Question:

I have a ‘90 325i which I purchased as a lien sale. I got no information or manuals with it. It is my first BMW. I notice that whenever a door is opened the emergency flashers go on for about a minute or two. Is this normal? Some sort of safety feature or something? Perhaps part of a malfunctioning alarm system? Did this year model come with an alarm system or as an option? James Bott San Diego

Response:

> I notice that whenever a door is opened the emergency flashers go on for > about a minute or two. Is this normal? Some sort of safety feature or > something? Perhaps part of a malfunctioning alarm system? Did this year > model come with an alarm system or as an option?

Your alarm has gone bonkers (technical term). Someone has removed the siren in order to preserve their sanity but the lights still go off. — Who needs a life when you’ve got Unix?   Web  : http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk – The Ultimate BMW Homepage! Need Sun or HP Unix kit? http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/unix.html

Response:

> Your alarm has gone bonkers (technical term). Someone has removed the > siren in order to preserve their sanity but the lights still go off.

Either removed it or turned it off.  This of course depends on the manufacturer of alarm, on my Clifford for example, it comes with a "Q" key which you insert into the body of the siren to mute it. Not sure about factory alarms though!! Nick.

Response:

John,

> I notice that whenever a door is opened the emergency flashers go on for > about a minute or two. Is this normal? Some sort of safety feature or > something? Perhaps part of a malfunctioning alarm system? Did this year > model come with an alarm system or as an option? > Your alarm has gone bonkers (technical term). Someone has removed the > siren in order to preserve their sanity but the lights still go off.

There is what looks like an alarm siren which has had the wire cut. I looked all over for the alarm itself and couldn’t find anything obvious (of course, I suppose they are made so as not to look obvious). I did find a black metal box in the trunk mounted on the passenger side. It is about 10" x 10" x 1" and has six wires going into it. There is no writing on it that I could see, and it appears that you have to bend the bracket to get it out. It looks like it has two thumbscrews in the back–nothing at all on the front. Next to it is a CD player but there don’t seem to be any wires between the two. Could this box be the alarm? I’m trying to figure out if it is a stock BMW alarm or after-market one, so I know who to take it to for fixing. The alarm siren says "Made it Taiwan" so I have to wonder about it being a BMW stock part. James Bott San Diego

Response: