OBC - Code Feature

[JMI]

Does anybody use it? I'm a little leary of not being able to start the car even with the correct code of my own choosing.

JMI

[Yiorgos]

I'm slowly training myself to use it. For some reason I've never had the thought pop into my head that I might not be able to start the car even with the correct code entered. There might be an override somewhere.

[Fetch]

Does anybody use it? I'm a little leary of not being able to start the car even with the correct code of my own choosing.

JMI

LOL! I really would love to use this feature consistently, but BMW electronics of this era (and maybe others) are so shady, so I don't use it!! :p

:D


Yes, there is an override, but it's very inconvenient to have to sit around with the battery unplugged for 1 hr, or whatever the procedure is, it has been discussed.

[Paul in NZ]

LOL! I really would love to use this feature consistently, but BMW electronics of this era (and maybe others) are so shady, so I don't use it!! :p
:D
Yes, there is an override, but it's very inconvenient to have to sit around with the battery unplugged for 1 hr, or whatever the procedure is, it has been discussed.

shady? why so?

[Ferret]

I used to habitually use the code function in manchester while I was there as a student. Made me feel much safer about the car because I'd had at least two cars broken into while there - one of the vehicles was broken into three times, two of which attempts they stole nothing!

If you bugger up/forget the code you've got a 15 minute wait coming up while the alarm's going off at you.

[Derek A.]

What defeats the system ? I though disconnecting the battery would reset the car is this not true ?

[Ferret]

No, pulling the battery will not defeat it - I tested this to see if it would happen, (well on mine, anyway.) I would have thought that would be daft :)

It would appear that the code's stored in the ecu flash memory rather than the OBC - either that or 30m/1h's worth of capacitor backup. There's a process, detailed in the full obc manual which requires the keys to be in the ignition (coded keys if the vehicles got key transponders.) The alarm /will/ have a go at you though while you do it.

[Ferret]

BMW electronics of this era (and maybe others) are so shady

Try driving french peugeots from this era... then you'll know about dodgy electrics - I had a 205 Turbo Diesel - that after some little **** broke into - locked me in the car and started a fire in the boot.

French Electrics=Fire risk

Just talk to that high percentage of Renault Espace mk1 owners who's dashboards burst into flame while they were still driving it :)

[Fetch]

shady? why so?

Look at the threads on this forum dude, you think it's normal/acceptable for cars of this status to have problems with headlights, problems with lkm reporting bulbs failed, fuseable links that go out without being tripped, alarm systems that work intermittently, before stopping completely, fan blowers that stop functioning they way they are supposed to, not to mention relays that are getting to the end of their time, wiring that is getting stiff and frail, connections starting to corrode, and just gremlins in general? The electronics on these cars aren't new anymore.

Even I am not a fanboy enough to over look the less than stellar electronics in general. :D

[steve0suprem0]

i use it. sometimes. mainly when i'm at home, instead of the girlfriend's house. i live in the ghetto, i tell ya. and fresno's one of the highest theft rates in the country.

[RX7guy]

I used this feature for the first time a few days ago.... After I set the code, the keyless entry wouldn't work to lock/unlock or arm the alarm. I had to lock the car manually. Is that normal?

[Qube]

I use it each and every day... each and every time (almost) I park. No problems *touch wood*. There most certainly is a way to disarm the code but that will NOT be discussed openly here :)

[bill g]

I use the code function regularly - no problems. However our E36 325i is another story - the button mechanism on the OBC in those is notoriously feeble and can cease working at any time, which is sort of okay if you are setting the code but a pain if you are deactivating it. There is a procedure in the owner manual to get you going but you have to wait around a while.

Bill G

[BigKriss]

I thought you could remove the OBC and then reinstall it and the code disapears. I've never tried it though. Inteceptor said this worked ages ago.


What defeats the system ? I though disconnecting the battery would reset the car is this not true ?

[JMI]

Does anybody use it? I'm a little leary of not being able to start the car even with the correct code of my own choosing.

JMI


Just to answer my own question, after more then a year of use it has worked flawlessly. :D

[Ross]

"Try driving french peugeots from this era... then you'll know about dodgy electrics - I had a 205 Turbo Diesel - that after some little **** broke into - locked me in the car and started a fire in the boot."

I know it isn't nice to laugh at others misfortune but that is too funny not to.
Sorry Ferret, glad you're okay.