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Thread: Key will not open doors only trunk

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
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    1994 BMW 740i

    Key will not open doors only trunk

    I've had the car only a few days (94 740i). The locks were acting a little strangely (at one point, the driver's door would not open, even from the inside, and I had to enter through the passenger side). Now, neither door will open -- so I cannot get into the car. The trunk opens.

    I am going to call pop a lock, but that doesn't solve the problem of why the doors won't open in the first place.

    I have tried inserting the key, lifting the handle and then turning the key all the way to the left. It did not work.

    I called BMW...they said it sounds like the whole driver's side lock needs to be replaced. I said that didn't make sense, as the key won't open the passenger door anyway. They said they had "no idea then." :/

    A new battery was installed last week. The old one was dead (the car had been sitting for a year prior to that).

    Thanks in advance...and I'm a complete newbie to car mechanics, so please talk to me in idiot terms
    Last edited by brit67chick; 10-18-2012 at 05:50 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by brit67chick View Post
    I have tried inserting the key, lifting the handle and then turning the key all the way to the left. It did not work.
    Welcome to E32 land!

    The manual lock procedure is a bit tricky. For years it eluded me, until I watched the mechanism working from the inside.
    1. At the Passenger door, insert the key and turn it toward the windshield (clockwise) until it stops.

    2. Now lift the door handle and turn the key further in the same direction until it stops again.

    3. Now turn the key hard, and watch the lock plunger slowly rise!
    This works for driver's door as well - again turn toward the windshield (CCW this time).

  3. #3
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    Add to that I suspect your battery has died... you can still open the trunk with the key with a dead battery, but not the doors.

    Use the unlock procedure above and see if you still have power.

  4. #4
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    Thanks for your replies. I'm glad to have found this forum

    I suspect this has been a problem with the car in the past, as when I applied a bit of torque to the key...the plastic snapped off the top of the key (leaving me with a stub of a key). So, first step is for me to get a new key, which will take a few days, and then I'll try the manual open again. Then I'll be back here to let you know if the manual opened worked.

    Thanks again!

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by brit67chick View Post
    Thanks for your replies. I'm glad to have found this forum

    I suspect this has been a problem with the car in the past, as when I applied a bit of torque to the key...the plastic snapped off the top of the key (leaving me with a stub of a key). So, first step is for me to get a new key, which will take a few days, and then I'll try the manual open again. Then I'll be back here to let you know if the manual opened worked.

    Thanks again!
    Don't be afraid to ask questions - the E32 group here is really knowledgable and happy to answer any questions you might have - no matter how basic!

    Also, post some pictures of your car when you can! We love pictures!

  6. #6
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    Typo up there (not sure if it makes a diff)...it's a 93.

    Anyway, Pop a Lock unlocked the car, and you were right -- the battery is dead.

    I put a new battery in this week. Any idea why the battery would have died?

    Thanks!

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by brit67chick View Post
    Typo up there (not sure if it makes a diff)...it's a 93.

    Anyway, Pop a Lock unlocked the car, and you were right -- the battery is dead.

    I put a new battery in this week. Any idea why the battery would have died?

    Thanks!
    I had the same issue - mine turned out to be a malfunctioning IHKA (aka Heater/AC) control unit - which is under the dash where the cabin air filter is.

    The *best* way to track down what's draining your battery is to turn the car off, remove the key from the ignition, then do the following:

    Disconnect the positive cable from the battery. Hook up a multimeter set to A across the positive post on the battery and the battery cable. Note the amount of current being drawn when the car is off. You *should* be drawing no more than a few hundred milliAmps(mA).

    If you're seeing more than that, there's clearly a problem.

    Once you've determined you've got a drain, you have 3 fuse boxes to check: 1 under the seat, 1 large one under the hood (driver's side), and a smaller box under the hood, driver's side, by the orange crash sensor on the inside of the fender wall. Small black box about the size of a pack of playing cards.

    Pull one fuse at a time, and put your multimeter probes on each side of the fuse socket and look for current draw. You should see 0A or almost zero A.

    If you find a spike of current somewhere, note the fuse number and let us know which one it is.

    Also when you have the car off and the battery hooked up, after about 20 seconds listen for any buzzing under the dash (stick your head in the footwell). Also check for a buzzing noise where the heater hoses come into the valves - it's right next to the large fuse box under the hood - look for some big round metal "circles" that look like silver dollars. Both of those are known to become defective and drain when off.

    Keep us in the loop!

  8. #8
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    Richinvan,

    Thank you for that wealth of information. I'll definitely post when I've got that multimeter and checked out those places. I used to be an electrician (thankfully), so I know what you're talking about, at least. But my specialty was planes, not cars...so this is all new to me.

    Thanks!

    P.S. I'll post a pic when my account is unrestricted

  9. #9
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    Welcome to the never ending repair world of E32s..lol

    "Jacksonville"? FL??
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