donbrew

And then there was the time I was sitting in a DC traffic division squad car getting an accident written up. I watched his LoJack receiver lighting up in all directions, screaming and pointing at the car next to us, oddly he did not care.
Does LoJack matter?
If it's an "08 did'nt it have OnStar? That includes LoJack, I thought.

skyeglen

It's been a long time since I've dealt with LoJack vehicles but if I remember correctly just cutting the hot lead into the LoJack box will also disable the vehicle from running. The LoJack uses several inputs to power the unit so if the main power is cut the unit is still active and can be located for theft recovery.

The dealers main reason for installing the units is probably for recovery of vehicles stolen off his lot with the added benefit of another item to add to his bottom line at time of sale.

Understanding that you had no knowledge that this would be a problem in the future but the time to resolve was this was 36,000 miles ago at time of sale when you had some leverage...ie: take it out or I'm not buying the vehicle.

At this point I think that yes, the dealer should either put the chip back in and write it off or cover the costs of removing it.

Hope you get one or the other. Good luck.

dkessman

ChevyMgr the practice here in California is still going on. This is the first vehicle I’ve had this problem with.
Ptbull76 the dealer I had this service completed at is contacting the dealer that installed the security unit to see if they are willing to pay them to remove the device, or if they are willing to remove it.
Snoopy I am not savvy about how these devices work and wouldn’t want to cut a wire and then not be able to start the SS, or have something else not work.
Donbrew I may have been misleading, as it turns out this is not a Lojack. It is another type of security device. I was unable to locate a name or number on the device under the dash.
Thanks for the responses; one thing I’ve learned from this is if a vehicle has this type of device on it I’ll have the dealer COMPLETELY remove it before I take delivery.

Don06

The regulator is called a voltage regulator because it regulates voltage. When the battery voltage is low, the voltage regulator sends more electrons to the field coil so that the alternator will send more electrons [current] to the battery. The lower the battery charge level [voltage], the more current the alternator needs to send. As long as the battery level is low, the regulator will try to make the alternator bring it up to the proper voltage level. Once it reaches that proper voltage, the battery is fully charged and the voltage regulator cuts back the field current limiting the alternator output current. The alternator and regulator have no way to tell how much current is being produced. Most manufacturers don't even put a fuse between the battery and alternator. A catastrophic failure of the alternator can short all terminals to ground. Not good when one is connected directly to 12 volt positive.

Much like a person may be able to run real fast for short bursts, the alternator can put out high current for a while. Running at maximum output for extended periods creates heat. On a cold day, it shouldn't be a problem but in hot weather it might be.