[SCtud]

I bought an OEM alarm from Tischer (2008 E93 M3) and had a dealer install. Aside from the difficulty they had updating the software (apparently took them 7+ hours) and the ridiculous $435 installation charge, the car came back and there is now a high pitch noise now coming from both tweeters. It is a combination of static hiss and a high pitch noise (sound like a dog whistle or someone scratching their fingers on a chalkboard). The noise is there even when the car engine is off, and then goes away after about a minute or so when everything completely shuts off.

Has anybody else had this issue? They even tried disconnecting the alarm and the noise was somehow still there (even though it was never there before they installed the alarm).

[Technic]

Originally Posted by SCtud

I bought an OEM alarm from Tischer (2008 E93 M3) and had a dealer install. Aside from the difficulty they had updating the software (apparently took them 7+ hours) and the ridiculous $435 installation charge, the car came back and there is now a high pitch noise now coming from both tweeters. It is a combination of static hiss and a high pitch noise (sound like a dog whistle or someone scratching their fingers on a chalkboard). The noise is there even when the car engine is off, and then goes away after about a minute or so when everything completely shuts off.

Has anybody else had this issue? They even tried disconnecting the alarm and the noise was somehow still there (even though it was never there before they installed the alarm).

Take it back, bro... no need for you to troubleshoot something that cost you $435 and included software updates that probably messed something else up, like the OEM amp, and now you got that noise.

[SCtud]

I hear ya - just wanted to see if anybody else has heard of this issue since the dealer couldn't even hear the sound let alone figure out what was going on. Any hints on how they could fix this might get my car back to me a bit earlier (they had my car a week and couldn't even hear the sound or identify the source and it took me all of one car ride home).

Dealers charging $135/hour for labor seems ridiculous to me.. ugh.. Going to ask them to reimburse me some costs on the $435 install ($180 part) so a $615 alarm!!!

[claykin]

I suppose they should start by disconnecting pieces of the alarm and see if the noise disappears.

7 hours to update the software would really concern me. Did the tech know what he was doing? Maybe its time for you to sit with the shop foreman or the service manager to discuss this issue.

Good luck.

[SCtud]

Unfortunately, they tried that already. They disconnected the alarm (only one piece on the e93 m3 version), and the noise was still present. I'm hoping it's something easily fixable but it just seems so bizarre that this would happen especially with an OEM part that's already pre-wired. I guess I figured the software update was simple, and look what happened there.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by SCtud

Unfortunately, they tried that already. They disconnected the alarm (only one piece on the e93 m3 version), and the noise was still present. I'm hoping it's something easily fixable but it just seems so bizarre that this would happen especially with an OEM part that's already pre-wired. I guess I figured the software update was simple, and look what happened there.

What audio system is this?

[SCtud]

Enhanced premium sound. The dealer initially came back to me and said it's in all BMWs with comfort access. That doesn't make sense because this sound was never there before they installed the alarm and I've never heard it in any of the dozens of BMWs I've sat in.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by SCtud

Enhanced premium sound. The dealer initially came back to me and said it's in all BMWs with comfort access. That doesn't make sense because this sound was never there before they installed the alarm and I've never heard it in any of the dozens of BMWs I've sat in.

Most probably they coded the OEM amp as part of the 7hrs coding marathon and now this issue popped up... it does not have anything to do with the alarm.

[SCtud]

Damn. that makes perfect sense. thanks.

I told them to try reverting the coding back to the original and they said that that couldn't be it. Now that there's a valid reason for what could have happened, I am definitely telling them to refund the costs of programming.

[VP Electricity]

Originally Posted by SCtud

Enhanced premium sound. The dealer initially came back to me and said it's in all BMWs with comfort access. That doesn't make sense because this sound was never there before they installed the alarm and I've never heard it in any of the dozens of BMWs I've sat in.

uh, I have CA, and negative on the noise, over.

[SCtud]

Yah - the dealer is full of it.

I even pointed out Technic's suggestion (which really can be the only possible problem since that is the only that changed beyond the alarm install) and they don't think it's possible. Now I'm driving around with a retarded high pitch whine that gives me a headache until a field rep can make it in, and the dealer is "out of loaners".

[SCtud]

Wow - the dealer had a field rep come out, and they said that the noise is "normal". This is the biggest load of crock I have ever heard. I even brought up your diagnosis that the car was mis-programmed and they continue to maintain that that is impossible to misprogram, otherwise it will not complete.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this? Should I find an autologic programmer that might be able to fix this for me? They wouldn't even attempt to try and reprogram. I am furious....

[Technic]

Originally Posted by SCtud

The noise is there even when the car engine is off, and then goes away after about a minute or so when everything completely shuts off.

Take a look at that OEM amp and see if it has a cooling fan, if so then it looks like that noise could be coming from it, as it stays on for quite some time after the car is shut down depending on how hot the amp is.

Shuffle the connecting harness around, even disconnect and reconnect it to see if the noise goes away somehow. Sometimes noise is induced by a wire crossing paths with another in a very particular way, or even by a loose connection. By unplugging and replugging the connector "phantom" issues like that can disappear.

If there is no cooling fan then that's the old amp that was replaced by 04/08 production as it tends to overheat (there's a TSB for this fault). Perhaps was damaged some time ago due to overheat and it became noisy lately.

[SCtud]

Well, I did figure out that the noise is coming directly from both tweeters (comes out as a hiss and the high pitch noise), so it's not physically coming from the amp, which I probably wouldn't be able to hear since it's in the trunk. Going to check to see if it comes from the rear door tweeters as well. So you don't think it could still be a misprogramming error?

[Technic]

Originally Posted by SCtud

Well, I did figure out that the noise is coming directly from both tweeters (comes out as a hiss and the high pitch noise), so it's not physically coming from the amp, which I probably wouldn't be able to hear since it's in the trunk. Going to check to see if it comes from the rear door tweeters as well. So you don't think it could still be a misprogramming error?

What I meant is that the electrical noise from the tweeters could be induced somehow by either the fan (as it turns off some time after the car is shut down, matching the characteristics/timing of the noise on/off period) or by a combination of the fan and the wiring.

The problem with this noise is that it could be anywhere along the signal path between the amp and the tweeters, due to the programming, by moving wires around when the alarm was installed or by a combination of both. For example, the new programming alone is supposed to not induce noise, but perhaps the new programming and something else that was somehow dormant before is what it is inducing the noise.

[SCtud]

Oddly, the noise starts even before I start the car as well, so as soon as I unlock my doors, it starts up.

My car was pre-wired for an alarm so there were no new wires or movement of existing wires, so the only thing they did was attach the horn and reprogram. I'm not sure what is entailed when they program - maybe something isn't fully reconnected or something?

[Technic]

Originally Posted by SCtud

Oddly, the noise starts even before I start the car as well, so as soon as I unlock my doors, it starts up.

My car was pre-wired for an alarm so there were no new wires or movement of existing wires, so the only thing they did was attach the horn and reprogram. I'm not sure what is entailed when they program - maybe something isn't fully reconnected or something?

The OEM amp turns on by unlocking/opening the doors and trunk, not by turning the car on. The horn is located close to the OEM amp, in the rear left fender.

So something on either harness changed (alarm or OEM amp) or the OEM amp itself is causing the noise.

[SCtud]

Hm. Maybe I'll ask them to replace the oem amp and see if that helps...

[Technic]

Originally Posted by SCtud

Hm. Maybe I'll ask them to replace the oem amp and see if that helps...

The tech should be able to just test-swap your amp with a known working one and see if the noise goes away.

[SCtud]

in case anyone checks these boards rather than the m3post ones, there is some updated information and other users reporting this problem now (seems that it may be related to the software update).

i have also recorded the sound in a video. please see the other thread here:

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...=1#post6807023