First, I’d like to say that this is precisely the kind of shit I love: those delicious little mundane mysteries of life, just waiting to be revealed under every scrap of filthy carpet. This time, that carpet is in an old Toyota Land Cruiser, and the mystery is a strange little black disc with some wires coming out of it. Who wants to help solve a mystery?
This mystery comes from the IH8MUD Land Cruiser forum, where user FJBen removed a kick panel and was greeted with this little plastic puck, finely inscribed with concentric rings, making it look a bit like a tiny vinyl record. Just so you know, two separate readers have reached out to me to help solve this, so clearly it’s a big deal.
One lone wire trails from it, but disappeared far enough under the carpet that the owner didn’t feel like pulling out seats and ripping up carpet to trace it all the way to where it may eventually terminate.
So, what is it? The owner has some initial speculations:
I found this in the kick panel of my BJ74 from Australia.
I didn’t trace the wire as it went under the carpet too far and I didn’t feel like pulling seats. It says TSC or T5C.
proximity sensor?
Old alarm remnant?
CB or radio stuff?
Transducer?
International wire tap?
It sort of looks like a little piezo buzzer, but someone on the forum guessed that, too, and the owner said he’s never heard it make a sound. The Land Cruiser is an ‘88 but wasn’t sold until ‘91, the owner reports, so it’s from the 1990s, most likely.
Some kind of add-on alarm seems plausible, though it’s hard to tell what this thing would be sensing behind a kick panel. Temperature sensor for something? I think the dude needs to pry the case off this mystery puck and see what’s inside.
I mean, I guess unless it’s part of some alarm setup that will immobilize the car if he fucks with it? So, maybe our frantic guessing really is the best option.
With that in mind, let’s speculate! Speculate like the wind!