I recently had a garage disconnect a Viper 5701 alarm system that was installed in my R55 fJCW Clubman (Dec '09) because it was found to be causing a high battery discharge rate. The garage have told me that they simply unplugged the power supply to the Viper system, and subsequently everything seemed to be working fine..

However, after receiving the car back, I have found that the Hill Start Assist no longer works when tested on an incline, and neither does the cruise control - specifically, I can turn the cruise control on, but if I then press the + or - buttons there is no response from the car.

There are no warning lights or messages that advise of any faults or errors. I am hoping that this is a simple fuse replacement since all the garage did was disconnect the third-party alarm system. I'm reluctant to return to the garage since they should really have tested the car after disconnecting the alarm.

Any thoughts on what the cause could be?

 

I had my alarm removed because it fried my footwell module that's responsible for blinkers and running lights, I held CarMax responsible for it since they hired another third party to install the alarm. Dealer wouldn't touch it because of the third party alarm, I had them even remove their harness and restore the wiring back to factory. Cost CarMax $1000 to replace the footwell module, they want to go after the dealer for the cost.

Hope you get everything straightened out.

 

Hi - thanks for sharing your experience. I hope nothing is fried on my car, since all was working fine when the alarm was active.

Haven't noticed any other symptoms so far, just surprised that no warnings were produced. I have an OBD reader so perhaps it's another route to determining what's happened..

 

If you're lucky they knocked another plug or wire loose. People make mistakes, but it's a sign to try another shop.

 

Yeah, I regret going to these guys after their first mis-diagnosis, hoped the deed was done on the second, but a trilogy of efforts may be my only choice before I can escape elsewhere..

 

There are reasons why to only take your Mini to the dealer and times when you shouldn't take your Mini to the dealer. In your case it's for the dealer, all they work on are Mini's so their more qualified especially since you might have a wiring problem.

 

Quick update.. I've spoken to the garage and it certainly looks like the Viper system is culpable. For some reason it's been spliced or rerouted the speed signal that is sent to the cruise control and HSA modules, so I now need to look for someone to remove the Viper system.. :(

 

Taken from the Viper installation manual:

"VIOLET/WHITE Tachometer input
This input provides the module with information about the engine’s revolutions per minute (RPMs). It can be connected to the negative side of the coil in vehicles with conventional coils.
Note: This wire MUST be used when installing this unit on a manual transmission."

So, it may be that if I check the wiring of this feed to the Viper and restore it, things will go back to normal... if not I'm going to a professional uninstaller!

^^ see here for can of worms