Follow on from red/black wire central locking issue...

[bimmaman]

Ok, I've just spent the last half hour finding the red/black wire, cutting it, and joining it with the other red/black wire.

Central locking now works, but only if I lock it from the boot... If I try to lock it from the drivers door, the lock doesn't go down fully, and none of the other locks work. Then, if you lift the door handle, there's a clunking noise, and the door pin drops down properly.

If I lock the car from the boot, I can unlock it from the drivers door. I just cant seem to lock the car from the drivers door...

Any ideas?

[smithy318i]

I think that you just need to adjust the position of the solenoid inside the door.
To do this you will need to remove the door card and loosen the two 7mm bolts which hold the solenoid to the door.

adjust the position and try the locks again.















but i might be wrong.

[bimmaman]

Well I'll give it a go and see what happens

Cheers!

[bimmaman]

Well I had a look inside the door, and had a play with the mechanism. Didn't want to start removing stuff, cos it's bloody fiddly in there!

It seems the central locking works when i press/lift the door pin, but if I try to use the key in the door, it doesn't

Does this sound like a solenoid problem, or something else?

[devonboye30]

hi bimmaman i see ur from exeter i live just out side of exeter

[bimmaman]

Hiya mate, theres actually quite a few of us down this way... Have you been along to any of the meets yet?

[devonboye30]

no i havent yet m8 i havent had the car long.i saw a nice black e30 last saturday i think it was in dawlish warren

[eko]

no i havent yet m8 i havent had the car long.i saw a nice black e30 last saturday i think it was in dawlish warren

Whereabouts are you in Devon then mate?
Im in Newton Abbot and as Carl said above theres a good few zoners in the SouthWest now

[devonboye30]

im from sunny old dawlish m8.theres a few little things i need to do 4 the mot.its not a bad car as i was a freebee from someone i work with

[eko]

Might see you around sometime then

[bimmaman]

Something else I have noticed - when unlocked, the door lock pin on the drivers side sits lower down than the pin on the passenger side...

Does this sound like a solenoid problem?

Please help cos it's doing my head in having to lock the car from the boot!!

[Brianmoooore]

having to lock the car from the boot

Does it lock from the passenger door OK?

[bimmaman]

having to lock the car from the boot

Does it lock from the passenger door OK?

The passenger door lock has always been a bit tempremental (I think the locks must have been changed at some time, or I have a dodgy key), but to be honest, I haven't tried it! I figured it's further to walk all the way around the car, than just to the boot! I'll check at lunch time though (I'm at work at the moment).

[bimmaman]

having to lock the car from the boot

Does it lock from the passenger door OK?

Ok, just been out to test. Yes, car locks fine from passenger door. So it's only the drivers door I cannot lock the car from!

[Brianmoooore]

The basic problem is probably wear on the L shaped alloy piece on the back of the lock barrel, where it engages with the steel forks from the door catch.
Adjustment of the lock motor in its slotted holes is usually enough to sort it, but the steel forks can be bent outwards slightly to contact a fresh bit of the alloy arm.
Working inside the door is easy if you wedge/tape the glass in place, remove the four bolts and two nuts that hold the window winder in place and remove it.

[bimmaman]

The basic problem is probably wear on the L shaped alloy piece on the back of the lock barrel, where it engages with the steel forks from the door catch.
Adjustment of the lock motor in its slotted holes is usually enough to sort it, but the steel forks can be bent outwards slightly to contact a fresh bit of the alloy arm.
Working inside the door is easy if you wedge/tape the glass in place, remove the four bolts and two nuts that hold the window winder in place and remove it.

Cheers Brian, I have taken a pic and a video of the problem...




For some reason, turning the key doesn't push the fork down far enough, but if i stick a screwdriver in there, and push the fork down, it works... Will bending the forks help?? It seems that the spring on the back of the barrel seems to give in too easily, if that makes sense!!

[Brianmoooore]

Can't make out anything usefull from the vid or pic - to much out of focus.
Have you tried adjusting the lock motor in its slots?
Everything comes apart and goes back together easily, so get stuck in! This is BMW, not some French cr*p!
The lock barrel and deadlock switch are held in by a large U shaped clip that you remove by flipping it forwards with a long screwdriver through the appropriate hole in the inner door skin.

[bimmaman]

Sorted!

Just moved the motor in its slots, and seems to work ok now... Still not 100%, but at least I can now lock the car from the drivers door...

I think my locks must have been changed at some point, because they don't deadlock, and I have to wiggle the key in the boot/passenger locks to get them to work properly...

But I'm well happy! Thanks Brian!!

Maybe I could pick your brains just one more time while I'm here...

I thought I'd have a look at why my interior lights have never worked properly... It seems that the earth wire on the back of the door switch isn't connected to an earth... Live is still live, so I disconnected the earth wire from the switch, and now its earthing through the screw holding the switch in place...

So my interior lights now work, but what I would like to know is, is this ok as a bodge fix, or is it likely to break something else??

Again, thanks Brian!!

[Brianmoooore]

The deadlock switch is mounted on a plate that is held in place by the same large U clip that holds the lock barrel in place. The operating lever of the microswitch usually needs a small tweak to get it working properly for another fifeteen years. Deadlocks can only be set from the driver's door.
The second wire on the door pin switches operates the relay that allows your windows/roof to operate with the doors open. The only earth that the pin switches have is via the fixing screw.

[bimmaman]

The second wire on the door pin switches operates the relay that allows your windows/roof to operate with the doors open. The only earth that the pin switches have is via the fixing screw.

Oops!

Well I've been and reconnected the other wire...

I guess all the screwing/unscrewing has helped clean up the earth, as everything's now working as it should be

[bigredbmw]

just done this and my locks still arent workin ......................... can someone please get in touch with me about this on 07873862796 ask for paul and i will even ring u back if need be ............................ thanks .......................