Nice tidy Alarm LED mod...

In Car Entertainment - NO SELLING OF I.C.E. PLEASE

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Royalratch
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 4:20 pm

If I got a hazard switch and removed the hazard icon somehow (thinners?) could I place my nasty Clifford immobilizer LED in there and have a tidy alarm light, in dash and all OEM looking?

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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 4:43 pm

how bout being more creative and wiring it into the check panel?? winkeye
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 4:47 pm

I don't have a check panel and that's less creative in my eyes as you'd be using an existing warning LED.

Save the 6-pot gag that you're no doubt dying to use - it won't be worth the ensuing M42 V M20 shit storm.
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:05 pm

Save the 6-pot gag that you're no doubt dying to use - it won't be worth the ensuing M42 V M20 shit storm

i'll leave that for someone with nothing better to do :roll:
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Royalratch
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:06 pm

That's you!
dazleeds
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:10 pm

Royalratch wrote:That's you!
ahhh a boy after a battle of wits eh lol

sadly i gotta go sell a car so i'll leave you to play in ya pram for now have fun :wink:
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:10 pm

Why would you want to get rid of your clifford alarm LED?? when a twocer see's a clifford LED they know not to fuck with your car clifford are one of the best in the game
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:16 pm

Ratch that sounds like a good idea - but won't mounting the LED inside the switch be tricky? and will it give enough light output to be clearly visible ? Unless you can do away with the Clifford LED and just wire it to use the existing hazard light bulb ?
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Royalratch
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:28 pm

dazleeds wrote:
Royalratch wrote:That's you!
ahhh a boy after a battle of wits eh lol

sadly i gotta go sell a car so i'll leave you to play in ya pram for now have fun :wink:
All of a sudden you have to sell a car - chicken.
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Royalratch
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:30 pm

@pac19082 - have you SEEN the clifford LED. It's truly nasty. Like a bit fat pimple on the masterpiece of an E30 dash.

@Capri-Rob - that's a good idea. I can easily wire the Clifford Control Unit to use the hazard bulb instead.

I've just been told that this part actually exists from BMW - a red transparent switch for this exact use :D.

Buying now...
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:33 pm

just buy a gen bmw little LED :)
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:33 pm

Royalratch wrote:@pac19082 - have you SEEN the clifford LED. It's truly nasty. Like a bit fat pimple on the masterpiece of an E30 dash.

@Capri-Rob - that's a good idea. I can easily wire the Clifford Control Unit to use the hazard bulb instead.

I've just been told that this part actually exists from BMW - a red transparent switch for this exact use :D.

Buying now...
I have just fitted a cobra alarm to my E30 and had an old clifford LED still in the dash i used the clifford one instead of the cobra LED because it made my car look more secure than it is :o:
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:39 pm

Alex wrote:just buy a gen bmw little LED :)
They're nasty too. Still look too aftermarket.
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:11 pm

capri_rob wrote:Ratch that sounds like a good idea - but won't mounting the LED inside the switch be tricky? and will it give enough light output to be clearly visible ? Unless you can do away with the Clifford LED and just wire it to use the existing hazard light bulb ?
That's the way I would do it.

Be interested to see how it looks when done. 8)
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:54 pm

Well, if the Hazard logo come off that's how I'll do it too. But like I said, you can actually get a proper 'Red Blank' like the one in the first post as a actual part from BMW, which I would need to put my Clifford LED in.

Can still put Clifford immobilizer sticker on my windows. I don't have an alarm anyway I have just an immbolizer which is pretty good. It's a VirtuaKey® one and the car won't start unless the fob is witin 10cm of the steering column. The fob is a passive RFID so no battery, no extra key holes or slots in the dash. The system isolates ignition at 3 different points so it's pretty effective - I'm had it installed yonks ago, took it out when the ECU failed and Clifford sent me a whole new deal again.
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:20 pm

why do you need an immobiliser? your wiring skills do that perfectly well winkeye
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Royalratch
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:24 pm

Hahaha!

I never did all that shit man, I was trying to fix the previous pillaging lol!
TBH, can't see anyone nicking it from my road but sometimes you never know where you'll need t leave it.
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:54 pm

Royalratch wrote:Hahaha!

I never did all that shit man, I was trying to fix the previous pillaging lol!
TBH, can't see anyone nicking it from my road but sometimes you never know where you'll need t leave it.
couldn't resist :D

if my original BMW alarm / immobiliser packs up, i'll fit a decent cat-1 alarm / immobiliser. i will not however pay some 'professional' fitter to do it, fecking animals! every time i've had to do it for insurance purposes, i've had to go through and remake every botched solder joint etc afterwards as they are all so bloody incompetent :evil:

i had one bloke try to drill through the RS specific dash cluster on my MK2 escort RS2000 once. i nearly slapped him for thinking of it! glad i came out with a cuppa just in time to stop him!

the state of the wiring on most cars after 20 years of owner and 'pro' abuse is shocking 8O
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Post Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:17 pm

gareth wrote: i had one bloke try to drill through the RS specific dash cluster on my MK2 escort RS2000 once. i nearly slapped him for thinking of it! glad i came out with a cuppa just in time to stop him!

the state of the wiring on most cars after 20 years of owner and 'pro' abuse is shocking 8O
my misses old cab had 4 alarm/immobiliser in it through its life every one of them was a complete bodge. my sport the alarm/immobiliser in it has been that badly bodged up by a "pro" I've stripped the full loom out and is getting replaced by a non butchered one. even the ABS loom has been butchered in my sport.. they took the ignition live of the ABS loom :mad:
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Post Tue Dec 15, 2009 10:28 am

When I got my iS it had it's Head unit with power from the Hazard Light 8O

My mate had a power amp screwed in to the floor of his Audi boot, the screws actually bit into his fuel tank but didn't pierce it. He only noticed when having rear trailing arm work done.

Auto Sparkies are the true dying breed of all car trade types. I suppose it's because they've been pushed out by all the proprietary complex hardware now present in modern cars.
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Post Tue Dec 15, 2009 10:53 am

Royalratch wrote:When I got my iS it had it's Head unit with power from the Hazard Light 8O
when i got my touring, it had an amp in the l/h cubby, powered from a wire that was shoved into the socket for the rear wiper pump 8O
that explains why the pump didn't work then :D
a vw scirocco i once bought was the most impressive. i found the guts of several alarms, bodged/bypassed immobilisers, about four car phones and a CB radio!
by the time i was finished gutting it of all unecessary wiring, i had three or four carrier bags full of the stuff!
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Royalratch
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Post Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:17 pm

Installed - not wired up yet to the Alarm LED but it's essentially a Hazard Switch without the icon and I guess BMW supplied it for switching aftermarket stuff on and off but retaining OEM look.

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Nice little mod - nice big chunky LED to let people know what's what!
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Post Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:40 pm

Brianmooore suggested this ...seems like gooood idea



http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... ight=alarm
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Post Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:56 pm

Royalratch wrote:Installed - not wired up yet to the Alarm LED but it's essentially a Hazard Switch without the icon and I guess BMW supplied it for switching aftermarket stuff on and off but retaining OEM look.

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Nice little mod - nice big chunky LED to let people know what's what!
Id be worried about this draining the battery
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Royalratch
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Post Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:08 pm

Perhaps - but modded with an LED inside it would be fine. The immobiliser signal flashes once every 5 seconds for a millisecond.
A purposely drained battery is also a good deterrent.
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Post Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:16 pm

I've got two leds in my cab. One flashes after I lock the car. The other is a button of sorts and doesn't flash. I have no idea what either of them do. :o:

Won't your LED mod light up the interior...therefore helping potential thieves.
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Post Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:30 pm

No - it's a strong visual deterrent, rather than a 'too faint' LED and is a very fast 'flash' with a lot time in between so it should look fine, much like the E46 rear view mirror bulb which is huge.

Brinamoooore's suggestion is also excellent but not that visible from the passenger side window I fear...
Last edited by Royalratch on Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:48 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:36 pm

So do you have to push the button in every time you lock the car? Or does it come on automatically when you lock it?

If it works in the same way as a normal alarm LED, its a real cool idea imo!
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Post Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:42 pm

The function is entirely controlled by how your Alarm activates. Mine comes on 20 sec after my key leaves the transmitter field (30cm of the steering cowling).

I will mod it so that it works with the switch at normal.
Last edited by Royalratch on Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post Sun Dec 20, 2009 6:47 pm

Are you sure it has an LED in there and not a bulb? All the other switches of this type have bulbs.

If its a bulb and give a current drain of anything above 0.05A then it could potentialy make the battery go flat.
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Post Sun Dec 20, 2009 6:52 pm

As I said, I will mod it to accept the Clifford LED or replace with an LED.
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Post Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:23 pm

Hiya

Just wanted to give you an idea, i know its a little late, but i wired up my alarm LED to the rear brake lights of my Omega. When i activate the alarm, my brake lights blink every few seconds. Never drained the battery. Looks cool on the road at night.

Im gona do something similar to my E30 soon.
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Post Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:49 pm

Dunno about that mate - that really is drawing attention to your car.
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Post Wed Dec 30, 2009 5:28 pm

Wrongness upon wrongness. Cliffords are terrible alarms and the blank light doesn't look like an alarm light so would not perform as a visual deterrent.

WTF you just took a load of crap alarm stuff out of your car, and you're putting one back!
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Post Wed Dec 30, 2009 5:45 pm

I love all this HATE!

It's the best for my needs, a simple and effective system. Clifford are good, at least as good as Cobra and Toad and all that crap - and none of the fake carbon fobs either, just a passive transponder 'orb.'

I think it will look perfect as it's all about the timing of the blink.