OEM Factory Keyless/Security/Alarm System Install

[theroundcow]

i bought an e30 cab that sat for a while. after putting in a new battery, only certain features respond. no ignition system among other things. i found an old alpine alarm system by the DME in the glove box, i read that these were only installed at the dealer in shoddy ways. could this be preventing my car from starting?

Thanks

[German Audio Specialties]

Exactly. Do yours have working alarms as well?

He does not. I installed the one in his E30, it is keyless only, as he was supposed to bring it back to finish the install 3 years ago. The guy is kinda busy.

[Ziggens96]

how did you go about programming the chip?

I currently have the 1 button remote with receiver, but someone stole my key and remote fob. So now I'm desperately trying to get it working again.

do you remember the part number on your receiver?

The part number for the receiver is in one of my posts in this thread just a few up. There are some chip programming instructions kicking around on the internet and it's easy to do. It involves removing the chip from either the transmitter or the receiver (can't remember), putting it in the other, then turning the ignition to "accessory" like 2 or 3 times or something. Then you switch the chip back to the other I think. When I bought my transmitter from ebay it actually came with instructions, which were for an E32 I believe, but it's the same procedure.

Alpine may not make them anymore, they may be crap by today's standards, but I love a factory keyfob and not that gaudy carbon fiber looking thing

Exactly. Do yours have working alarms as well?

[James Crivellone]

I have two of them running, one in my M5 and the other in the Mtech, both work great without any issues. For the M5 I just found a complete E32 alarm at a wrecking yard and installed it.

Alpine may not make them anymore, they may be crap by today's standards, but I love a factory keyfob and not that gaudy carbon fiber looking thing

[dr.strangelove]

how did you go about programming the chip?

I currently have the 1 button remote with receiver, but someone stole my key and remote fob. So now I'm desperately trying to get it working again.

do you remember the part number on your receiver?

[Ziggens96]

I did, my first E30 had the receiver unit already wired in it, but the previous owner didn't know it was there and he had no remote. I discovered the receiver, bought a 3 button transmitter on ebay, programmed the chip, and it worked. If I remember correctly, one of the buttons didn't do anything because it was a panic button and the receiver in the car wasn't wired to an alarm or anything. The keyless entry worked perfectly at least. I still have the whole setup from the car but have no plans to install it in my current car because it has an aftermarket alarm and I don't feel like messing around with it.

[dr.strangelove]

bringing this back to life, did you have any personal success with the three button transmitter and receiver unit in an E30?

[Ziggens96]

No idea man. But I imagine there are at least a few aftermarket alarm install threads on here. Sorry I can't really be much help, I like the picture of the guy on the box covering his ears though.

[e30iwite]

Check this out. Just got 'em today. Ordered on ebay. I'll take pictures of the install. First time. Alarm virgin. Wish me luck. Any tips?

[Ziggens96]

So I've been doing some more research on the subject.

I found this: http://r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=45950

Not really helpful but whatever.

Also confirmed that the brain (PN 88-88-1-600-204) I have originally corresponded with the 1 button transmitter (PN 88-88-1-600-205).

The transmitter I have (PN 88-88-1-600-292) is for 1993-1995 3/5/7-series, but it worked with the older brain.

found via http://spotco2.com/1testt.htm

[Schnitzer318is]

I have to agree with Luke... as a theft deterrent the system is not that great. But then again, I am not a fan of any aftermarket alarm as a theft deterrent.

But as a keyless entry system... I love it. It's audible confirmation my doors are locked/unlocked. 1 chirp for lock and 2 for unlock. Mine went down for a bit due to a bad actuator... and I HATED not having the keyless.

Not sure about reliability as mine has been dead reliable for the last 3 years of ownership of my car, and who knows how long before that.

[Ziggens96]

Not sure what you mean...I have 1 remote

[StereoInstaller1]

No, the PO has 2 transmitters, AKA "remotes"

[Ziggens96]

Wow. So do you mean there are 2 transmitters in the remote, that work independently of each other, and 1 receiver in the brain?

Seeing as how E30s are not pre-wired, what's the basic procedure for installing one of these things?

[StereoInstaller1]

Interesting, thanks Luke. What was so bad about the BMW systems? And would bad transmitters explain why my keyless just stopped working one day? I tried reprogramming the black box and remote after that happened with each of the 2 different chips I had but I couldn't get it to work again. Is there a transmitter in both the remote and black box?

2 transmitters and 1 receiver... and both transmitters die together? Unlikely, right?

However, there is 1 receiver...which seems far more plausible as being the issue.

These brains were problematic then, I am always shocked to hear of one that works. I put one in James Crivellones MTech 1 car a couple years ago, but we need to reinstall. His is from an E34 M5, I had to use relays to change polarity on the door lock outputs.

Expensive and high failure rates, poor sensors, and the techs HATED installing them, and BMW NA required it to be installed at the dealer.

Fortunately, they could sub out the repairs, so I worked on a billion of them.

I did all the stereo/alarm/cell phone work for Rassmussen BMW back in the late 80's/early 90's in Portland, OR. I worked on a bazillion of these cars before their original owner ever even saw their car, and I offered pick up and delivery...so I drove every damn BMW of that era and just before, too.

I just wish I had a clue then what BMWs were all about though...damn near everyone on this forum knows more about BMW drivetrain stuff than I did then.

Yeah, I worked on tons of these systems. I generally got the service manager to relent and let me replace them. I was using VSE Derringer2 alarms, those were awesome.

None of those work now either.

Luke