behind the dashboard. Having a plug in box that fits directly into the OBDII port is not necessarily an ideal solution by any means. One of the ideas behind an insurance black box, is the fact that it is I believe, supposed to have a GPS tracker contained within and that is how it reports your driving habits back to your insurance company and the GPS tracker therefore also has the ability to aid recovery of your car if it is stolen. Well here's the thing, if someone wants to steal your car, any self respecting professional car thief, is going to check something like the OBDII port for such devices. Clearly, if they discover it, they'll pull it out and lob it out of the window, hence why GPS tracking devices are usually well hidden out of sight.

I would suggest you might therefore wish to contact your insurance company and ask why it is they've provided you with a bit of kit that is both easy to find and prevents you from putting a part of your car furniture back in its correct place.

Oh, welcome to the forum by the way!

Thanks for the welcome!

They monitor speed, acceleration, journey times and braking, and it can drastically reduce insurance costs for young drivers which is the reason we took it as my daughter just passed her test and it was £800 cheaper with the black box. I just can't se anyway of getting the panel back on as the inside of it is hindered by the box, I'm surely not the first person to come across this problem unless I'm being really thick haha

You can see the little box in the middle of the photo

Karen4658 said:

Thanks for the welcome!

They monitor speed, acceleration, journey times and braking, and it can drastically reduce insurance costs for young drivers which is the reason we took it as my daughter just passed her test and it was £800 cheaper with the black box. I just can't se anyway of getting the panel back on as the inside of it is hindered by the box, I'm surely not the first person to come across this problem unless I'm being really thick haha

You can see the little box in the middle of the photo

Click to expand...

hi, and welcome,
it's a reasonable size isn't it..!!

suggestion- put a blob of plasticine / blutack on the back of the device in a "peak" then offer-up lid of fusebox,
get it as good as it'll go, then remove lid again to check IF blutack is flattened..
then YOU'LL KNOW if it's the box causing the issue

IF it is.., contact insurance company - as this has impaired the dashboards passenger /driver safety.. FAR from ideal.., :bang:

Charlie

Hi and thanks ?

It definitely is preventing it going back on, there's a pocket in the panel and the back of it hits the black box, you'd think they would be tested with all makes of cars, we'll ring the insurance tomorrow and see what they say, with the amount of young drivers in Fiat 500's on the road I'm sure this must have come up before!

I made a flat aluminium mounting bracket for the the OBD connector as any plug at all will stop the cover going back on, the stock steel bracket has a deep forward offset to it. Fiat (and a lot of others) design them for diagnostics, neglecting the fact that more and more people want to have something permanently connected there.

For the sake of an £800 saving, I'd be investigating something like this:

SODIAL OBD-II OBD2 16Pin Male to Female Extension Cable: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

and routing the cable somewhere (maybe down the door side of the floor and under the seat?) and plugging the box in. Then maybe find a spare front panel (scrapyard) and cut a slot in it for the cable. Amazon list many different ones- you might find one with a flat ribbon cable that'd do a better job of tucking out the way.

Thanks for the replies! We've contacted the insurance company and they're supplying a different type of box that has to be wired in by someone they send out.

Karen4658 said:

Thanks for the replies! We've contacted the insurance company and they're supplying a different type of box that has to be wired in by someone they send out.

Click to expand...

Yes, well that makes entirely much more sense than expecting the user to faff about altering panels just to accommodate what they sent. They should have asked you right at the start.

Hiding the box behind the dash will stop the temptation of anyone removing it, including whoever services the vehicle when they're plugging diagnostics into the OBDII port.