Hey guys, its been a long time since I posted here, but I just got an e46 for mega cheap with full service history and in an extremely good condition for its age. As always with older cars there is a few small issues. The main one being the central locking system not working.
I knew it was faulty when I bought the car, but what I didn't realise is the inability to open the doors manually for the inside. As I was pulled over I was playing with the button inside to see if I could hear the actuators moving and couldn't really hear much.
when I got home and tried to get out of the car, I was locked in and had to get a passer by to let me out by passing my key out of the passenger window because the drivers one doesn't work (another issue to resolve later on).
anyway... the drivers door works fine with the key, but the central locking doesn't work at all with the fob or with the interior button, also the rear and passenger door don't work when the key is turned to open the drivers door. the passenger window goes down if I hold the key to lock or unlock but no other locks work other than the drivers door.
I've searched the internet to try and find a definitive answer but have not actually found anything that can help other than people saying they took it for costly repairs.
I've checked the fuses and they're all fine. I've read something about a module, but there is no mention of what the module is, where its located or how to replace it.
I also noticed that the red alarm dome doesn't flash either after I've locked the car, though tbh im unsure if it is actually supposed to or not.
for now I can cope with just having the drivers door work off the key but I need the central locking to work so the wife and kids can get in and out too.
is anyone able to help with this issue?
If the key buttons work it's probably failed relays in the GM5 module in the car. This module controls the door locks among other things; the relays are known to fail.
See https://www.bmwgm5.com/ for info, they also do repairs on it and can help you troubleshoot or pinout the cause of lock problems if you e-mail or call them.
Last edited by Raddee; 01-10-2019 at 09:26 AM.
The car has the General Module (GM5) that handles, among other things, the locks. The GM5 is a bunch of solid state relays. They go bad over time. It’s located above the fuse panel in the glovebox. Go to www.bmwgm5.com to learn more. The owner of the website repairs GM5 modules at a very reasonable price.
Last edited by MarcoZandrini; 01-11-2019 at 09:37 AM.
so today, randomly, my central locking worked, then didn't again lol @matlock, it was pretty funny, the passer by I got tho unlock me was pretty puzzled when I asked them to get me out lol
I'm going to order a gm5 over the next week or two. it was pretty strange that they just randomly started working today then failed again.
I'd seriously recommend having your own GM5 repaired rather than getting a replacement. The GM5 contains a lot of settings depending on the options your car has, the model, etc. You either need to download from your old module and re-configure the new one all that again with NCSExpert or you'll likely run into things acting weird if the car the new GM5 came from does not exactly match your own car. Like said above, www.bmwgm5.com repairs them for a very reasonable price.
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