Installing Mini Cooper (R50/53) OE Alarm Retrofit Kit

The Mini Cooper OEM Alarm Retrofit Kit allows the addition of the OE alarm system to cars that did not come equipped from the factory. My car was pre-wired from the factory so the kit was almost plug-and-play easy except that the alarm has to be activated by the dealer. There are different alarm models for different build date cars so be sure to get the correct part number for your car. My car has a 12/04 build date so it has the kit that includes the alarm siren with integrated tilt sensor and bracket, the interior motion sensor, and the new wiper stalk with alarm indicator.

This write-up was helpful to me but is for the older alarm with separate tilt sensor: http://home.comcast.net/~sfconnell/mods/alarm/home.htm

Standard Disclaimer: ANY USE OF THIS INFORMATION BY YOU IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. I ASSUME NO LIABILITY FOR YOUR USE OF THE BELOW INFORMATION.

I went ahead and assembled the siren/bracket and laid out all the parts:

Interior Motion Sensor Installation:

Behind the rear sunroof you will see the mount/cover for the interior motion sensor. I used an old hotel key card to get it started and unsnapped it from the headliner:

You will see the plug plugged into a dummy connector, unplug this:

Install the motion sensor into the mount, it will only go one way so you have a 50% chance at getting it right the first time ;-) Note the arrow, this should point toward the front of the car when reinstalled:

Plug in the sensor and snap the mount/cover back on to the headliner:

Siren Installation

The plug for the siren is located to the left of and behind the ABS module on the passenger side under the hood. It would be tough to locate if you did not know it was there. I think they found the most bitter, anti-DIY person in the Mini factory and his job is to tape this connector up J LOTS of tape, I found it easiest to carefully slice with a razor blade and use my angle needle nose pliers to rip off. Remove as much tape as possible to free the plug:

Once the plug is free, an adhesive cover is removed from a mounting bolt hole:

After making sure the siren is securely fastened to the bracket with the supplied nut (10mm wrench), the siren plug can be plugged into the siren and the bracket maneuvered into place. The top bracket hole slides over the mounting bolt and the supplied nut is loosely installed. The lower mounting hole is aligned with the bolt hole and the bolt is installed using a ¼” handle, extension and 10mm socket. (Installation Trick- To get the bolt to stay in the socket while being lowered/aligned/started in the bolt hole, use one VERY small drop of superglue to attach the socket to the bolt. As the bolt is tightened, the superglue bond will break and allow the socket to be removed):

Stalk Installation

First, I removed the rubber surrounding the key hole- it is just press fit into a channel:

Two screws holding the lower steering column cover on are removed using a T25 Torx driver:

Two screws holding the upper steering column cover and tachometer on are removed with the same T25 Torx driver:

At this point the only thing holding the upper and lower covers on and together are some snaps, one on either side at the front and one on either side just behind the tach and keyhole. By pressing the upper cover together at the seam where the covers meet the lower cover can be pulled down and unsnapped from the top. You just need enough room to access a single Phillips head screw to remove the stalk:

After removing the screw, the stalk can be pulled out and the plug unplugged by pressing the two release tabs:

The new stalk is plugged in and reinstalled. Dash reassembly is reverse of disassembly. Done :

Total time to install was less than an hour. Unlike the BMW alarm retrofit kits, there is no instant gratification after installing the Mini kit- the light will not work and the siren will not chirp. The alarm retrofit will need to be coded at the dealer, usual charge is ~1 hour of labor.