E30 Zone

Hi there guys

Right, I have a bit of an issue with a door, basically the passenger door is locked all of the time, the pin won't move up with the C/L or manually, the interior handle is stuck and the external handle just moves as if the door is locked. Has anyone else had this?

Its a 91 316 btw.

Cheers in advance for any info.

Mark.

have you had the interior door card off? maybe just stuck? get some wd40 in there and see what happens.

when you get it open grease the lock up nice

Sounds like it's deadlocked. Take the door card off and remove the two small self tappers that hold the lock motor to the door inner panel. (Just under the edge of the doorcard.)
If this releases the lock mechanism, then you'll be making progress.

Cheers guys, I can see I'm going to have fun getting the door card off, door being locked shut and all Anything I should be aware of? The door cards on the e36 are very easy to break, how do the e30 cards fair?

Cards come off without damage, as long as you use a suitable tool for the trim buttons. (Which won't be easy with the door shut.)
I'd consider removing the seat first.

Before wrecking the door panel trying to get it off with the door shut, Take the plastic button off and clamp a pair of mole grips on the exposed metal rod and give it a few good yanks, If you do manage to get it open replace the CDL solenoid.

have you checked all the fuses anmd the central locking relay in the front speaker pod ? may be worth a shot first

Cheers guys, I will have a good look at the car. To be honest, I picked it up for a good price and its just sat on the drive until I can get the time to do the work on it, I was hoping that there was some common fault

I would presume that if it was the central locking solenoid, relay or a power issue then the door could still be opened manually, thats the normal case if a solenoid went, but this is just locked.

Good call on the mole grips and the seat

Jeepster wrote:Cheers guys, I will have a good look at the car. To be honest, I picked it up for a good price and its just sat on the drive until I can get the time to do the work on it,

This is information you didn't tell us before, and changes things somewhat!
If the car was deadlocked the last time the locking worked, you should not be able to open the passenger door, either from inside or out. That's what deadlocks do!
What does the driver's door work like? You should be able to open this mechanically, even if the deadlocks were engaged, but the lock will have a completely different 'feel' to it depending on whether the locking is working or not.
Does the boot lock and unlock with the driver's door?

Fair point Brian, I didn't intend to mislead, it just didn't enter my head that it would be relevant. Don't get me wrong, I am aware what the point of deadlocks is ;) I am reasonably mechanically minded, I have done all of the work on my GT myself.

I have just tried the lock in the drivers door, now I have 2 e30's, my touring the drivers lock when turned 90 degrees anti-clockwise locks the car and almost springs back to the upright position, this one however just turns anti-clockwise and the key remains there. Very much like its deadlocked, the lock does feel different. I have noticed that when the car is locked and un-locked the passenger door pin does move a bit, not enough to open the car though. I haven't tried the mole-grips yet, but it won't move by hand.

So it seems it is stuck deadlocked.

Jeepster wrote: I have just tried the lock in the drivers door, now I have 2 e30's, my touring the drivers lock when turned 90 degrees anti-clockwise locks the car and almost springs back to the upright position, this one however just turns anti-clockwise and the key remains there.

If the key is withdrawn from the driver's door with the key horizontal, then the deadlocks should be set. If the key is withdrawn when it's vertical, then the deadlocks should not be set.
I think your problem may be located on the driver's side of the car rather than the passenger side!
First of all, remove the speaker in the driver's footwell, lift out the plastic piece below it, unscrew two small self tappers on the inner sill, and lift out the locking ECU, complete with its mounting bracket.
Connect a 12 volt lamp of at least a few watts between the red/black wire and brown wire that go to the ECU, to check whether power is reaching the unit. Don't use a meter, as it will give misleading results.
If this is OK, I think the problem could be with the driver's lock barrel assembly.
I strongly suggest you leave the mole grips in the toolbox!

Brilliant Brian, thanks for your input

Ok I've checked the power, the test lamp is lighting up, seems it could be this ecu. I am going to swop over the one I have in the touring and see what that does.

I've just found out the passenger window doesn't work either, I am presuming that this is a related issue, could this be the Red/Black wire mode issue?

If the test lamp consumes several watts, and is lighting to full brightness, then the red/black wires are not the problem, although the relevant mod. should be done in any case.
The window not working as well, suggests it could be a major problem with the passenger door plug and socket on the door hinge pillar, where all the wiring from the door plugs in. You'll have to get the door open by releasing the locking motor from its fixings before you can open the door to get at it though.

Cheers Brian, I think I am going to just ebay it as it is. One of those times, bit busy and I need to be doing other things. If it was a straight forward thing and I had the time, then I would do it, but for this car its simply not worth me spending hours, possibly wrecking the door card and having to fork out for new parts.

Thanks for the help.