MAAAAJOR CENTRAL LOCKING PROB

[do-drift-1]

Itried everything i can think of so far from checking fuses to to checking micro switches in the doors, to checking where the central locking relay is supposed to be behind the speaker on the drivers side, only to find thats not there, ive no money to get an auto electrician out and cant lock my car so really am ina right ole 2 and 8 about it, any help would be great, oh forgot to mention both passenger and drivers side doors are de-locked, just to add to the fun, again cheers in advance, Richard

[schnaarf]

can't you lock them manually until you get it sorted?

[TouringTash]

Get a C/L module, do the red wire mod (please search) and then connect the module.
If the module is missing and someone was daft enough to remove the locks have you checked that the solenoids are in place?

Did you buy the car like this?
What did the previous owner say about it?

[do-drift-1]

He didnt say anything as he was a complete retard and i thought we'll it'll be ok for a while how wrong i was, and as the doors are de-locked i cant lock it manually, also as i discovered lastnight the door pins wont push down, so not sure where the central locking relay is located, gonna have a look at the connections on the solenoids today but as i say not sure whats causing it as it was working before newyears and suddenly stopped working and then started again and now wont lock at all and its not just the doors its affected its the filler cap lock and the bootlid too :S, i can opn the boot manually, but thats about it. . . . cheers so far

[TouringTash]

if the CL module is not located behind the drivers side footwell speaker panel, the central locking couldn't have worked. Is the car in full order apart from this issue. From your name is the car complete or stripped for the track?
Have you checked the fuses?

Where are you located?

[do-drift-1]

im located in south wales the car is in pretty much full working order there are a few other niggles that i have to get round to fixing, but the central locking has just shuffled its way to the top of the pile, the car isn't stripped for track use, and i have checked all the fuses and there's no evidence of fuses burning out. . .

[do-drift-1]

for now anyway im concentrating on getting her mechanically and now electrically sound before any track use tbh

[daimlerman]

You can access the petrol filler flap by removing the trim on the side of the boot and then removing/operating the locking motor.

The C/L relay lives in the driver's side sill,just under/below the radio speaker grill,this holds good for LHD as well!

Does read as if you may have a connector issue at the multi pin socket in one or more door pillars,though.

[Brianmoooore]

1) All the locks should release from the boot.
2) If the fuel flap is locked, the ECU is in there somewhere! Should be under a plastic panel, immediately below the driver's speaker. Fixing screws can be seen on the inner sill.
3) If the door pins won't release, it's likely that the ECU has become flooded, and done its trick of setting both the locks and the deadlocks, then burning the lock motors out. Sounds like you already have the door cards off, so unscrew the two small self tappers that hold the lock motors (hidden just under the rear edge of the cards), and see if the actuator rod can be moved by hand.
With the lock motors unscrewed you should be able to move the interior lock pins.
4) When you find the ECU, unplug it, and connect a 21W 12 volt bulb between the red/black and the brown wires of its connector. It should light at full brightness.

[do-drift-1]

righty i think i found it under a plastc panel im sorry if i sound such a noob but auto electrics really isnt a speciality of mine and i am still learning the in's and outs of e30's without a manual atm as money is tight, so i will fish out the ecu as it is bellow the plastic panel where you said it would be, just to make sure it is quite a long black cointainer isnt it?, cheers and regards Richard

[TouringTash]

Thats it, where are you based fella just local major city would do, as no need to say any more than needed. Its a straight forward fix if you can follow instructions to the letter, pictures with arrows can be supplied though you should have a soldering iron, and a half decent one and a few other simple tools, screwdrivers, wire cutters, solder and a lamp with wire attached which is a nice little job to start with. All this stuff is easy if you take your time.

[do-drift-1]

im based just off the a470 approx 14 miles out sid e of cardiff, diagrams with arrows etc etc this could be the answer to my prayers tbh as my older bro does guitar electrics, and so if he had the piccies im sure he could do something with it as he has the lamp and the proper soldering wire not that crappy tin shite that always degrades and breaks after time, im gonna pop the uni out now and order the spare doors on monday, gonna give fritz bits a ring too tomoz as im gonna need them to hold them for me, im getting them because i cant have my doors unlockable/lockable, so need doors with locks on, again cheers so far, Richard

[TouringTash]

Whats the car fella? Colour, door count?

[do-drift-1]

its a bmw 316i body on 325i running gear, its a 3 door in white, hence the panic about the central locking on the front passenger and drivers doors, oh and ive managed to pull the rod back on the filler cap lock so thats all good, just gotta sort this central locking issue and ill be well away , cheers for all your brain picking advice so far again guys, regards Richard

[TouringTash]

HTH.
Just post here when you need any answers fella there is normally a turd being fragged only 25 paces away.

[do-drift-1]

so what do i do about the central locking unit once out as im not to privy with the boards and shiz and not sure what to do to it :S and i have to explain to my older bro what to do as he will be doing the work on it, so this question remains as its out what do i need to do to the board?

[TouringTash]

so what do i do about the central locking unit once out as im not to privy with the boards and shiz and not sure what to do to it :S and i have to explain to my older bro what to do as he will be doing the work on it, so this question remains as its out what do i need to do to the board?

1) All the locks should release from the boot.
2) If the fuel flap is locked, the ECU is in there somewhere! Should be under a plastic panel, immediately below the driver's speaker. Fixing screws can be seen on the inner sill.
3) If the door pins won't release, it's likely that the ECU has become flooded, and done its trick of setting both the locks and the deadlocks, then burning the lock motors out. Sounds like you already have the door cards off, so unscrew the two small self tappers that hold the lock motors (hidden just under the rear edge of the cards), and see if the actuator rod can be moved by hand.
With the lock motors unscrewed you should be able to move the interior lock pins.
4) When you find the ECU, unplug it, and connect a 21W 12 volt bulb between the red/black and the brown wires of its connector. It should light at full brightness.

Carry out item 4 on the list above.
Then get your brother to read and follow to the letter the tasks asked and relay the results back here.
This for you will be fun and educational as it will be passing the info between your screen and brother then getting to see what is done without getting frustrated.

[Brianmoooore]

4) When you find the ECU, unplug it, and connect a 21W 12 volt bulb between the red/black and the brown wires of its connector. It should light at full brightness.

Carry out item 4 on the list above.

Also, open up the ECU and see if there's signs of water damage inside.

[do-drift-1]

by the light of my torch i got it out and well i found the source of the prob it wasnt water logged it was a broken solder join so hopefully ill have a lend of a soldering iron and some solder tomoz to get it sorted and then im back in biz i hope, fingers crossed for me aye :S

[Brianmoooore]

If that "broken solder joint" is a spring like thing soldered to a resistor on end in the corner of the PCB, that's not a fault - it's a thermal fuse. DO NOT ADD NORMAL SOLDER if you 'repair' it. Only use the existing stuff, which is a special low melting point mix.
The thermal fuse will have tripped for a reason!

[do-drift-1]

ahhh hmmmm dont want that happening again, my older bro has worked on pcb boards loads and uses lead solder, which is better than the tin stuff they use in industry but if its better to use whats on there then ill use that, ill also check to see what may have caused it to trip its probably gonna be a case of me forgoing the central locking al together and buying manual lock doors for now, until i can afford to fix it properly :S

[do-drift-1]

the only other thing i could think that would have caused the fuse to break like that is the fact that beacause of the foul weather down here i havent had chance to sort out the alternator issue as well so having to change the battery all the time and the sudden jolt through the system may have shorted it (finally) either that or there is a fault in the alarm system as fritz bits advised i had the system taken out, prob with that is how do i lock and unlock the vehicle :S

[Brianmoooore]

3) If the door pins won't release........ unscrew the two small self tappers that hold the lock motors (hidden just under the rear edge of the cards), and see if the actuator rod can be moved by hand.
With the lock motors unscrewed you should be able to move the interior lock pins.
4) When you find the ECU, unplug it, and connect a 21W 12 volt bulb between the red/black and the brown wires of its connector. It should light at full brightness.

Done these?

[TouringTash]

do drift

JUST FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN.

[do-drift-1]

i didnt release/lock the door pins from the boot lock when i was locking/unlocking the car, however i, have just soldered the piece back together, ive yet to do the bulb thingy that will have to be done on sunday as im in work tonight and tomorrow, im following instructions as and when ive got a min do do them so its a procedure per day atm, but i am listening just a lil nervous about these thigs bare with me is this car is my daily, but hey gotta learn in the deep end if i really want to learn to swim. . ., cheers again guys

[Brianmoooore]

Soldering the 'piece' back together isn't high on the agenda at the moment, since tests need to be done BEFORE the ECU is plugged back in!
I can sort this problem easily, but if you want me to do that, you must do EXACTLY what I ask, in the exact order I say, and exactly as I say to do it, which will be as I would do myself if the car was in my workshop.

[do-drift-1]

sos for a miss spell/ typo there the boot lid didnt unlock the door pins i was mean to say :S

[do-drift-1]

im not igonrign advice and i will follow it to the letter sunday as im in work tomorrow, the unit hasnt been water logged as it could have been easily with the bad weather we've all had, and the snow and ice. However it would appear that the solenoids are firing up and dow as they should, i know i should do a proper job and youve been more than a help to me, brianmoooore, i know quick fixes never get the job done properly this is only a short term measure till sunday then ill get the bulb on it as you've asked and double check the solenoids and go through the procedure step by step, cheers again and sorry if im frustrating you in any way.