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mellena88
05-07-2012, 03:13 AM
Looking for some help on this. My daily driver e36 sat for a few days when I was out of town. When I came back it wouldn't turn over. Sounded like a dead alternator. The next morning I was going to have it towed and I just tried starting it just to be sure when it roughly turned over and smoothed out quickly and was running like normal. I took it to my mechanic just to be sure and he said that its my alarm (which I do not use). Has anyone one else had this? Is there a fix? I do not use my alarm so what if I just removed it? Could I do this myself? How hard is it? THanks everyone!
UnderCoverGuy11
05-07-2012, 04:48 AM
Test the battery for voltage fluctuation when you connect or disconnect the alarm, I believe it is under the glovebox. I doubt it's the alarm if the problem just started, have you had the alternator and battery tested? Worst comes to worse you'll have to pull all the fuses one by one while you monitor the battery voltage with the car off
flyfishvt
05-07-2012, 06:20 AM
Is this an aftermarket or OEM alarm? Are you in the US or Europe/Aus/asia etc? If its a US OEM alarm you just unplug it from the module thats located behind the glovebox. It would be very rare for this to be your issue but its pretty simple to test. If that doen't work then you go through the process of diagnosing a "parasitic drain".

As was suggested....get the battery and alt tested before you do anything. If your battery is over 3-5 years old it might be time for a new one.
mellena88
05-07-2012, 03:46 PM
The Alarm is OEM and I am in California. But My buttons died on my keys and would eat up batteries so I stopped using the alarm a few months ago. My mechanic tested my battery and alternator saying that they were all good. It did it when I didnt drive my car for a few days after driving it every day for weeks.

So I can disconnect the alarm
If its a US OEM alarm you just unplug it from the module thats located behind the glovebox. like this for me to see if its the alarm? So removing the alarm system all together might not fix it either? I jsut need it to be reliable because its my daily driver haha! Thanks for the help!