[clartsonly]

Okay to cut a long story short I am in hospital (long term) and my wife has broken her car today

It is a 1995 318is coupe a lovely car, passed its MOT yesterday with no advisories, has a spinning ignition barrel which we do not notice ever anymore due to knowing what to do to avoid it.

Somehow on the way home from hospital this morning two things seem to have happened.

1) she broke the alarm fob, the only one we have the back is broken off it.
2) the passenger window has come out of its sliders.

now my neighbour has kindly jammed the window shut, until I will be in such a position as to spend maybe hours taking the door completely apart etc etc.

The alarm fob does work if it is held together in the right place, therefore it could maybe be tapped up, but apparently the button is not working very often and I am concerned about it breaking when she is out. I did try and get a replacement fob but BMW said it is a sigma alarm fob and they cannot source them anymore. It did have a little sticker with 115 inside the back, I remember seeing it before.
The problem is that because the window is broken the sensors think the window is open so everytime the alarm fob is used it tries to close the windows and makes a terrible crunching noise whilst the motor is turning thinking it is shutting the window.

I would like to get her into a position where she can simply use the key to open and run and lock the car.

currently if she uses the key to open the car it does not start unless she then switches the alarm on then off again, I am sure I remember seeing instructions in the manual on how to disable the immobiliser, If I remember this takes a long time to complete but is an easy enough task to do.

Can anyone shed any light on whether this is the case, or does the sigma alarm mean it is not using the bmw immobiliser?

Any instructions would be gratefully received and I can speak to my wife and next door to see if they can sort it out between them, currently it is in a position where it still runs so if it is going to be a real struggle I can still get my dad to drive it to a bmw garage instead.

Thanks in advance...

Sorry I know it is a long message ( that'll be the morphine )

Simple request, can I get some guidance on disabling the fitted immobiliser if it has a sigma alarm, we have plenty of time, the working alarm fob, and the car keys the car currently starts and runs and the alarm fob disables the immobiliser okay.

if anyone can throw in some guidance surrounding the passenger window not being in the rails etc, we have a haynes manual but it seems quite complicated by what I have been told.

Thanks Again

 

[xXxStKxXx]

Do you not have a valet option on your alarm fob?It'll mean you won't have an alarm till you can sort the window but at least the car can be used till then :thumbsup

 

[clartsonly]

no I dont, there is one button, which as I described is worn eg the boot has fallen apart.

what we have noticed and assumed was normal with the alarm, is if you open start and drive somewhere then stop and switch off the engine for say 2 minutes waiting a a train station for example, then try and start the car the immobiliser has cut in and you need to switch the alarm on then off again before you can start the car again and drive home.
Is that normal?

I cant find a copy of the manual but the manual that came with the car had the instructions on how to de-activiate the immobiliser, those are what I looking for so I can review them and discuss with whoever is going to try and sort it out.

 

[billywhizz1984]

Have a read of this and identify the alarm system you have...

[url]http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f3/e36-alarm-identification-guide-3t-2t-3g-ews-t39173/[/URL]

 

[clartsonly]

ok thanks I think it is a sigma 2T although the car will only start if the alarm is armed then disarmed, does this mean that the immobiliser can still be deactivated?

will we cause problems if my dad follows the instructions to deactivate the immobiliser if the system is a 3T?


would we better off trying to get a new sigma fob instead?

 

[billywhizz1984]

The auto activation can be a progammable feature to ensure the immobiliser has Thatcham Cat 1 status, I had a similar thing on an old Golf.

As you'll have read in my post you can source second hand fobs cheaply on eBay but you need a special programmer for them. You are probably better off removing the unit altogether and fitting a new system.

 

[clartsonly]

thanks for the update,

well I got my dad to follow the bmw user manual to de-activate the immobiliser disconnect battery for 2 minutes, switch to position 1 for 15 mins etc. and it had no affect.

so basically the unit must be a 3T sigma (with built in immobiliser), am I right in thinking that if I was to follow each wire from the controller to the loom (apparently each wire is black) and remove the wire and resplice any wires which have been broken and reliant on the black alarm wire then a normal key will work for open, start and lock?

I have looked at ebay the fobs are 20-30 and as you say then someone is going to have to program it, the most important part is knowing I have two keys and either one will work in the car and nothing else really matters regarding remote locking etc.

maybe if my wife really wants remoting locking then we can get that fitted later, I personnally think fixing the knackered window is further up my list.

 

[hexstatic]

its easy to remove the door card and look at the window mech, simply remove two screws from behind the grab handle, and then just pull the door card off, it is attached only by these two screws (which you have removed) and some clips that just pop out once you pull on the door card.

once door card is removed you will have to remove the sound proofing stuff which is attached by some gooey rubber stuff (love the techncial terms ), might be an idea to wear gloves at this point. once this is removed you will have access to the window mech. Very simple

 

[billywhizz1984]

Yes, deactivate the alarm with your taped-together fob then number the wires and snip, making sure to rejoin any obviously spliced wires. The 3T system piggy-backs onto the built in immobiliser so even with it removed you'll still have some protection.

Depending on the build date of the car (small sticker on the front O/S spring turret) you will either have EWS I or EWS II.

If made in Jan 95 onwards it has EWS II and the car cannot be started without the correct "chipped" key. If pre Jan 95 then it has EWS I and the car will be immobilised if the door is double locked.

 

[clartsonly]

thanks I forgot I raised this question, and returned from hospital last week.

well the taped together fob is still working and the window is still not working.

Alarm needs doing first, to review the removal
The siren says 3T and the build date is June 1995. My dad previously followed the instructions for the imobolizer EWS deactivate via the BMW handbook.

I cannot get it into valet mode for some reason, but other feature like pressing the AC38 button briefly after the 30 seconds after the unlock and no start has happened do work.

The instructions for the 3T valet mode say press and hold the button until the led starts flashing rapidly with the ignition on is that engine running? I have held the button for about 30 seconds or more and all that happens is every minute or so the led flashes once.

valet mode would be good as it is permanent and means I dont need to remove the alarm, although is the removal of the alarm a simple task? It looks like it is a gold coloured box behind the glove box, it also has another box with TRACKER printed on it with it? That car doesn't even have an audible alarm it certainly doesn't have an active tracker. well the gold box basically have a bundle of black wires coming from it.

Do I have to disconnect / snip trace them all or are some obviously power and some obviously door sensors etc? and I simply have to find the ones that go to the starter etc?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[billywhizz1984]

You need the key in position 2 (ignition lights on but not running) to activate valet mode.

Removal is as described, Here's a link to someone that has done it... [url]http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f8/1995-e36-323i-3t-alarm-removal-t36285/[/URL]


The tracker thing sounds like a...tracker!

 

[clartsonly]

Thank every so much for the swift reply

Thanks for the link at least he has managed okay and I think I can disable the EWS II via the owners manual in case I get the similar problems.

Its a shame he didn't point out what wires he needed to rejoin together. one thing that puzzles me is even though it will be disarmed before the removal the imobolizer cuts back in after 30 seconds does that not matter as the only way of resetting the imobolizer is to press the sigma key again?

I assume the tracker is not "active" and does nothing with the running of the car?

Thanks again, I am looking forward to removing it but reckon I will end up buying a new car after I muck it up.

btw my alarm box looks the same as the links gold not black, but the layout is completely different.

 

[clartsonly]

Hi got some new batteries and managed to get the valet mode working this is what my old 530 had. it flashes every 3 or 4 seconds and opens and starts with a key instead of worry about the stupid fob falling to pieces.