erratic central locking on my 320i cab!

[Rosc0PColtrane]

I have a clifford concept 300 alarm on my cab. Needles to say it operates the central locking.

Recently, the central locking has been playing up. Sometimes it will decide to lock the occupants in the car. Sometimes the alarm will disarm but the car will not unlock. At that point when using the key to open the car, the drivers door will unlock but not the passengers.

Could it be damp getting into relay? If anyone has had a similar experience I would love to hear from you!

[Daryll]

My central locking is playing up as well. But I don't have an alarm yet (for any TWOCERS lurking in on here I have a 12 bore, a bulldog who can be a bit partial to human flesh, CCTV, IR sensors all over the driveways and I'm rather tasty with my baseball bat)

Drivers side locks the drivers but not the passenger
Then I go round and lock the passenger

But if you lock the passenger door 1st
then lock the drivers door
the passenger door then unlocks itself

The boot doesn't lock unlock with either of the doors.

Unlocking is fine though. Wierd

[Andy_magic]

I had a similar problem on my old 320i It would only lock the all the doors if I turned the drivers lock all the way to the deadlock position and then left some pressure on the key. Ifyou know what I mean.

I haven't looked into this fault as the car was replaced with a better one, but on the majority of central locking systems I've worked on problems like these have been down to a dodgy motor in the drivers door. The switches inside them wear out or go out of adjustment and stop working.

I've just had a snout in the power windows/locks wiring diagram I've got and the drivers door lock motor has a yellow-blue wire that tells the central locking control unit to lock all doors. The green-blue wire is unlock.
If the boot doesn't lock or unlock the power supply (not the lock/unlock signal) is probably dead or the motor itself. Time to get the meter out!

[Rosc0PColtrane]

I thought as much. Is it easy to get at? Behind the door cards right?

[Andy_magic]

Fraid so mate!

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Aren't they a complete nightmare?

[Andy_magic]

They look it, like I say I replaced my car so never got round to doing it.

Probably more fiddly than anything else.

[Rosc0PColtrane]

bugger, so little time, so much to do!!! That and the sticky wipers on intermitant. I see thats going to be an afternoon job!

Oh well, lets see if I have the patience!!!

Cheers for the input, keep posting!

[gareth320]

My central locking is doing the exact same thing. I'm gonna fix it in about an hour(fingers crossed!) so i'll let you know how i get on. The wiper fault is easy enough to fix its just grease or corrosion on the contacts inside it. Grease from the worm drive or corrosion on the contacts that tell it where to stop thats all tho if memory serves you can kiss all your knuckles goodbye getting the motor out !

[Widge]

Guys before you start taking doorcards out, which is quite easy, check the door to A pillar connection isn't corroded. The rubber boot can trap moisture causing the pins to corrode which is what gives the intemittent problems as some times it connect and some times it doesnt. Just wire a bit of wire throught the connector and soldeit on each side with a bit of heat shrink. If you ever need to remove the door just cut through it!

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Guys before you start taking doorcards out, which is quite easy, check the door to A pillar connection isn't corroded. The rubber boot can trap moisture causing the pins to corrode which is what gives the intemittent problems as some times it connect and some times it doesnt. Just wire a bit of wire throught the connector and soldeit on each side with a bit of heat shrink. If you ever need to remove the door just cut through it!

Where abouts is this connector, near the door hinge?

[Rosc0PColtrane]

My central locking is doing the exact same thing. I'm gonna fix it in about an hour(fingers crossed!) so i'll let you know how i get on. The wiper fault is easy enough to fix its just grease or corrosion on the contacts inside it. Grease from the worm drive or corrosion on the contacts that tell it where to stop thats all tho if memory serves you can kiss all your knuckles goodbye getting the motor out !

Nice one mate!!!

[Widge]

Yeah it goes from the door to the car and has a rubber boot covering it.
Also Apparenly this is a solution as there is a wire that goes in to the door and out again without being used, I think it was a power supply for those magnetic key 80's security systems

Brianmoooore says
"Would think you have a poor connection in the 12V+ feed to the locking ECU, reducing the voltage to the lock solenoids.
Probable cause is one or other of the pins connected to the red/black wires in the drivers door pillar plug and socket.
Permanent cure - Remove loudspeaker from drivers footwell and find the two red/black wires going to the door socket. Cut them both from the socket, and join them together"

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Ok spot on mate. Will be investigating shortly!

[Widge]

That's what I thought, I have all this knowledge (really??) and 6 months later and I still am meaning to fix the erattic c/locking!!

[Danstable]

I've just been trying to chop the red/black wires and join them together, I have one problem however. I seem to have three red/black wires going into the drivers door socket.

One of them is seperate to the main loom that enters the socket, when I wiggle this wire the control unit clicks on and off. I therefore assume this is one of the wires I should cut, but which is the other?

I also can't seem to get the socket to disconnect, any tips?

[Andy_magic]

I found to get the white plug out the easiest way was to get a large pair of pliers and pull the catches inwards and towards myself.

It usually takes a couple of goes but you'll get there in the end.

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Any updates on the central locking investigation?

[Danstable]

Yep, I sorted the control unit as per the tech article, then soldered on a wire to bypass the connector in the A-pillar for the red/black wire that is at one of the bottom corners of the connector. I think if it wasn't for my drivers door barrell being damaged, my central locking would be working. As it is, the fronts work but the rears don't. Brian Moore (I think thats his name/ username) suggested that the drivers barrell controls the rest of the locks and that if this has been twisted, things may be out of allignment I think.

Not sure how this relates to both front doors working, if it was just the drivers door that worked then I could understand it a little more.

Have a look for other recent posts on the subject, there seems to be info scattered between about 4 topics.

ONE FOR THE MODS: Is there any way that we could compile all the usefull info on central locking problems into one super topic? It seems that central locking systems are droppping like flies at the moment!

[Widge]

UPDATE!!!!!

Ok after fixing my headlight wash wipers on sunday I thought I could fix any thing, so I started to investigate the c/locking thingy. I managed to lock the car on the dead locks but then it wouldn't un lock!! agggggggghhhhhhhhh
It has only been playing up once a week ish and when it refuses to lock from the drivers door it would always lock from the boot/passenger door.
So i took off the boot and connector to find that some one has soldered a jumper across the red/black wire, so thats not the problem.
I then had a look at the ecu for the locking and that was fine.
So the c/locking now refuses to work at all, the passenger door is dead locked, but luckily the driver door has opened on the key but will not lock now. I'm stuck with an unlocked driver door and a dead locked passenger door

[Danstable]

Oh it all sounds soooooo familiar! I'm pretty much as stumped as you I'm afraid.

[Widge]

Bugger
It was my bottom pin that was corroded too!I really need to get it sorted out, I'm worried about my cd player going walkies.

[Danstable]

I wouldn't worry, the thieves round my way are that thick they just smash their way in through a side window, fail to open the locks from the inside, so then try screwdrivering the passenger door lock. They didn't get in and all they had to do was try the drivers door!

BMW's, secure even when not locked!

[Andy_magic]

That must be where the expression "Thick as Thieves" comes from.

[Rosc0PColtrane]

any more updates?

[Danstable]

No more updates other than my rear doors won't unlock. The fronts opperate with both the key in the drivers door, and the blipper, but the rears won't budge. It does sound like the rears do something when I use the key, none of the locks are straining as such.

I'm hoping that once the garage replaces my lock barrells the rear doors will magically open so that they can replace my rear quarter light window. Its been suggested that some microswitch thingy on the back of the barrell may be out of allignment, causing the correct signal not to be sent from the drivers door......but then I'm confused as to why the passenger side seems to work ok.

I haven't checked to see if the petrol flap and boot are locking/unlocking.

One thing that has occurred to me is that I disconnected the control unit with the battery still connected, this can apparently bugger the control unit. I have a spare so will swap them over and see if this sorts the problem, although I would have thought it would stop working completely rather than simply deciding not to opperate the rear doors.

HELP!!!

[beemerboy2]

i hav been havin a prob wit my central lockin but i noticed that there is a noice comin from a little box in the drivers footwell wen the problem is occurin
ne ideas

[Widge]

You probably need a new one of them then!
Does it look like this?

[Danstable]

Do the four and five doors have a different control unit to the two doors?

[Widge]

Dunno

[Widge]

Right got my new (ish/er) control box today, Thanks 320touring
Plugged it in without the battery connected, and voila fixed!!!
Whoppeeeeeee

Hope this helps.

[beemerboy]

yeah thats wat it looks like shud i jst get a new one then