[DougR]

I am thinking of trying to wire the onboard GPS to my laptop or PDA so that I can get some use out of it. I have read a lot of the online hack/tutorial stuff, but am aware that our onstar unit may be slightly different than the ones most tutorials are featuring. I am no stranger to computers and electronics, so I thought I would give it a shot. I know that once the unit is tapped into with a serial cable, the unit can be converted to transmitting NMEA GPS data, which is a protocal that most mapping software can understand.

Worst case scenario is that my onstar is destroyed...no big loss, I think it is a total ripoff and will never use it. So before I start ripping the car apart, can someone tell me where the unit is housed? I assume it is somewhere in the trunk area. Also, if you have any experience tinkering with the onstar system, let me know.

Thanks,
Doug

 

[Slaab4life]

Don't quote me on this, but I think I've read in similar posts that its in the trunk area behind the carpetting on the passenger side (US). May want to try a search to be sure.

 

[srwalter]

Awesome

I've seen some of the pages on how to modify the OnStar to use the GPS info with standard equipment. I've always wanted to try this myself, but I don't have a car with onstar ('95 900). Good luck on your project, and be sure to post back if you get it working (with plenty of pictures). It would definitely be cool to know that the SAAB OnStar units can work in this fashion.