325i Sport Door Lock (Won't open!)

[Ajay325]

Afternoon everybody,

I've returned to the zone after a long break of not owning an E30, and now require your expertise with a very common problem which is driving me to the brink of insanity!

The passenger side lock on my Sport is jammed shut (not deadlocked). The key will turn slightly clockwise within the passenger lock (enough to activate the central locking and lock the drivers side + boot), but will not turn anti-clockwise to unlock the door.

It is also impossible to pull the pin up from within the cabin of the car.

Driver's side lock works fine. The car is fitted with a Toad alarm which will unlock everything on the car apart from the passenger door.

My current thoughts are as such:

1) Red/black wire fix?
2) Does the relay need replacing?
3) Will WD40 work? If so, why?
4) Do I need to rebuild the lock barrel (this is the option i dread)

Thank you very much in advance guys. Will hopefully get some pictures of the car up soon! It's in superb condition.

Ajay

[Grrrmachine]

What can happen is the actuator seizes up, which in turn will make the door impossible to unlock. This may be caused by the central locking system getting damp and sending a deadlock signal to that actuator only, or it could just have died, but either way I'd expect that to be the source of your problems.

To sort it out you need to get the doorcard off, and that's quite tricky to do without being able to open the door. Some will recommend removing the seat on that side so that you've got more work space, but here's how to get the cards off:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... _Door_Card

With that off, you should be able to see the two hex screws that hold the actuator in place (bottom corner closest to the B-pillar). Just undo those, and you should be able to lift up the pin to unlock the door, so that you can then explore inside the door and retrieve the actuator.

[Ajay325]

Right, a friend of mine managed to get the door card off and the actuator is fine.

However, the driver's side C404 plug is corroded and I think one of the pins may be missing. What're my options? Do I need to wire in new male and female plugs, or is there another alternative?

Thanks once again.

Ajay

[daimlerman]

I would replace the plugs,all the bits should be available new via your dealer.

It would also be worthwhile stripping the latch mech out of the door jamb to clean and lubricate it.This bit,at least,is free if you DIY!

[Brianmoooore]

If the actuator is free to move, then the door isn't dead locked, and should unlock on the key, without any assistance from the electrically powered actuator.
What has probably happened is that the mechanism has partly seized through lack of lubrication, but has worked OK with assistance from the actuator. Now the actuator has lost its electrical power (door socket pins), and the key barrel is unable to overcome the friction on its own.
Repairing the door socket pins will probably restore operation, but still won't address the underlying problem, which will need a strip down and lubricating session to sort.