couple of technical questions - 1990 325 touring

[AlfieN]

hello

i am new to e30s, as this is my first one.
it is a 1990 325 touring, and it is very nice, although has a few little niggles.

firstly, the central locking / remote central locking has issues.
when i first got the car, i tried locking it with the central locking button. It locked fine, but then sounded like it was trying to lock it again (could hear the relay clicking every 5-10 seconds) which would drain the battery. I pulled out the fuse for this as a temporary measure, although it means i have no 12v power supply or interior lights. anyone else experienced this? would like my lights and 12v power back without it draining the battery.

next, the central locking on the key was working fine up until yesterday. now, if i am locking the car, the key turns in the lock and it sounds like it clicks, but the none of the doors lock. to combat this i have to lock each door individually by pushing the pegs down, which is a pain. also, now the passenger side front door does not lock or unlock, as the peg will not pull up even if all the other doors are unlocked.
would the old red/black wire trick resolve this?

another one to mention is both the coolant and washer fluid check lights have come on. i have topped up both the coolant and washer fluid so that the levels are now fine, but both lights remain on. could it be the sensors?

finally, neither the front or rear screen washers work. if i hold the front washer on i get a tiny trickle from the right hand one, but nothing out the left. nothing happens at all if i push the rear wash button.
where would i start looking?

thank you for reading!
cheers,
Alfie

[Speedtouch]

Yes, the red/black wire trick is worth doing, on any E30.

The coolant level sensors do sometimes go duff, but check it's not dirty connections first, and if you have a multimeter, use it to measure the resistance of the sensor as you move the float - it should be open circuit with the float pushed up, and near to zero ohms with it dropped down.

Front screen washers not working may be a simple case of a blocked washer jet - try using a pin to poke the nozzles clear. Or, it may be a blocked one-way valve in the plumbing under the bonnet - usually, replacement is the only cure.

Rear wash problem sounds like either a blown fuse, loose connection to the pump or a seized motor.

[daimlerman]

Central locking.
Red/black wire mod
Remove the c/l control unit and remove it's cover.check if the thermal fuse is intact,if not,re-solder without adding solder.Also check for signs of water damage.
Front passenger door.
Strip the trim off,remove the latch from the door jamb and clean and lubricate all visible piviot points,then work by hand until action is smooth and light.Re-lubricate,wipe off excess and re-fit.
Driver's door.
As above,but also buy yourself a 'lock repair kit' from your local friendly dealer(about £20),this gives you a bag of bits to build yourself a brand new lock cylinder.

[AlfieN]

Quick point to mention, the passenger side door is locked shut. The key is different to the barrel so wont turn it, and you cant pull the pin up from inside the car.

I had an hour free today so removed the speaker to have a look whats down there. The wiring is a complete mess. Previous owner has badly fitted the speaker and some un-necessary tweeters, which were wired awfully. I removed the tweeter wiring and got rid of it.
also the CL relay was not mounted to anything, and the black casing was missing. When I tried turning the key on the lock, I couldnt hear any clicking from the relay. Could this be the issue?






also cant tell if the red/black wire mod is done, which wires do I look at?

Finally, I removed the doorcard to wd40 the locking mech to see if there was an issue there. Didnt seem to change anything. Although can anyone tell me what this wires for? Wasnt connected, im guessing maybe for heated mirrors or something.

[Speedtouch]

I would use some fine emery paper and if available, some electrical contact cleaner spray, to clean the relay contacts - gently press the relay contacts together as you pass the emery paper through in each direction.

Also see this:

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

[Grrrmachine]

also cant tell if the red/black wire mod is done, which wires do I look at?

I'll give you three guesses...

I think it would make sense to break this thread into several, as we won't fix all your issues in one go. So for now, let's focus on your central locking.

For starters, get used to using the Wiki. Almost everything people are saying in this thread is covered here:

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

For the door that won't open, try reading this:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... 27t_Unlock

[daimlerman]

I would suggest that you try one of the zone's traders for a replacement c/l unit!

Red/black wire mod.
Check behind the cavity where you found that 'orrible looking c/l unit,you are looking for the red/blacks that go to the pillar socket.This red/black wire loops through the driver's door,it is there to feed a heated door lock barrel,very,very few UK supplied cars came with this option.

I think the pair of spare wires you have found are for heated mirrors.

Your passenger door is rather more of a problem.
I would tackle it by first removing the seat(four bolts,slide the seat back for the front,forward for the rear)
This will give you a bit of room to work in to get the door trim off.
Once inside ,you will need to dis-connect the lock pin rod,probably by un-bolting part of the mech to give you some slack.In essence,all you do when operating the lock is to dis-connect the handles,in theory,the door should open from the inside,unless the deadlock is set...in this case,I think that removing the lock solinod may free things up.