98 bmw z3 and the alarm has stopped working
Asked by liama1108 Jul 27, 2008 at 05:53 PM about the 1998 BMW Z3 1.9 Roadster RWD
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
Hi
I have a 98 bmw z3 and the alarm has stopped working, the led on the dash is continually flashing and there is a beeping noise from the box under the hood, so I turned the immobiser off and back on again but get no response from anything. How do I reset it all?
The handbook tells me it is fitted with a thatcham cat 1. Was hoping I could remedy this myself without a visit to the expensive bmw service dealer.
many thanks for your time.
3 Answers
littlehorn answered 16 years ago
Sounds like the alarm system may have taken a dump entirely. You're going to need the dealer on this one.
first of all is it a factory alarm system on the car? that symptom deos not sound like a factory alarm,on BMWs, the immobilizer is in the key and on the reciever where the key goes into the ignition and cannot be turned off or on, it activates as soon as the key is removed from the ignition.The one that you mentioned is an aftermarket system, the factory alarm for that particular year is Alpine.You will need to replace it or go the dealer and get the proper one installed, the car should be prewired from the factory for it. The immobilizer that you have as part of that alarm is redundant,as all BMWs from 1996 on came with immbilizers from the factory. Even if you were to remove that existing one and go back to original , you would still have an immobilizer for the car as it is part of the key and ignition. you car cannot be started without the key, the whole system shuts down, ecm, fuel, ignition everything. hope this helps.
on my 2004 3 series, I had the whole dashboard go out and I fixed it by checking the fuses which for me are located in the glove compartment on the top. I just replaced the fuse and it worked no problem. maybe the same is the problem with yours
