I dropped by MINI Peabody and met Charlie, collecting his brand new convertible (in perfect colors) – doesn’t he look like the perfect happy MINI owner?!
Scott told me that the parts for GBMINI#3 factory alarm arrived, so I thought “great, a quick install so let’s do it” …
Things went less-than-smoothly with the alarm install, due in large part to the “S” painting; Sublime Restorations had had to remove the headliner to do the work, and when they refitted it, the wiring harness to the alarm sensor in the roof got “lost”.
The alarm is supposed to be easy to install – remove the roof piece and connect the sensor to the wire. It is not supposed to take the best part of an hour and partial headliner removal to find that wire!
Anyway, much kudos to Todd who persevered and never swore, and finally got all the parts installed … only to find that the system would not work when it was configured!
I am still not sure why the factory alarm did not initially work; maybe you have to switch the car off and on again after configuring, or maybe (as Bob said) there is some key/ignition trick that can disable the alarm and we did it accidentally … Whatever the reason, the alarm was not working initially, then it started working, then it stopped again, then it started again.
It is nice to have the extra comfort of the alarm again, and I like the “chirp” … “chirp chirp” audio feedback of locking & unlocking the car.
I don’t think the $400 cost is excessive either (note that the alarm pricing has been re-structured so that you now buy the base system for $195 then a separate switch with LED indicator for $100 – because the switch type depends what MINI and specifications you have).
By chance my low-washer-fluid light was flashing today too, so I got an “old” right (wipers) stalk and confirmed the red light indicates low-washer-fluid (ie: it is the same wiring, just a different color light).
So I had that installed too – because I really don’t like the yellow light spoiling the interior red/black looks 😉
M&I / GBMINI 
GBMINI#3 is really getting a unique persona. Colors and options that set it apart from the crowd. We all will enjoy seeing your RED Rocket at the next meet.
Al.
Can you give a little more info on the yellow->red wiper stalk conversion? That’s interesting to me. Are the pre-’05-with-alarm stalks the same as ’05-with-low-washer-light except for color?
Yes, the stalks are apparently electrically identical – my invoice shows p/n 61-31-1-489-485. Beware however that you are buying a complete wiper switch mechanism, at >$100!
What is interesting here is it seems pre-05 owners may now have the choice of either getting right or left stalks.
I have always been considering the alarm and due to the ease of install would put it in myself. But from what you say it would be $300 for parts and then I would still have to bring it in to be programmed, which is probably another $40. Well I guess $60 saved is still $60. I enjoyed the security of having a high-end on my last car (worth half as much!) but more than anything, I want that bmw arming chirp sound. 🙂
So chalk up another unique but subtle mod to GBM3, dual red steering column stalks! 😀
Josh,
The only issue with choosing a lefthand stalk is that your MINI will be pre-wired for the righthand; you would need to find out the appropriate pin for the LED on each stalk, and make a wiring change.
Also, the alarm on GBMINI#2 did not “chirp” …
The chirp is (supposedly) programmable.
Yes, Josh – on GBMINI#3 when we had to reset the “personalities”, there was a setting for the alarm (called “indicator” or something like that). Maybe there was one on GBMINI#2 and it never got turned on.
Stupid questions:
Is the stalk required, or is it just an indicator light? Always considered it a bit ugly..;)
What does the dealer have to program, if it was self-installed? Just the chirp? or?
Anyone seen a retrofit install guide out there? 🙂
David,
The stalk/LED is not required; it provides a visual indication that the alarm is armed, and a visual indication if any tampering was detected.
Not sure what a dealership will say about doing an install without the replacement stalk …
All the “smarts” of the alarm is done in the cars “BC1” (body control module) – only sensors and siren are added in the kit. So the reprogramming is to make the BC1 know that it now has to do alarm functions.
What kind of visual indication is given if the car was tampered with, but nobody actually broke in? That’s interesting as I had no idea the system did that… Was not told that at the dealership upon install. Hmmm…. Look forward to your response.
Thanks!
To quote from the “manual” that came with the alarm this time (no paperwork came with #2s alarm):
if the indicator light goes out when the car is unlocked – no attempt was made to tamper with the vehicle;
if the indicator light continues to flash for approx 2s after the car has been unlocked, at attempt has been made to tamper with the vehicle
Only trouble with that is the “2s” bit – I unlock my car from a distance away, and can’t see if the light keeps on flashing or not.
Interesting. I never got a catalog for my alarm system, or if I did, it is sitting in my glove box collecting dust probably.
Interesting though, but like you, I rarely, if ever, unlock while standing next to the car.
Thanks for the information though.
Would like advice on the low wiper fluid light conversion, too!
I really don’t like the yellow. I have a black/grey interior w/a Purple Haze so think
red or plain silver would be best.
Anyway, to only swap out the end of the stick??
Do you think any current owners would be interested who maybe have red? (& prefer yellow, if they have a LY car ,for instance)
Or was red just for alarms?? (so no one having would want to trade?)
Any info appreciated!
With the help of a colleague at work, I disassembled my old yellow-tip low washer fluid stalk.
It is possible to remove the yellow end, but I doubt that you could buy the red end from anyone; MINI are only likely to carry the part as a complete assembly.
The other problem is that the LED inside is still yellow. We tried putting a red filter over the end, but it still shone yellow when it was on (although admittedly most of the time it would not be on, then it would look red).