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1st long trip...had to come home on the train!

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  • 10-12-2007 5:12pm
    #1
    Hifive
    Registered Users Posts: 495 ✭✭


    Drove about 110 miles to Dublin in my (new to me) 1989 BMW 635 csi, to catch a train last Friday. missed the train by 5 Min's so decided to go somewhere for lunch and wait for the next one. Re started it and drove about 10 yards and she glided to a halt and wouldn't start again. Got out to push the car back into the parking space only to be hailed with shouts of "IT'S ON FIRE" from the wife. The car was full of smoke which was coming from under the dash on the drivers side. Ripped, and I mean RIPPED the knee panel under the dash off, fire extinguisher in hand, to find a very melted loom.
    Luckily on further inspection, it turned out to be confined to the wiring for an Immobiliser which a PO had installed three years ago. I hadn't the right tools to go at it properly so I had it towed to my parents house in Dublin. I'll go up next week and give it a good spannering.
    The immobiliser is a Sigma M 800 Thatcham cat 2 unit.
    I'm hoping that if I remove all trace of it from the car, she should fire up again. Any thoughts? anything I should be aware of while removing this thing? I'm presuming its wired into the ign and fuel system.
    The immobiliser black box was installed on top of the engine management ecu, so maybe the heat from that fried it, or if I'm unlucky it'll be the other way around:(

    P.S. I have the original certificate of installation for the immobiliser, which was provided with the car, as proof that I haven't just nicked it and am looking for help to get it started. Although I did get some very odd looks in the car park, what with me fiddling under the dash and wires and tools everywhere:D


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    #2
    JHMEG
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,686 ✭✭✭JHMEG


    This might be of help. The newer systems unfortuntely have all black wires (a thatcham requirement), making tracing them more difficult.


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    #3
    Hifive
    Registered Users Posts: 495 ✭✭Hifive


    Thanks JHMEG,
    Yeah, all black wires, however the system is a little more simple than that one in your pdf. No siren, no key pad, no ultrasonic and not connected to the hazards. It's a transponder system and won't be missed as it was a pain to use. It's triggered by the door opening and you have to touch the transponder to an area of the centre console within 20 secs. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. Que lots of opening and closing of doors:mad:

    Snip, snip, snip.


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    #4
    JHMEG
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,686 ✭✭✭JHMEG


    Sorry, saw M and assumed it was a regular M-series alarm.

    Had a tranponder yokey myself years ago. Was Irish made too, iirc. It was easy enough to take out when I was upgrading to a full alarm.


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    #5
    mike65
    Closed Accounts Posts: 88,978 ✭✭✭✭mike65


    Oh Dear :( And the car was previously owned by a non-smoker no?

    Still all things considered it sounds like you got off relatively lightly. The whole car could have gone up in a min or two if no-one had been handy (i.e. sat in the passenger seat going eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!)

    Mike.


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    #6
    Hifive
    Registered Users Posts: 495 ✭✭Hifive


    mike65 wrote: »
    Oh Dear :( And the car was previously owned by a non-smoker no?

    Still all things considered it sounds like you got off relatively lightly. The whole car could have gone up in a min or two if no-one had been handy (i.e. sat in the passenger seat going eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!)

    Mike.


    Mike, you'll believe me, as you've met her, It was lashing down and she was more worried about getting her new hair do wet, (we were going to her work Xmas do, in Belfast) than getting out of a car, that as far as she knew, was in serious trouble.:confused::confused:


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    #7
    mike65
    Closed Accounts Posts: 88,978 ✭✭✭✭mike65


    And thus the essential difference between the sexes is illustrated.

    Mike.


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    #8
    Hifive
    Registered Users Posts: 495 ✭✭Hifive


    Still all things considered it sounds like you got off relatively lightly. Mike


    We were very lucky, as soon as I turned off the ignition, the burning stopped and hopefully further damage to the car's electrics was avoided. We weren't even really inconvenienced either we were all ready at the train station when it happened, and got the later train. I have breakdown cover (thanks to Carol Nash insurance) so that didn't cost anything and as they use Talbot motors for the towing service, they were with us in 20 mins.
    I had planned to travel up to my folks next week anyway in the family car, so if I can get mine going, we'll just come home in both.
    Also in the state I was in on Sunday I wouldn't like to have driven anyway. (we got the train and then then bus from busarus)

    "Always look on the bright side of life"


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