'91 535i Door Lock Stuck

[Keith Friend]

My Front Passenger side door lock in my '91 535i is stuck in the unlocked position. When you unlock the rest of the doors, you can see the front passenger side door lock move a little but it does not lock. I was thinking that something inside the door has jammed up or that maybe that the lock motor was bad. Has anyone had experience with the door locks. How much of a pain is it to remove the door panel? HELP, I want to lock my car!!!

Keith

[bullyd]

try to re-syncronise your locks ....insert your key into the passenger door's lock and turn it to the re-sync position (see pic below) ... or whatever direction that double locks the doors...hold the key in that position and listen for each lock actuator to close. (this also happens to be the same procedure to roll up all the windows and sunroof from outside the car) Once all the locks have actuated...go over to the driver's door and unlock the car. Do this at least two times to re-sync the locks. If it doesn't re-sync...out-of-sync-locks are not your problem.

answer thanx to qsilver on a search

[Kalevera]

Well, I know I've talked about this a ton of times (do a search!?!), but what the...

The problem can be caused by an electrical or mechanical malfunction, and it still hasn't been identified as either. Can the lock be MANUALLY manipulated from inside the car? If it can, then the more critical parts of the linkage are operational. If it CAN'T (and this probably won't be the case, because the rest of the car would immediately unlock when it realized that the pass front door won't lock), there's a physical problem with the linkage or, more likely, the actuator has fused up.

If the lock can be manually set, the actuator is either faulty or it has "walked" over time. The actuator is mounted with two screws in oblong holes. It has to be just the right distance away from the door jamb: too far and the car won't lock, too close and it won't unlock. The door panel has to be removed and the actuator position needs to be inspected. If you suspect the actuator is siezed, it should be removed and tested (it can be manipulated by hand). If the internal microswitch is messed up, the only method I know of to DIY it is to replace the actuator with a known working unit and see if the door locks.


best, whit

[Keith Friend]

Sorry about the repeat post. I thought I had done a search but didn't find anything... user-error.

Thanks for the reply. My lock CANNOT be manually manipulated from the inside. The other doors do lock but the front pass. does not. It is stuck in the unlocked position. I have tried to "Re-Sync" the locks but it did not solve the problem. I think I'll try to remove the panel to see if there is a linkage problem. Whe you lock the doors, you can see the front pass. door lock move a little. I was hoping that might mean that the motor was trying but that there was a problem with the linkage. I'll give that a try.

Thanks agian for your reply.

Keith

Well, I know I've talked about this a ton of times (do a search!?!), but what the...

The problem can be caused by an electrical or mechanical malfunction, and it still hasn't been identified as either. Can the lock be MANUALLY manipulated from inside the car? If it can, then the more critical parts of the linkage are operational. If it CAN'T (and this probably won't be the case, because the rest of the car would immediately unlock when it realized that the pass front door won't lock), there's a physical problem with the linkage or, more likely, the actuator has fused up.

If the lock can be manually set, the actuator is either faulty or it has "walked" over time. The actuator is mounted with two screws in oblong holes. It has to be just the right distance away from the door jamb: too far and the car won't lock, too close and it won't unlock. The door panel has to be removed and the actuator position needs to be inspected. If you suspect the actuator is siezed, it should be removed and tested (it can be manipulated by hand). If the internal microswitch is messed up, the only method I know of to DIY it is to replace the actuator with a known working unit and see if the door locks.


best, whit