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HACKABLE PLATFORM

ON WHEELS

YOUR CAR’S 12-VOLT WIRING IS LOADED WITH OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENHANCING YOUR VEHICLE IN WAYS CARMAKERS ONLY DREAM OF. BY DAMIEN STOLARZ

I’ve installed computers in all my cars. I’ve also designed and installed circuits to control different parts of my cars. Here are some of the most obvious hackable access points on a car:

 

Engine Install a remote starter (such as the Commando EZ-2500 Remote Starter available from commandoalarms.com), and you can press a button on a key fob to make the car start up automatically. (Don’t try it on a car with manual transmission!)

Door locks We’ve all locked ourselves out of our car at one time. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to unlock the car from any computer using a password?

Windows, lights, horns You can make a relay system to remotely unroll your car’s windows a couple of minutes before leaving the office to flush out the hot air. Or use it to blast your horn and flash your lights when you’re lost in the megamall parking lot.

Before we get into the specifics of my car hacks, here’s an introduction to relays,

diodes, and parallel ports — all of which figure into most electric car hacks.

RELAYS AND HOW
TO USE THEM

Many components in a car, such as car windows and door locks, use relays. Relays are electrically controlled switches. When you press the button on your key fob to lock your car’s doors, the fob activates a small current to the relay, which in turn flips a switch that allows a much stronger current to flow through the solenoids that activate the locks.

Relays with one switch are called single pole (SP). Relays with two switches are called double pole (DP). If the switch has only one

COIL

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