HELP! Black Plug-In Chip Under Dash, '96 Eclipse.

[Ryker46792]

I just recently bought a 1996 Eclipse GS (manual transmission, 420A motor). Anyways, after I drove it home and really got to looking around the interior I came across this black plugged in computer chip-like thing down and to the right of the steering wheel. I've asked several of my mechanic friends if they had a clue to what it was and they didn't have a clue; I even asked my computer-tech friend about it, he didn't know what it was either. I've searched all over Google, different forums, programming cards, everything and I can't figure out what it is. It doesn't seem to affect anything when I unplug it and vice-versa when I plug it back in. The cord that is attached to it runs up underneath and behind the steering wheel and dash before becoming mangled into another bunch of wiring harnesses. Hopefully you guys can help me out? You're guess is as good as mine.

 

[camposr]

That would be an anti-theft device, most used car dealerships install them on their cars.

 

[Ryker46792]

I'm sorry if this is a dumb question, but how exactly does it work? I don't have any kind of alarm on the car that I know of, nor do I have a remote or anything like some security systems have.

Thank you for your quick response by the way!

 

[camposr]

That is basically your alarm system, from what I know it should disable the starter so if your car starts with the chip out it might have been disabled already.

 

[Ryker46792]

Well that's good to know, I suppose I could look into it a little more by following the wiring and possibly removing it from my dash. Thank you for the help!