What is that thing on my ceiling?
 

Ok, I've had my '88 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer for 5 years now and I have always
been curious about this thing on the ceiling, just above where the
windshield meets the cab-ceiling in the center. There is nothing about it in
the manual, It is about 1" tall and 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches wide, it is shaped
like an ashtray, it looks like Infrared-type plastic, and if you "pull it
out" it has wires of some sort and a circuit board.

Re: What is that thing on my ceiling?
 

Infrared remote doorlock receiver.

oil

"rwrede" <rwrede2@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Yn63e.7077$gq2.4141@fe02.lga...
> Ok, I've had my '88 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer for 5 years now and I have
> always been curious about this thing on the ceiling, just above where the
> windshield meets the cab-ceiling in the center. There is nothing about it
> in the manual, It is about 1" tall and 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches wide, it is
> shaped like an ashtray, it looks like Infrared-type plastic, and if you
> "pull it out" it has wires of some sort and a circuit board.
>

Re: What is that thing on my ceiling?
 

Infrared remote doorlock receiver.

oil

"rwrede" <rwrede2@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Yn63e.7077$gq2.4141@fe02.lga...
> Ok, I've had my '88 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer for 5 years now and I have
> always been curious about this thing on the ceiling, just above where the
> windshield meets the cab-ceiling in the center. There is nothing about it
> in the manual, It is about 1" tall and 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches wide, it is
> shaped like an ashtray, it looks like Infrared-type plastic, and if you
> "pull it out" it has wires of some sort and a circuit board.
>

Re: What is that thing on my ceiling?
 

Infrared remote doorlock receiver.

oil

"rwrede" <rwrede2@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Yn63e.7077$gq2.4141@fe02.lga...
> Ok, I've had my '88 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer for 5 years now and I have
> always been curious about this thing on the ceiling, just above where the
> windshield meets the cab-ceiling in the center. There is nothing about it
> in the manual, It is about 1" tall and 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches wide, it is
> shaped like an ashtray, it looks like Infrared-type plastic, and if you
> "pull it out" it has wires of some sort and a circuit board.
>

Re: What is that thing on my ceiling?
 

Aliens dude....Aliens
Nick


--
http://members.cox.net/nnote/
"rwrede" <rwrede2@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Yn63e.7077$gq2.4141@fe02.lga...
> Ok, I've had my '88 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer for 5 years now and I have
always
> been curious about this thing on the ceiling, just above where the
> windshield meets the cab-ceiling in the center. There is nothing about it
in
> the manual, It is about 1" tall and 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches wide, it is
shaped
> like an ashtray, it looks like Infrared-type plastic, and if you "pull it
> out" it has wires of some sort and a circuit board.
>
>

Re: What is that thing on my ceiling?
 

Aliens dude....Aliens
Nick


--
http://members.cox.net/nnote/
"rwrede" <rwrede2@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Yn63e.7077$gq2.4141@fe02.lga...
> Ok, I've had my '88 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer for 5 years now and I have
always
> been curious about this thing on the ceiling, just above where the
> windshield meets the cab-ceiling in the center. There is nothing about it
in
> the manual, It is about 1" tall and 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches wide, it is
shaped
> like an ashtray, it looks like Infrared-type plastic, and if you "pull it
> out" it has wires of some sort and a circuit board.
>
>

Re: What is that thing on my ceiling?
 

Aliens dude....Aliens
Nick


--
http://members.cox.net/nnote/
"rwrede" <rwrede2@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Yn63e.7077$gq2.4141@fe02.lga...
> Ok, I've had my '88 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer for 5 years now and I have
always
> been curious about this thing on the ceiling, just above where the
> windshield meets the cab-ceiling in the center. There is nothing about it
in
> the manual, It is about 1" tall and 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches wide, it is
shaped
> like an ashtray, it looks like Infrared-type plastic, and if you "pull it
> out" it has wires of some sort and a circuit board.
>
>

Re: What is that thing on my ceiling?
 

That's "ConStar", a precursor to what we now know as OnStar.

When motorists required assistance, they could activate ConStar via
satellite to one of 26 federal penitentiaries. Volunteer inmates would
accept calls and provide a variety of assistance from driving directions,
contacting emergency services and what ultimately led to it's demise -
remote lock out assistance. Participating inmates would monitor specific
vehicles for out of service patterns. Once an inmate could establish that a
vehicle would sit in a specific location for a predictable amount of time,
it became a "target car". Target cars were then "sold" to inmates ready for
release and were given a time and location for unlocking.

It's quite a coincidence that you bring this up. In fact it was 16 years ago
to this day (April 1st, 1999) that ConStar was mothballed. General Motors
recognizing it's usefulness fine tuned the system and named it OnStar. And
now you know the rest of the story.

-Paul Harvey

"rwrede" <rwrede2@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Yn63e.7077$gq2.4141@fe02.lga...
> Ok, I've had my '88 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer for 5 years now and I have
> always been curious about this thing on the ceiling, just above where the
> windshield meets the cab-ceiling in the center. There is nothing about it
> in the manual, It is about 1" tall and 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches wide, it is
> shaped like an ashtray, it looks like Infrared-type plastic, and if you
> "pull it out" it has wires of some sort and a circuit board.
>

Re: What is that thing on my ceiling?
 

That's "ConStar", a precursor to what we now know as OnStar.

When motorists required assistance, they could activate ConStar via
satellite to one of 26 federal penitentiaries. Volunteer inmates would
accept calls and provide a variety of assistance from driving directions,
contacting emergency services and what ultimately led to it's demise -
remote lock out assistance. Participating inmates would monitor specific
vehicles for out of service patterns. Once an inmate could establish that a
vehicle would sit in a specific location for a predictable amount of time,
it became a "target car". Target cars were then "sold" to inmates ready for
release and were given a time and location for unlocking.

It's quite a coincidence that you bring this up. In fact it was 16 years ago
to this day (April 1st, 1999) that ConStar was mothballed. General Motors
recognizing it's usefulness fine tuned the system and named it OnStar. And
now you know the rest of the story.

-Paul Harvey

"rwrede" <rwrede2@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Yn63e.7077$gq2.4141@fe02.lga...
> Ok, I've had my '88 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer for 5 years now and I have
> always been curious about this thing on the ceiling, just above where the
> windshield meets the cab-ceiling in the center. There is nothing about it
> in the manual, It is about 1" tall and 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches wide, it is
> shaped like an ashtray, it looks like Infrared-type plastic, and if you
> "pull it out" it has wires of some sort and a circuit board.
>

Re: What is that thing on my ceiling?
 

That's "ConStar", a precursor to what we now know as OnStar.

When motorists required assistance, they could activate ConStar via
satellite to one of 26 federal penitentiaries. Volunteer inmates would
accept calls and provide a variety of assistance from driving directions,
contacting emergency services and what ultimately led to it's demise -
remote lock out assistance. Participating inmates would monitor specific
vehicles for out of service patterns. Once an inmate could establish that a
vehicle would sit in a specific location for a predictable amount of time,
it became a "target car". Target cars were then "sold" to inmates ready for
release and were given a time and location for unlocking.

It's quite a coincidence that you bring this up. In fact it was 16 years ago
to this day (April 1st, 1999) that ConStar was mothballed. General Motors
recognizing it's usefulness fine tuned the system and named it OnStar. And
now you know the rest of the story.

-Paul Harvey

"rwrede" <rwrede2@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Yn63e.7077$gq2.4141@fe02.lga...
> Ok, I've had my '88 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer for 5 years now and I have
> always been curious about this thing on the ceiling, just above where the
> windshield meets the cab-ceiling in the center. There is nothing about it
> in the manual, It is about 1" tall and 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches wide, it is
> shaped like an ashtray, it looks like Infrared-type plastic, and if you
> "pull it out" it has wires of some sort and a circuit board.
>