Lock problems? - BMW Forum

325isjet · 10-20-2003, 10:09 PM

Today, my car got flooded because we had a lot of rain today (record amount in Seattle). My car needed to be vacumed out entirely, which my brother and I did very promptly. We then let the car sit for about 4 hours total, just idling with the seat warmers on full blast, the head up all the way, and it is almost dry. There is one problem that I have found out, my doors won't lock...

My brother is much more car-literate then I am, and he said it may be the Central Locking System. I forgot to mention but my brother works @ a BMW Dealership, and has owned a BMW similar to mine for almost 2 years, so I take his word on things like this. I was curious if anyone could give me a suggestion or two on what to do in this situation. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

AZ325Ci · 10-20-2003, 10:58 PM

sorry to hear about your car.

i believe your brother is right about the Central Locking System. i am not familar with the e30's so i don't have any suggestions about this.

maybe some of our members may have some ideas for you.

MrM3 · 10-20-2003, 11:01 PM

is there any resistance when you turn the key? take off the door panel and check it out, its a pretty basic design, although a diagram may help. hopefully a member with ETK can get one for you

325isjet · 10-20-2003, 11:03 PM

there is definately resistance when i turn the key, nothing at all actually, and it also wont lock if i push the door lock knob down either...

bimmergurl10 · 10-21-2003, 02:55 PM

this happens to my car all the time, except sometimes it will lock and sometimes it wont, and sometimes if its locked it wont open because somehow i put on the security something..my dad was tellin me about it, and that just happened for the first time ever the other night and it freaked me out cuz i couldn't even open the door from the inside. just keep turning it from lock to unlock a few times and it should work, at least my does anyways.

325isjet · 10-21-2003, 06:39 PM

alright, i will need to try that, right now my car is at someone elses house in their garage, cause i dont have a usable garage (in 2 ways) cause it will tear the bottom of my car to pieces driving over a lip, and also too much crap to work around... anywayz, thanks for the tip, i will try it

KC Ron Carter · 10-23-2003, 03:11 PM

Here is a trouble shooting procedure.

http://www.bmwe30.net/cgi-bin/datacgi/data...0053&Section=02

Later,

325isjet · 10-23-2003, 08:25 PM

thanks anywayz, but i need to get a whole new central locking system for my car, cause it was damaged in the flood, so i am going through insurance/city to get the money to pay for it, then gonna get the local bmw dealer to install it so there is a warranty on it

protomor · 10-25-2003, 10:44 AM

Hmm none of my locks work. From the previous owner I heard the car could be locked/unlocked via the trunk. Maybe all the motor burned out in mine and or the central locking system spurted out.

MrM3 · 10-25-2003, 01:06 PM

this may help you guys, here's 4 articles on e30 door locks http://www.bmwe30.net/cgi-bin/datacgi/data...cles&Section=01

325isjet · 10-25-2003, 06:01 PM

thanks for that link to the e30.net faq/help section, i read about lots of stuff for my car.. thanks

broketiltuesday · 11-21-2003, 01:56 AM

I'm fighting with the Central Locking System on my '88 316. It looks like something went south after the weekend, when I put in Electric Windows. Now the doors and boot are mechanically lockable, but all have to be done separately (manually). The fuel intake is permamently unlocked too. The articles on BEN look like what I need. Cheers!