Ham radio and smart car battle

[nscaler]

I recently got a APRS transmitter and tried it out today in the smart. Then things went south...
First about APRS. APRS is a combination of GPS and a ham radio transmitter. Basically it takes your location and sends out a packet of info out on a specific ham freq. Every two minutes it sends out a 10 watt signal.
This particular device fits in a small Pelican case, batteries and all.
After starting the smart, I turned it on when I was leaving work and put it up on the dash so the GPS could receive better. I put the car in gear and... no throttle. The engine was running fine. I shut off the car and tried again. The throttle was fine. Went down the street and about two minutes later, No throttle. Not good when the light turns green and car no move! I still had not put it together yet. Got to the store I was going to and the car was fine. I thought about what had just happened and the (APRS) tracker was the only change. Turned that tracker off! Now I had a yellow check engine light. I checked the scangauge and there were two codes. P1D00 and P1D01. I have not googled them yet.
Anywhoo... I was just two short blocks from the smart dealer and I went there. They are going to plug into the car tomorrow morning and let me know what is up. Good thing I still have my other vehicle. They gave me a ride home.
The only thing I can figure is that the "pulse" from the tracker on the dash overwhelmed... something under the dash. Hopefully they can just reset the light and I won't do this again!
I will let you know.

[jwight]

Page 220 in the owners manual:

Warning!

Never operate radio transmitters
equipped with a built in or attached
antenna (i.e. without being connected to
an external antenna) from inside the
vehicle while the engine is running. Doing
so could lead to a malfunction of the
vehicle’s electronic system, possibly
resulting in an accident and/or serious
personal injury.

[Wdhitch]

ouch... that sounds expensive.

[jwight]

Doesn't seem to apply to Bluetooth items since no one has reported any similar issues with them.

[AF6FB]

I've used my hand-held in the car a fair bit without any issues...but then I wasn't right on top of the dash...

[nscaler]

Finally they called me back. They say the Area 51 cruise control is messing up the diagnostic check on the computer port. I now have to go get the car and remove the cruise control. Then take it back so they can find the problem. I have 2,000 miles on that cruise control with no problems. I may have to send the cruise control back to have it checked too.
Craaaap!

[nscaler]

And the adventure continues.
Tried to get those pesky pins out... No such luck. Then I noticed that the plug that goes into the Area 51 controller has the same wires going into it side by side. Same exact colored wires. So I made jumpers out of some wire and simply jumped across all nine pins to the same colored wire across the plug. I then checked to make sure each wire had continuity across the gaps. Taped the whole thing up with several layers to avoid a short. Reconnected the battery and the car started no problem. Closed everything back up and took it back to the dealer. On Monday, he can find out if there is a problem or not with a computer check - without the Area 51 in the mix.
He told of another smart which was having a problem with the cruise control and a check engine light. He agreed that mine was a different problem since the cruise control has been working flawlessly for months now.
All warranty work - so far.

[nscaler]

Got a call today. They have had the car since Monday. Can't find anything wrong with the computer scan. Picked it back up today - no charge for either visit. Now I will reconnect the Cruise Control and see what happens. Hmmmppphhh!

[Karl Roth]

"working" an egit yakking on a cell phone is an ejit. a hampster yakking is ...
karl

[nscaler]

Took the jumpers out and reconnected the Cruise Control. Everything works fine.