has anyone ever fixed their central locking on an e30?

[TDE30]

well, personnaly having rebuild a couple doors i can say that the biggest problem EVERYONE faces are the grommits that the rods go through when hinging on the levers.
After 20 years they ALL fall appart and this leaves for a LOT of room for movement. Order a bunch extra because they are hard as hell to install and you will destroy a few in the process.

Second, i have rebuilt the tumblers. Rather pull them appart, clean them throughly and rebuild liberatlly with grease. Worked on three that i have done.
The problem i'm stuck with is my keys are worn down over time and arent exactly the best match to the lock anymore. Need to do something about this.

The little rubber discs? I replaced them, I think there were four and that did help out quite a bit too.

Good idea on rebuilding the tumbler, I may eventually give that a try with the passenger's door. Do you have any recommendation on the lock actuators? I need to replace my driver's rear actuator due to the age-old buzzing noise, there's no quick fix/shortcut around spending another $100 is there?

[xLibelle]

well, personnaly having rebuild a couple doors i can say that the biggest problem EVERYONE faces are the grommits that the rods go through when hinging on the levers.
After 20 years they ALL fall appart and this leaves for a LOT of room for movement. Order a bunch extra because they are hard as hell to install and you will destroy a few in the process.

Second, i have rebuilt the tumblers. Rather pull them appart, clean them throughly and rebuild liberatlly with grease. Worked on three that i have done.
The problem i'm stuck with is my keys are worn down over time and arent exactly the best match to the lock anymore. Need to do something about this.

[TDE30]

Has anyone replaced the drivers side door lock on their e30. Is this something im going to have to get from the dealer. I busted my lock and now it wont turn at all.

You need a new tumbler, the lock cylinder is ~$70 from the dealer, I recommend buying it.

For everyone else's CL issues, I replaced my lock cylinder and lock actuator for the driver's door and the thing feels like brand new. Granted the parts were both new (setting me back roughly $160-170) you cannot undervalue the price of being able to get into your own vehicle.

Also, another culprit might be a bent rod somewhere in the door. Removing the door panel and giving everything a once over should be step number one before you order any of the aforementioned parts.

[xLibelle]

i've heard that if one of the locking mechanisms is malfunctioning, it will send strange reactions into the rest of the system.

[lowlightbw]

i have the same "turn to the right and get jammed problem." everything else works fine with my locking system. im going to try the wd40 trick and then, just replace the actuator if that doesnt work.

[Zues]

Has anyone replaced the drivers side door lock on their e30. Is this something im going to have to get from the dealer. I busted my lock and now it wont turn at all.

[jintermont]

my problem is on the drivers door it will unlock everything but wont lock everything back up so i have to lock it on the trunk or passenger door

[mikeedler]

is it pretty obvious where the adjustments are made?
i looked up in there a while ago when it first started happening and couldn't really see much. maybe i was blinded by the sweat running in my eyes????

pull the door card off and you will see the 2 7mm screw heads, loosen them and then slide the actuator up and down-- real easy.-- I would locate another one though if you are going to go through the trouble to pull the panel off and be ready to replace it--
At the dealer I am at, I have replaced atleast 10 e36 ones in the last years or so-- they just wear out a magnetic solenoid.

maybe just oil it up-- ever once in a while my e36 drivers door feels all bound up and doesnt work, I spray a bunch of wd40 in the key slot and it works for a few months till the next squirt is needed.-- I refuse to buy anything for a e36 unless I must.

[E30_Pare]

I have an annoying problem with my central locking. It works however when I open it from the truck the driver side lock does not rise all the way up. It only travels about 50% up and I have to use the key to raise it all the way in order to open the door.

[TDE30]

^ That sounds exactly like my ordeal, whereabouts is said actuator?

[Dragowl]

I recently fixed my central locking and the issue ended up being the driver's side actuator. My problem was that I would try to lock and the system would just immediately unlock it. Replacing the actuator completely cured all my problems. I would start with that...easy/cheap fix.

[der affe]

have you tried to adjust the mechanism itself, sounds like its getting bound up.

is it pretty obvious where the adjustments are made?
i looked up in there a while ago when it first started happening and couldn't really see much. maybe i was blinded by the sweat running in my eyes????

[mikeedler]

power locks are great when they work, heck do you need A/C or power windows-- no, but they are nice to have-- and it is nice to know that when you lock your door-- all others are too- including the trunk and you dont even have to look twice.

on all of the problems you guys listed it is 95% a actuator problem"as far as I remember I have only seen red/white ones, but there can be black ones too"--- that needs to be adjusted, or the magnetic relais is broke-- easy, get another actuator and put it in the door that is acting funny and adjust it with the 2 small screws until it works.

[scabzzzz]

I have an optioned out to the max ES and my power locks have never worked.

You dont even need that shit...

[CreamE30]

I don't have central locking ;). No electrical crap to go wrong there.

uh oh, how come you don't have central locking? I thought it was a standard feature. I have a 325i but the original owner got it with some features like LSD. I'm pretty sure I have central locking as there are some electrical gizmos in the door.