Immobiliser removal

Post Sat Oct 13, 2012 8:59 pm

OK.

So I know this is risky. But tomorrow I'm going to kill the immobiliser/alarm on the 325.

Its an aftermarket one and its not used anymore- but its still killing the battery, pulling 7 amps all the time.

I cant put it off any more. Where should I start to immobilise my immobiliser.

Anyone had experience of this before- what to look out for. In my head I'm thinking if I kill power to it, it will default to a protect mode and kill the ignition or something.

Advice?

Stu

Post Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:17 pm

it's a bit of a minefield depending on which scotch block wielding terrorist fitted it

just be careful when cutting wires out in case you disturb a "Loop" that they have put in

Post Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:20 pm

what are immobilisers usually made up of?

is it one control box?

Post Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:23 pm

bigwinn wrote:what are immobilisers usually made up of?

is it one control box?

Some can be one box with the relays inside, some are a control box that control external relays.

Post Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:26 pm

i seem to have a few additional boxes behind the dash....

its going to be fun

Post Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:30 pm

I've removed a couple of immobilisers, never on an E30.

If your confident with electrics should be pretty easy.

Will make it more difficult if a good installer has done it.

Post Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:31 pm

Max, whats the best things to do or look for- is it one control box, figure out wires and remove the box from the circuit? If I kill power will that cause dramas?

Stu

Post Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:34 pm

I've just done this on mine for the same reason. Took about 2hrs all in. It was a toad with central locking control and unfortunately, the bugger still drains down

.

Post Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:34 pm

I've just done this on mine for the same reason. Took about 2hrs all in. It was a toad with central locking control and unfortunately, the bugger still drains down

.

Post Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:35 pm

b12rlw wrote:I've just done this on mine for the same reason. Took about 2hrs all in. It was a toad with central locking control and unfortunately, the bugger still drains down .

How come is it still draining?

I'm tempted to pull the fuse and be done with it- think its only the OBC and internal lights one...

will see if it still starts without it in

Post Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:35 pm

I'm guessing it will be one box, depending on type of system. They're usually black wires coming out of the box.

It will either be behind the glove box or under the steering column.

Just trace the wires and remove basically, if its a CAT 1, it will remove 2 elements of starting, ie starter and fuel. You may have to replace a bit or wire. But will mostly be spliced, so remove wire and tape it up.

Will become more explanatory when your start removing.

Hopefully you won't find a monkey that's been in before you.

Post Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:36 pm

cheers buddy

Post Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:37 pm

CAT 1 is Alarm AND Immobiliser
CAT 2 is just Immobiliser

Post Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:38 pm

its got a sounder/alarm

Post Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:43 pm

bigwinn wrote:its got a sounder/alarm

Any idea of the make of the system ?

Post Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:44 pm

nah- I had a quick shufti the other weekend and there was a sounder, a box with a blue light that flashed intermittently, what looked like a micro switch and a box with a red light.....

Post Sun Oct 14, 2012 7:23 am

The BMW one that I removed from the cabbie plugged in to the loom behind the glovebox,it was nothing more than tracing each wire from the alarm box to it's source and re-connecting the loops.
Look for wires that interupt the solid green at it's socket(ign switch to coil)the fuel pump wire passes through this area as well,that's green/violet.

My alarm had a harness that went into the engine bay via the grommet under the fusebox,there was a further box on the n/s inner wing with a sounder device and a micro switch on the n/s bonnet roller catch.A second harness ran backwards to the boot light switch.

Post Sun Oct 14, 2012 8:29 am

The flashing lights confirm that this is aftermarket tat, and experience tells me that the fancier the unit, the worse the quality of the installation.
Look for wires from the alarm that connect to TWO OF plain green, green/purple and/or black yellow wires. Remove these alarm wires, and reconnect the resulting ends of the above coloured wires together. These are the immobiliser wires that will have been cut by the installer.
Every other wire from the alarm should just be removed from where it splices to the OE loom, or removed completely.

Post Sun Oct 14, 2012 7:48 pm

went and had a good luck today, got the console out and was greeted with something that looked like a bomb disposal scene from Die Hard.

Took ages tracing wires and was getting nowhere, so, did the Die Hard equivalent of cutting the red wire- took the in line fuse out, and the car started fine, no dramas of any sort.

If I ever need to nick a car, I'll pull the fuse on the immobiliser....