gitsum 16 Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 (edited) I don't want to use Onstar, don't give a rats @ss about the free 6 months of service. I do not feel comfortable about a satellite that can track my location 24/7. I don't need the safety features, a cell phone can do the same thing. And by the way, I carry a Wal-mart phone which is turned off all the time, I turn it on if I need to make a call. Everyone else in the country has a cell phone anyway, and I'll take my chances if I get into a serious accident and can't make a phone call, someone else will. Remember the Onstar system has a microphone, and even without active service it's possible for Big Brother (or anyone with access) to "listen" in on what's happening inside your car without you even being aware of it. The "fix" below has a few issues,so I went ahead and reversed it. I posted the specifics in an additional post, sorry! I don't like the DRL feature. It's supposed to be for safety, but I have already forgot to turn on the headlamps at night more than a dozen times. The problem with this is your tail lamps are not illuminated until you actually turn on the headlamp switch. The only thing warning you of this potential catastrophe is a green head light indicator that changes location. Sooner or later someone is going to screw up and get hit from behind from a dumb @ass driver and be seriously injured or killed. I don't understand why the DLR feature does not illuminate the tail lamps also, just in case you forget to turn on the head lamps (they look the same). The Chevy Spark is made by Daewoo of course, and Onstar is an added feature for GM. That's good for disabling the system, it sits in plain sight under the driver seat. Just unplug the white connection closest to the drivers door, no more power, no more Onstar. If you want a little more storage space, unplug the black connector (antenna) and remove the four bolts holding the Onstar to the floor board. The DLR has a switch connected to the parking brake. As you lift the parking brake one click, the connection is broken and the DLR's come on. Just tug on the emergency brake boot with the handle in the up position, it will easily pop out giving you plenty of room. You will see a single blue wire and connection, just slide the connector off of the tab. Cut the wire close to the connector, then strip the insulation off of the last 1/4 to 1/2 inch of the blue wire. Be careful, it's a thin wire and you don't have much to work with. Unbolt the 10mm nut just to the front on the floor board, this is only holding a electrical harness in place. Put a loop in your blue wire and carefully tighten the 10mm nut without putting too much tension on the thin blue wire. It is now grounded and the DRL system is disabled regardless of the position of the parking brake. Both procedures take only a few minutes each and are fully reversible. Now I need to figure out how to disable the TPMS, no luck yet. I don't like the idea of not being able to rotate my tires or change a flat (no spare tire stock Ha! Ha!) without invoking a warning light. It can't even be reset without some ridiculous tool. I have been driving for 35 years and have no problem recognizing when one of the tires is 5 lbs low. I check them several times a week anyway. I say anyone who can't "feel" when a tire is 10 lbs low or more, is too damn clueless to drive an automobile anyway, and this is the least of their worries... It would be nice if anyone has any ideas how to disable the TPMS, besides painting the indicator window black. Edited July 20, 2013 by gitsum Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Thanks for the OnStar tips, think that will get done tomorrow. I share your issues with the DRL, I have left work several nights without turning the headlights on, never made it very far before noticing something was wrong, but it has still happened too many times. I'm happy to have DRL, but I want separate lights that don't look the same as the headlights. Not sure how to disable the TPMS, dealer should be willing to do that for you, probably requires a special programming tool. Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 The DRL trick will leave the brake light on in the cluster. Link to post Share on other sites
brillo 4 Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 I'm not a fan of DRLs but wouldn't this / couldn't this void the warranty ? Link to post Share on other sites
gitsum 16 Posted July 20, 2013 Author Share Posted July 20, 2013 The DRL trick will leave the brake light on in the cluster. Yes, that's what I found out! And worse than that, as soon as the car is in motion the wheel speed sensor turns the DRL on anyway, and you have to listen to the warning bell. Sorry about the misinformation. I should have realized the brake light warning and the DLR disable are on the same switch. Too bad there is only one wire for both, no easy way to bypass the switch. Link to post Share on other sites
Ace 7 Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Guess it's time to disable the stupid warning chime as it irritates me to turn the key on to listen to radio while cleaning the car out. Bet it's the same one that sets the warning emergency brake chime on. Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Guess it's time to disable the stupid warning chime as it irritates me to turn the key on to listen to radio while cleaning the car out. Bet it's the same one that sets the warning emergency brake chime on. I can have my radio on while no key is in the ignition. It will time out in 10 minutes though. After that just shut the drivers door and press the radio button again. This is with the Mylink radio though. Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Yes, that's what I found out! And worse than that, as soon as the car is in motion the wheel speed sensor turns the DRL on anyway, and you have to listen to the warning bell. Sorry about the misinformation. I should have realized the brake light warning and the DLR disable are on the same switch. Too bad there is only one wire for both, no easy way to bypass the switch. I looked at mine yesterday before posting to figure it out. Also you did not have to cut the wire. There would have been 2 options. You could of used a male spade with a short wire. Stick the male spade into the connector then ground the wire back to the e brake handle screw. Or you could remove the brake switch there and turn it either forward or backwards and reattach. This would keep the switch in the up position which is grounded. I also noticed the 10 mm nut and that holds down some of the SRS components. That would be a ad area to ground something. Link to post Share on other sites
Ace 7 Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Cutting and stripping all these wires and pulling connectors out sounds like molesting the car more than anything. ChevyBeat and Smikster 2 Link to post Share on other sites
gitsum 16 Posted July 20, 2013 Author Share Posted July 20, 2013 Cutting and stripping all these wires and pulling connectors out sounds like molesting the car more than anything. If you use the proper insulation and a little solder, it doesn't hurt anything. You could cut and splice the same connection 100 times without any ill effects. Link to post Share on other sites
austex04 48 Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 (edited) There's a trick that works on other GM vehicles for recalibrating tpms system without a $75 tool. I have not tried it on this car yet, but I'm sure it might work. You can Google it and read the how to on other GM forums. You have to fill the tires 6psi over, then set tpms to calibrate, starting with the driver side let out about 5lbs of.air til the horn beeps twice, working your way around the car. The parking light should also flash twice on the corner you need to let the air out. Also, very annoying since the horn will be beeping while doing this. As far as onstar, I will also disconnect mine once the trial is over, they still collect data even after the subscription is over, remember signing a privacy disclosure upon purchase? Edited July 20, 2013 by austex04 bluer101 1 Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 There's a trick that works on other GM vehicles for recalibrating tpms system without a $75 tool. I have not tried it on this car yet, but I'm sure it might work. You can Google it and read the how to on other GM forums. You have to fill the tires 6psi over, then set tpms to calibrate, starting with the driver side let out about 5lbs of.air til the horn beeps twice, working your way around the car. The parking light should also flash twice on the corner you need to let the air out. Also, very annoying since the horn will be beeping while doing this. As far as onstar, I will also disconnect mine once the trial is over, they still collect data even after the subscription is over, remember signing a privacy disclosure upon purchase? That does not work on GM vehicles since either 2011-2012. Check other forums. I researched it and thought of buying the tool since the air let out wont work. Besides you can only see the actual tire pressure if you subscribe to onstar or through the app. Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 If you knew the PID codes for each tire, you could read them with the Android Traction app and an interface to the canbus. How does OnStar get the GPS data? Does it have an antenna directly attached or is it on the data stream? I assume the phone antenna is directly attached. Also while we are disgusting OnStar... Why won't it call 911 after it is no longer activated? All cell phones are required to still call 911, even is they no longer have subscription, the OnStar is just another phone so it should be required to do the same. Link to post Share on other sites
Ace 7 Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 If you knew the PID codes for each tire, you could read them with the Android Traction app and an interface to the canbus. How does OnStar get the GPS data? Does it have an antenna directly attached or is it on the data stream? I assume the phone antenna is directly attached. Also while we are disgusting OnStar... Why won't it call 911 after it is no longer activated? All cell phones are required to still call 911, even is they no longer have subscription, the OnStar is just another phone so it should be required to do the same. Cause you cut the power to the main box that feeds the control buttons Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 I haven't done that yet, but the OnStar emails clearly said that I would no longer be able to call 911 once my service expired, and I'm not about to try it because abuse of the 911 system is a crime. Smikster 1 Link to post Share on other sites
bensemailis 10 Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 I haven't done that yet, but the OnStar emails clearly said that I would no longer be able to call 911 once my service expired, and I'm not about to try it because abuse of the 911 system is a crime. Technically it is not a cellular phone, its a mobile data device. It doesnt have to follow the same standards as a cell phone. Onstar is more of a CAN module anyway. Link to post Share on other sites
jibb3r 29 Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 I unplugged my OnStar unit under the seat. Then realized that it also disables the microphone for Bluetooth calls! The only way to enable the microphone, is to have that dumb thing plugged in! Unless there's something I'm missing? Link to post Share on other sites
tommyspark 24 Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Couldn't you just pull the DRL fuse out? Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Couldn't you just pull the DRL fuse out? Is there one? Link to post Share on other sites
gitsum 16 Posted August 30, 2013 Author Share Posted August 30, 2013 I tried pulling out all kinds of fuses with unrecognizable names, I couldn't find it. Link to post Share on other sites
jesi.james 0 Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 I unplugged my OnStar unit under the seat. Then realized that it also disables the microphone for Bluetooth calls! The only way to enable the microphone, is to have that dumb thing plugged in! Unless there's something I'm missing? Really? I thought bluetooth used your phone's mic for calls, well it seems like it does for mine. People can't hear me unless the phone is close to my face lol Link to post Share on other sites
jibb3r 29 Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Really? I thought bluetooth used your phone's mic for calls, well it seems like it does for mine. People can't hear me unless the phone is close to my face lolYep. With it unplugged my wife couldn't hear me. I plugged it back in tonight, and called her while she was in the passenger seat. I ran my finger over the microphone by the OnStar buttons, I could hear it on her phone. Seems the white set of wires is the power and the black set is the audio. Without them both plugged in, you can't use Bluetooth. Which keeps OnStar 'live'. Dumb. Link to post Share on other sites
Lovgun7 75 Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 i got the same issue ... actually had a car honk at me and let me know my tail lights "are not working" lol the only thing that reminds me of turning the knob is my speedometer is brighter without turning the knob so at night its TOO bright and it kicks in ... oh yeah *click click* Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 The temperature controls do change, but that's not something I regularly see with this car. Need like blue lights for daytime and red lights for night or something like that. Link to post Share on other sites
tommyspark 24 Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 (edited) I havent looked but ive yet to see a vehicle that doeant have a DRL fuse. Our luck the ssark will be the firat to not have 1. Ill look later today after getting the windows tinted Edited September 2, 2013 by tommyspark Link to post Share on other sites
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