Module, Vehicle System Interface: Description: Description
Vehicles manufactured with a police fleet equipment package are equipped with a Vehicle System Interface Module (VSIM) (1) (also known as a Vehicle Systems Integration Module/VSIM or an aftermarket module). In vehicles equipped with a mini floor console, the VSIM is installed at the back of the instrument panel center stack area, near where the instrument panel center support bracket is secured to the top of the floor panel transmission tunnel. A stepped tab (2) integral to the molded plastic VSIM housing is engage in a slot in the instrument panel base trim, then a snap clip (3) is engaged in a hole in the instrument panel base trim.
In vehicles equipped with a full floor console, the VSIM is installed in an adapter bracket using the same integral stepped tab and snap clip used to mount the module in the instrument panel center stack area of vehicles with a mini floor console. The adapter bracket is then secured with screws to the underside of a gearshift opening cover bezel that snaps over the area of the console where the a floor-mounted gearshift mechanism would normally be mounted.
Concealed and protected within the molded plastic housing of the VSIM is the printed circuit board and the other electronic circuitry of the module. The module contains a microcontroller and communicates with other electronic modules in the vehicle over the Controller Area Network (CAN) data bus system. Two connector receptacles (4) integral to the VSIM housing are connected to the vehicle electrical system through two dedicated take outs and connectors of the instrument panel wire harness.
A VSIM cannot be adjusted or repaired and, if damaged or ineffective, it must be replaced.