1997 528i Alarm and OBD issue

[DIYordie]

Hello!

Several months ago, after having my oil changed, my alarm went off and I couldn't get it to stop. I tried everything I could think of and drove it back to Jiffy Lube and they couldn't get it to go off either. They ended up pulling the fuse for the alarm and clearing the memory on the computer. Since then my radio will not power on but I didn't care because that was secondary to a working car with no alarm blaring.

Last week I took my car in to get smogged and they had to abort the test because they said there was "no power at data link connector."

So I've been researching on how to fix the problem to get my car smogged and I'm wondering if correcting this problem will cause my alarm to spring back to life? I need to get it smogged, obviously, but I can't have my alarm going off constantly.

So primarily I want to know if the alarm will continue to be a problem. Any advice on how to get the computer back online (or whatever I'm trying to do) would be helpful. I borrowed a diagnostic machine from a friend and there was a section in the manual on a 'ready test', that's the thread I'm currently pulling because it seems to be related to my problem.

I can't really afford to pay someone to fix anything and I'm pretty determined to do this myself. I checked my fuses and two were there, I didn't really understand where the third one was supposed to be located. I don't know anything about cars but I've done technical support and iPhone repairs and it's the same idea... basically (observe, isolate, fix, test)

Thank you for reading!

[StephenVA]

Remove the electrical connector to the under hood alarm contact switch. Located on the driver's side cabin filter. This is the switch that tells the computer that someone has opened the hood AFTER the alarm has been activated. To unplug, press on lock tab and pull off. Now reinsert fuse for alarm. It will not go off. Note: Jiffy lube broke the mounting point for the switch when playing with your cabin filter housings to check the brake fluid, so who knows where the break or switch is laying now.

In the image below, the switch is the wire loop right next to the LF shock upper mount (Right side on the image) Got it?

After replacing the fuse, your clown nose under the interior rear view mirror should be blinking. Y/N?

Helpful?

[DIYordie]

Thank you! I'll try this out tomorrow.

[DIYordie]

So I tried this today, sort of. I disconnected the alarm sensor but then I dropped the fuse in a puddle before I could replace it. I checked the glove box to see if there was a spare and found 3 cut connectors that I don't remember ever seeing before. I don't open my glove box much but I feel like I would have noticed them and taken note. Two of them looked a lot like the alarm switch I disconnected. I'll link a photo below since I can't attach files. I don't know if they're related to my problem because it's probably from the previous owner and I've had my car successfully smogged once since I purchased it and I don't remember any alarm issues until that oil change.

Either way, there wasn't a spare fuse so I'm going to have to put this off until next week.

https://imgur.com/a/BwTq1

[StephenVA]

That looks like them!