G'Day All,
I've been the happy owner of a 1996 e39 528i sedan for two weeks now and have been slowly working through my gremlin list with the help of the FAQ.
I haven't been able to solve one though, the trunk (boot here in Australia) latch is not working.
- Mechanical opening with the key ok
- All other trunk electrical ok
- Lights OK
- Central locking from trunk key barrel ok
- Harness looks ok pulling back the rubber from the trunk lid end
- trunk open switch - no response
- interior trunk open switch - no response
- Key fob is worn out/broken. All central locking done by the trunk key barrel, driver door key barrel or interior central locking switch
Not sure what the next step should be diagnosing this issue.
Thanks in advance.
Shane.
Mine wasn't working either when you used the button on the boot lid. The button inside the cabin worked and so did the remotes.
The problem was the wires that run from the cabin to the boot lid.
I also had a problem with the center brake light which was also due to the same wires.
One wire had completely broken and 2 others were hanging on by a thread. The problem was more towards the cabin side of the rubber boot between the boot and the cabin.
I cut and spliced in a new section of wire to each of them and re-wrapped them in insulation tape and now everything is working fine again.
Thanks Junglist,
I'll inspect the wiring harness more thoroughly and see what I find.
When you squeeze the handle on the lid, do you hear any noise? If so, the actuator is stripped.
If not, the actuator may have died.
Ed in San Jose '97 540i 6 speed aspensilber over aubergine leather. Build date 3/97. Golden Gate Chapter BMW CCA Nr 62319.
No sound at all.
I'm thinking dead actuator but wondering if there is any way to test it without buying a replacement?
You can test the switch easy enough by checking the impedance with a multi-meter.
Pelican Parts has a decent write-up on how to get to the parts and testing them...
https://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tec...eplacement.htm
Thanks Junglist.
So good!
I'll report back with my findings.
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