What is the red blinking light?

2005 330Ci with perf & premium package. No Alarm.

Twice I have seen the red light under the rear view mirror blinking as I approach the car. What does it mean? The manual says it is for the alarm, but I don't have an alarm....

Any help appreciated.
Thanks
Tony

Its something that I believe all 3-series have, and its called a clown nose, unofficially at least. Its akin to putting up an ADT warning sign in front of one's house even though they dont really have an alarm.

Make sense?

Originally Posted by former230

Its something that I believe all 3-series have, and its called a clown nose, unofficially at least. Its akin to putting up an ADT warning sign in front of one's house even though they dont really have an alarm.

Make sense?

Yes, but like he said, it normally doesn't blink if you don't have the alarm. Some people have reported that the dealer can enable the blinking even without the alarm, so maybe yours is activated.

Correct. It normally does not blink (I've had the car for one month only), but on ocassions, I have seen it blinking as I am walking up to the car. Perhaps there is a pattern in the way I lock the doors that enables the blinking? Maybe leave the lock button pressed for more than a sec or something like that.... I'll investigate and post results.

Thanks for the tips and info

Tony

Mine is activated and I don't have an alarm either. While deviating from the norm, I wish that they had de-activated my DRL's

Originally Posted by testrada

Correct. It normally does not blink (I've had the car for one month only), but on ocassions, I have seen it blinking as I am walking up to the car. Perhaps there is a pattern in the way I lock the doors that enables the blinking? Maybe leave the lock button pressed for more than a sec or something like that.... I'll investigate and post results.

Thanks for the tips and info

Tony

The dealer basically tells the car that an alarm is present, though it's not. That causes the nose to blink.

Mine blinks all the time. As far as I've heard, all 2005's have the clown nose set to permanent blinking, regardless of whether or not you have an alarm. I don't. And I don't really think I need to get an alarm now that mine blinks- that's one of the largest theft-deterrent features it has.

~Jon

My new '05 325i also has the blinking red light - I too do not have an alarm....

Ok, here is the scoop.
The alarm light light begins to blinks about 5-10 minutes after the doors have been locked with the remote. I have not tried locking the doors with the actual key. So if I go to the market to pick up something quickly I usually don't see it blinking, but if I stay for longer (such as work) then it blinks. Also it is very hard to notice it during daylight and I've only left work in the dark a couple of times this month.... At home, the car sits in the garage unlocked so no light there.

Thank you to all who responded and gave input

Regards
Tony