Issues with central locking

[rturbo 930]

Hey guys, I just bought my E30, and it had a broken driver's door lock. It'd lock the truck, but not the door. It wouldn't unlock the trunk either. So I bought a rebuild kit from Pelican Parts, and installed it. It locks and unlocks the door... awesome! At first, it locked the trunk too, but wouldn't unlock it. Now it doesn't unlock it either. The central locking does do both locking and unlocking, right? I'm assuming you can lock/unlock both doors/trunk using any of the three.

I also noticed, it was really hard to turn it to the horizontal position, I'm guessing that's just a break in period though, since it already seems to be turning easier. Is that normal though?

If it matters, my car is missing the central locking solenoid from the pass. door... don't ask why, I just discovered it after investigating a noise. He also managed to mangle one of the bolt holes into the size of a fucking quarter while removing it...anyhow.

Also, anyone know what this little black box does, that comes into contact with one of the springs on the lock cylinder? It's the one in this pic:




So... ideas? Keep in mind, within 5 minutes, my central locking went from barely functioning (locking the trunk from driver's door) to not at all. No idea why.

[redhatpat]

That little black box is a heating element so your locks won't freeze up in winter. Most of the time, they're no longer functioning.

To double lock the lock takes more effort to move to the horizontal. That's normal, but i never use the double lock feature myself. It's probably only used on convertibles mostly.

You'll need to find out if the lock solenoid is getting triggered to unlock the doors. Look inside the door while you work the key to lock/unlock. You might need to adjust the solenoid position. That's easy, just 2 screws.

Otherwise, you'll need to test out the wiring for a short, not fun. That's the issue I'm having with mine, have had this issue ever since I bought my e30 6 years ago.

[Ceeker]

That little black box is a heating element so your locks won't freeze up in winter. Most of the time, they're no longer functioning.

To double lock the lock takes more effort to move to the horizontal. That's normal, but i never use the double lock feature myself. It's probably only used on convertibles mostly.

You'll need to find out if the lock solenoid is getting triggered to unlock the doors. Look inside the door while you work the key to lock/unlock. You might need to adjust the solenoid position. That's easy, just 2 screws.

Otherwise, you'll need to test out the wiring for a short, not fun. That's the issue I'm having with mine, have had this issue ever since I boughthttp://www.r3vlimited.com/board/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=2834309 my e30 6 years ago.

that is NOT the heating element; the heating element is attached too the "C" shaped bracket you see in the other pic. That "black box" is a microswitch responsible for the interior light delay when getting into the car. Usually they don't work after some time. the "C" bracket is much thicker with a wire and plug at the end to plug into the door harness. this model doesn't have it. it's activated by pulling up on the door handle and holding it for about 5 sec. The element heats up the handle and lock and deices the lock. Most cases the element is functional but the micro switch which activates it isn't.

If the double lock or "dead bolt" feature is giving you problems after a rebuild, one of two things is the problem. 1) the mech of the lock itself wasn't greased enough and 2) the mech which the small arm from the lock fits into need lubrication. under normal use it might be a bit of effort but not after a rebuild. As for models, it doesn't matter which model e30 you have it was part of their early anti theft feature. along with the OBC code lockout.

if you are missing the door lock actuator from the passenger side lock then it won't work on that side. Get another one and then try the system again.

last thing; if you try to lock unlock in rapid succession the Control unit will disable further trying to prevent over heating the circuits. it's a safety feature. give a rest and try it again. it should work.

[rturbo 930]

You'll need to find out if the lock solenoid is getting triggered to unlock the doors. Look inside the door while you work the key to lock/unlock. You might need to adjust the solenoid position. That's easy, just 2 screws.

Otherwise, you'll need to test out the wiring for a short, not fun. That's the issue I'm having with mine, have had this issue ever since I bought my e30 6 years ago.

Will do that. Or rather, have my dad do it. I am completely useless when it comes to wiring.

If the double lock or "dead bolt" feature is giving you problems after a rebuild, one of two things is the problem. 1) the mech of the lock itself wasn't greased enough and 2) the mech which the small arm from the lock fits into need lubrication. under normal use it might be a bit of effort but not after a rebuild. As for models, it doesn't matter which model e30 you have it was part of their early anti theft feature. along with the OBC code lockout.

Upon further inspection, I think it's just the spring. I looked inside the door to see what, if anything was causing it, and just looking at how it works, I think it's just because the spring is new, and stiff. I'd be surprised if it needed more lubrication, as I was pretty liberal.

if you are missing the door lock actuator from the passenger side lock then it won't work on that side. Get another one and then try the system again.

Think I'll just have to live without it. Like I said, the hole is pretty mangled thanks to the PO.

last thing; if you try to lock unlock in rapid succession the Control unit will disable further trying to prevent over heating the circuits. it's a safety feature. give a rest and try it again. it should work.

I don't think that's what caused it to stop working. I've tried it a few times since, and it still hasn't worked. But I did discover that if I lock my passenger door, the trunk locks! Driver's door still won't lock from the pass. door or trunk, and nothing will unlock using the central locking, still.

Will check the wiring shortly, and see what I find. Thanks for the info, guys.