Remote control of engine idling time

A vehicle control system remotely operated to access an engine control device and selectively enable or disable an idle shutdown device which automatically shuts the engine of a vehicle down after detecting a predetermined period of continuous idling time, said system comprising:

• a communicative means for transmitting information between a remote fixed base site and a vehicle via an on-board vehicle communications system;
• and
• a processing means located in said engine control device for analyzing and storing said information transmitted between said remote fixed base site and said vehicle, and for modifying and implementing a preexisting sequence of commands stored in said engine control device based on said information,
• wherein said engine control device uses said information transmitted between said remote fixed base site and said vehicle to disable said idle shutdown device and allow the engine of said vehicle to remain in an idle state for a determined period of time.

A method of varying the operation of an engine which is controlled by an electronic monitoring and control system using one or more programmed control algorithms, in response to commands received from a central remote fixed base site which monitors one or more vehicles at a distant location, comprising the steps of:

• receiving data signals transmitted from said central remote fixed base site to a vehicle at a distant location;
• interpreting said data signal to identify an instruction transmitted by a remote user;
• identifying an engine algorithm to be modified based on said instruction;
• and
• varying said identified engine algorithm of said vehicle in accordance with said instruction transmitted by said remote user.