E30 Security

Post Tue May 12, 2015 10:35 pm

Came back to my car today after work and noticed it was already open...

I know for 100% that I locked it with the key when I left it in the morning, so the first thought was that someone opened by force...

However, had a look all round the car and couldn't find any damage or any signs of break-in or anything stolen. Everything was exactly as I left it, except the fact it was just unlocked. It looked like, as if someone just opened it with the right key.

It doesn't have no aftermarket alarm on it and I simply lock it with the key. It all works fine now, no problems whatsoever.

Is it possible that it somehow unlocked itself, although I highly doubt that and it's never happened to me before...

Or if someone did mess around with it, then what was the point without taking anything or trying to start it? No signs of that either...

Talking of security, any can recommend good aftermarket alarms? Clifford or something similar? Any specific model or even a place to get it fitted?

Post Tue May 12, 2015 11:13 pm

diable wrote:Where in London, if you didn't have an alarm that you could lock from a fob then you left it open.

West London, yeah no fob. That seems like the most obvious conclusion, yet I know for a FACT that I locked it...

When it comes to locking the car, I check it 10 times, make sure it's all locked before I walk off

Post Wed May 13, 2015 12:46 am

zd3bx wrote: Talking of security, any can recommend good aftermarket alarms? Clifford or something similar? Any specific model or even a place to get it fitted?

No such thing exists. There are ways of wiring up an immobiliser to make an E30 more secure (even the OE dealer fitted version), but I have NEVER come across one that would defeat anyone who knows what they're doing by more than a minute or so, and the average installation takes only about five seconds to disable.
My fuel pump supply SHORTING switch will be as effective as anything.

Post Wed May 13, 2015 3:09 am

Playing devils advocate here but imobilising an e30 will not stop someone with a spec lift from grabbing it but an alarm system will be a deterrent

With alarms it totally depends on the person who installs it. I can recommend a couple of people in west London.

Post Wed May 13, 2015 3:51 am

IMO alarms are useless. I have never heard a car alarm and thought "O golly gosh, I must go investigate!"

Unless it was my cars alarm of course

Post Wed May 13, 2015 7:21 am

Mine unlocks itself, if one of the front handles isn't retracted properly into its resting position. When you try and lock it like this it unlocks again immediately. You would probably have noticed if it did that though. Just a thought.

Post Wed May 13, 2015 8:44 am

All the key does is to pull the interior 'tell tale' down and dis-connect the exterior handle,thus 'locking' the car.Other door(s),petrol flap and boot are triggered electrically via the central locking.So if the lock barrel has wear,it may not have fully dis-engaged and sprung back.

Using the 'deadlock' feature is the most effective way of locking E30,by a combination of a mechanical link and solinoid,all doors have a locking bar pulled across that stops the mech re-engaging(Brian can probably explain better than I just how it functions!)

All any 'alarm' will do is to buy you time,if some lowlife wants your car badly enough then they will come prepared and remove it.Stopping it being driven away is easy enough with Brian's fuel pump shorting method,after that,a visible device that makes turning the steery wheel difficult is a sensible buy.

Final barrier is decent insurance!

Post Wed May 13, 2015 9:27 am

An E30 central locking system will unlock all the locks if the driver's door isn't closed properly, or the locking ECU thinks it isn't.

Post Wed May 13, 2015 8:52 pm

Well yes, at the end of the day, any alarm is useless, if the person knicking the car knows what he's doing...

It's just a good deterrent to avoid timewasters who might want to mess around with the car, thinking it's an old car/easy to break in, etc.

Post Thu May 14, 2015 10:49 am

i was at a meet a few years ago and i locked my keys inside my e30. the first person that came over with there keys unlocked my car. just a taught

Post Fri May 15, 2015 12:03 pm

jamie-o-connell wrote:i was at a meet a few years ago and i locked my keys inside my e30. the first person that came over with there keys unlocked my car. just a taught

Exactly what could've happened to my one, except the person doing it wasn't stealing it - just "testing"