Clown nose?

[topvega]

Originally Posted by mikeo

Don't know if this DIY would work on the E82, but it is an interesting work-around.

Sweet.... that was the one I was talking about...

[JTdrivin1]

that DIY is awesome.... i might have to try that. Now if we could only find something like this to make the annoying chimes stop, i'd be super happy.

[mikeo]

Originally Posted by JTdrivin1

... Now if we could only find something like this to make the annoying chimes stop, i'd be super happy.

Amen to that!

[Brandon26pdx]

Those are annoying. I drove an 08 528i loaner for a couple days and they have it too.

[HemisphereDancer]

Ok, so my CA said he had the service department look into turning on the clow nose and they cannot find anything for that. HAS ANYONE gotten this done at their dealer (without an alarm). If so please PM me the name of the dealership so my CA can call and find out what has to be done. Would rather not have to build a circuit board just for this.

Thanks in Advance!

[Uptown Bully]

My CA asked service ans they said it can't be simply turned on. We know this isn't true. I'd love to do the DIY above but I'm not technical enough. Maybe a local tuner shop can if I print out the instructions.

[Robert]

Tell them clown nose has nothing to do with alarm. Every clown has a red nose does that mean every clown has an alarm?

[Jumpman]

Has anyone tried painting it black? I wonder how hard it is to remove...

[1erich]

It certainly is unsightly.

[Bye Bye GTI]

An option would be to order the alarm from one of the vendors on this site (~$200 USD) and then just install the one piece that goes into the housing above the mirror.

Users here and on E90post have reported that the clown nose blinks when the door is locked, just by the adding in that one piece. It must simply complete the circuit.

This to me is a far better option than paying BMW $900 (quote in calgary) to make the light blink.

Its too bad that the light is so obvious when looking into the car. By it not lighting up - its obvious that there isn't an alarm functioning on the car.

[xSegFaultx]

Originally Posted by 1erich

It certainly is unsightly.

I just find it unsightly because it is so non-functional.

Friends ask what the clown nose is for and I have to explain to them that my $45,000 BMW comes pre-wired for an alarm, but it isn't fully included. It seems the hard part was done, why not just include the full alarm? Oh, right... money.

Don't get me started about the floor mats. It seems BMW does everything they can in order to advertise a low base MSRP and then they recover any lost profits selling options and add-ons, knowing consumers will pick up at least a few. Its an interesting market strategy, and it seems to work, but I find it somewhat insulting.

[Mad Dragon]

The LED in the mirror is powered by the DWA module (alarm) and is part of the whole 'pre-wired for alarm' package. No DWA module, no blinking clown nose. Complain all you want about the alarm, the 3-series doesn't have them either.

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by xSegFaultx

I just find it unsightly because it is so non-functional.

Friends ask what the clown nose is for and I have to explain to them that my $45,000 BMW comes pre-wired for an alarm, but it isn't fully included. It seems the hard part was done, why not just include the full alarm? Oh, right... money.

Don't get me started about the floor mats. It seems BMW does everything they can in order to advertise a low base MSRP and then they recover any lost profits selling options and add-ons, knowing consumers will pick up at least a few. Its an interesting market strategy, and it seems to work, but I find it somewhat insulting.

I agree that it's a nickle and dime approach on some of this stuff, but at the same time there are a lot of people (like me) who don't want the additional cost of a useless option like an alarm added into the cost of the car.

You need a car alarm in Evansville IN like you need a sand box in the desert, unless you're doing something stupid, like buying meth.

[Oregon]

Just the other day did I discover what the thing does; there I was innocently tooling around, the clown-nose was starting to bug me, so I reached-up to rend the thing from it's mount, the mirror switched to night position. What a surprise. Better leave it be.:wink:

[bski]

Originally Posted by HemisphereDancer

Ok, so my CA said he had the service department look into turning on the clow nose and they cannot find anything for that. HAS ANYONE gotten this done at their dealer (without an alarm). If so please PM me the name of the dealership so my CA can call and find out what has to be done. Would rather not have to build a circuit board just for this.

Thanks in Advance!

Hey,
Just an update,
I found out clown nose on 1er canNOT be turned on without alarm system.
Saw a link on bimmerfest which outlined a "make it yourself" circuit board to bipass alarm so nose will blink. From the looks of it, I would rather purchase the alarm.

[spudw]

The clown nose is inactive on mine and my mother's 3-series. But on my father's X3, it blinks when he locks the doors. Unless he is unaware of all the features on his car, it would appear that the clown nose blinks without an alarm installed on the car.

Is it possible it can be activated just to indicate that the car is locked?

[1ATTIC]

The clown nose on my 2005 325 Xi blinks when the doors are locked, however, I do not have an alarm system installed.

[stefan]

I believe Circle BMW in the US was carrying the alarm for $200. That, combined with the installation DIY found in the appropriate section, makes for a $200 clown nose activation, which I'd almost argue is worth the peace of mind.

[ManMachine]

In the 5 series the alarm is included.

Guess you'll just have to pay for the alarm? On the website for configuration, there isn't an option anywhere to selecting the alarm system.

[Red135]

In the DIY thread, it was stated that BMW is not selling the alarm at this time becuase they could not get the software to work.

[linsam]

Originally Posted by JTdrivin1

i've got a pretty good relationship with my dealer, and i know he checked on this. apparently whatever BMW did, you can't make it blinkif the alarm isn't installed.

My dealer could not turn it on either. I was disappointed, but am a little more content knowing that I was being told the truth. The only way the red clown nose will blink is if I get a BMW alarm installed. This is one of those things that does not make sense to me. Why not allow it to blink?