With all the news reports about issues with unintended acceleration in Toyotas in recent months, it was only a matter of time before an aftermarket company stepped up with a purported solution. Santa Barbara-based Solutions Group Inc. is now marketing a device called the Decelerator, which they claim provides a brake override to prevent the car from taking off on the driver.
We spoke with Sean O'Neil, the CEO of the Solutions Group, to learn more about the Decelerator. The device is another box of electronics that can intercept and modify signals to the engine throttle body from the electronic control unit (ECU). Installation is straightforward. The wiring harness from the ECU to the throttle body is unplugged and connected to device, which is then plugged into the ECU. A second connector goes to the brake pedal switch. The brake pedal input provides the 5 volts needed to power the Decelerator.
Inside the Decelerator is a micro-controller and some firmware that sits idle until the brake pedal is pressed. While the brake is off, there's no power and the pulse-width-modulated (PWM) signal to the throttle body is simply passed through unmodified. Read on to find out what happens after the brake is applied.
