E36 Central Locking

[Gad-Westy]

Hi,
Hopefully somebody can help. My passenger door isn't locking or unlocking on the key fob. I think its intermittent as I've locked the door by hand and noticed its come up presumabely when I've opened the car. Any ideas where to start?

[SJobson]

Does it unlock if you press the fob button twice? My old Audi S6 and my wife's Beetle do that - one press just unlocks the driver's door.

[neil_cardiff]

SJobson said:

Does it unlock if you press the fob button twice? My old Audi S6 and my wife's Beetle do that - one press just unlocks the driver's door.

same on my missus's beetle and several other machines I've driven recently.

Rather annoying really...

[Gad-Westy]

Sorry, should explain it doesn't lock on the central locking either. Its definatley a fault but not sure where to start other than ripping the door card off.

Agree about the annoying two press thing, my golf was the same, drove me mad.

[mat205125]

Gad-Westy said:

Sorry, should explain it doesn't lock on the central locking either. Its definatley a fault but not sure where to start other than ripping the door card off.

Agree about the annoying two press thing, my golf was the same, drove me mad.

Two presses can be a pain, but not as much of a pain as having a jacket / laptop taken from the back or passenger seat if you forget to lock all doors when you enter a large town. Worst bit with the two blips is when you forget and leave the other half out in the rain while you get comfy and put the stereo on ..... not a good "career" move !

Get stuck in mate. Get the door card off, and see what's what. Check all contact for dirt (and with a multimeter if possible), and bridge the solinoid off of the car to see if that's the fault. Should hopefully be a cheap fix.

I assume we're talking factory central locking, and not an aftermarket universal bodge kit?

[muzzer79]

It's probably the actuator in the door. Basically a solenoid that pops the lock up and down off the fob.

I have the same problem on my E46 - locks fine on the key but driver's door won't unlock on it. I'm told it's a common fault with Bavaria's finest...

Get yourself down a BMW breakers and they should be able to sort you one out. E36 ones are cheaper than E46s. I was quoted £35 for mine, but you should pay no more than £20...

[dan101smith]

Reminds me to ask a question - my e36 locks and unlocks on the alarm key fob, but the button on the key doesn't do anything - the light comes on on the key but nothing else happens.

I assume it should lock/unlock the doors but not deactivate the alarm - any ideas?

[SJobson]

I should have realised that BMWs are different - my E34 has an amusingly intermittent N/S rear door lock. Can't be bothered to fix it; just check each time I lock that it's worked.

My car doesn't have remote locking but it still has the key with the button in it - it's only supposed to be a torch!