power door locks on cabrio

[Ceeker]

ok, so when I got the car my door locks didn't work. I managed to replace the control unit and all locks worked. I can lock and unlock the car from the trunk and passenger side. But I can only lock and unlock the car sometimes from the drivers side. I also changed the drivers actuator when I replaced the control unit. The actuator seems lazy.

So..., I changed the door lock actuator on the drivers side again and I get nothing. I put the old one back in and although it opens the car door the rest of the locks don't work. the actuator works because again I can lock all the locks from the trunk and passenger door.

Could this be related to the microswitch connected to the door handle. I have the heated lock option. I did notice that when I was in there the harness was unplugged. When I plugged it in I noticed something smoking so I unplugged it quickly. it did look to be coming from the microswitch area.

anyone have experience with this? any help would be appreciated. thx

[shootnjunky]

interested as well. mine does this same thing.

[Ceeker]

Bump...anyone??

[Ceeker]

Well it looks like the problem is in the a pillar. There is a pin block inside the door jam. Just a matter of figuring out which pin is corroded or bad.

[shootnjunky]

Please post your results

[reelizmpro]

That's a common problem with the central locking...the door jamb pin terminals. Try your best to clean/resurface them all. If it's really bad, you may have to replace them.

[Ceeker]

ok it's been a while since I posted here. I have found that if your locks aren't working right the first thing to check would be the fuse; the system does have an over load protection relay to cut the circuit off when used repetitively. if the fuse is good then I'd go to the pin block inside the door jam near the door brake and check both of them for corrosion. I've had this problem twice and in both cases it was either the pin block in the drivers side or passenger side that had some pins corroded which hampered the proper function of the door lock synchronization. Lock would work on drivers or passenger side depending on which one was bad. If the pins are good, then test the lock actuators inside the doors. if the actuators are working then check your control module behind the speaker panel next to the foot well on the drivers side. I have also encountered the module become faulty.

note: if you have trouble getting the male end of the plug out of the door jam there is a very good chance corrosion has set in. You might need to get creative to remove it. lots of spray lube a small pair of vise grips on either tab to pull. once pins are replaced or cleaned use a dielectric grease on the outer body of the plastic housing as well as cover the female pin ends - then install it back in. Test fit to make sure removal for next time won't be troublesome.

Sorry for the lengthy post.

[dnguyen1963]

Here is a link to A-Pillar removal.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/BMW-3-Series-E46/67-BODY-A_Pillar_Trim_Replacement/67-BODY-A_Pillar_Trim_Replacement.htm

[Ceeker]

Here is a link to A-Pillar removal.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tech...eplacement.htm

sorry..my bad...didn't mean A pillar I mean door jamb. I corrected my post. thank you.