Advice on which alarm/immobiliser to fit for a 1999 E36?

The quality of the installation should far exceed that of the hardware - in general. You can get a more than adequate alarm and immobiliser from Halfords or Maplin etc. But good installation requires wiring skills.

"JB" wrote

I don't know about European BMWs, but all US cars have an RFID chip in the key, without which it won't start. All US cars are also pre-wired for a factory alarm, which is an easy install (by the dealer).

FloydR

"Electrical installation" is my middle name! (or bloody seems to be with all of the automotive electrical work I get!).

JB

As far as I know, all EU BMWs since the beginning of the '90 have immobilizers, certainly the ones built starting the second half of the decade. A '99 E36 has an immobilizer. See the reviews on

You should be quite pleased to learn that your car does indeed have an immobilizer built-in (EWS). This is a system that will not allow the car to start unless one of the keys that has been previously programmed into the ECU is used to start the car. Otherwise, the starter just turns and no ignition occurs.

The need for an alarm is more for protection of the contents of the vehicle or to keep it from being winched up on a flatbed and carried off.

Thanks for the info Fred. I did think it strange that a fairly high spec car wasn't fitted with an immobiliser. I'll just fit an alarm with remote central unlocking now then. Cheers, JB

On Tue, 17 Jan 2006 14:01:35 -0000, "JB" waffled on about something:

You should find that round the ignition lock there is a big black plastic shroud which protrudes round the lock barrel. As I understand it, this is the chip readers induction ring.

My '96 E36 has one, but my '94 didn't.

Plus, if you have the "proper computer", you should have a code button... You can program a code into it when you park up, and it won't start until you put the code in next time you try to start it.

Unfortunately this only works for the next time you try to start, as soon as you start it clears it. I wish there was a way of making this code stick, but it's still nice if you have to park somewhere a bit iffy... Alarm, code immobilise, chipped key... Walk away feeling secure. :-)

Dodgy.

Yes, but the "code" feature of the OBC is not directly related to the EWS feature. My '94 E34 has the OBC code thing, but no EWS.

It turns out I do have EWS immobiliser fitted after but no OBC or alarm. I'll get an alarm/remote central locking unti this weekend I think.

cheers, JB