Anyone know anything about BMW electrics?

 

Looking for a little help if possible (or a local Auto Electrician!)

 

I have a BMW 320D (52 plate saloon) and about 3 days ago the fob stopped working so I couldnt open the car automatically. No problem I thought as I will get a battery on the weekend for it and in the meantime I will use my key to open the car. However this morning I went to open the car and the key just turned in the barrel and I thought I heard something fall down inside the drivers side door card and since then when I go to start the car all 4 windows open automatically. It also does this when I turn the engine off and get out. As soon as I shut the door all 4 windows open.

 

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

Cheers

 

Rich

 

Edit :- I have removed the fuse from the glove box fuse panel that controls the rear electric windows but the one for the front when removed sets off my alarm!

I have a feeling that the key barrel on your beemer works similar to the VW golf, where the key in the barrel held in lock position will raise the windows and vice versa, so it sounds like when you placed the key in the barrel and turned the key, it stayed in the wrong position as the lock rod holder dropped off.

 

Could be wrong, but sounds more feasible than an electrical fault as such.

Not sure I can help with the physical side of the lock falling apart, but if it's the same as mine then the keys recharge themselves by induction when in the ignition lock and so don't need batteries. Most likely cause is the key needs resynchronising with the car. Can't remember the exact sequence but you can Google it. Something along the lines of open turn the ignition to position 2 with the door open and press the keyfob button twice.

Not sure I can help with the physical side of the lock falling apart, but if it's the same as mine then the keys recharge themselves by induction when in the ignition lock and so don't need batteries. Most likely cause is the key needs resynchronising with the car. Can't remember the exact sequence but you can Google it. Something along the lines of open turn the ignition to position 2 with the door open and press the keyfob button twice.

 

Thanks Andy, yes I have had conflicting advice on that as one guy said my fob does take a battery and then someone else told me otherwise :sad:

 

I only have the 1 key so a bit reluctant to reprogram it just in case I balls it up! Will google and have a see what difficulty level it is! Cheers

I have a feeling that the key barrel on your beemer works similar to the VW golf, where the key in the barrel held in lock position will raise the windows and vice versa, so it sounds like when you placed the key in the barrel and turned the key, it stayed in the wrong position as the lock rod holder dropped off.

 

Could be wrong, but sounds more feasible than an electrical fault as such.

 

Yes definately sounds like that but just confused as to why they all open when I take the key out of the ignition. I dont even have to leave the car and they do it! :(

I'm not sure about using the key barrel to put all the windows up, but modern BMW's will put the windows up and close sunroofs etc when holding the lock button, and also lower them when holding the unlock button.

 

It seems strange that the two faults have occured at the same time so they must be related.

 

Here is the key sync procedure

 

Thought this might come in handy as a DIY for someone as some companys charge to do this!

 

- Sit in the car with all the doors shut and windows up with your key fobs (all your fobs need to be done at the same time)

- With one of your keys turn the ignition on then off and remove the key

- Press and hold the unlock botton and then press the lock button 3 times.

- Release all buttons and the locks will bounce up and down.

- Repeat this with the other key/keys (press and hold unlock and press lock 3 times, locks will bounce)

 

Note: Only switch your ignition on once, doing so again while programming will reset the process and you will have to start again.

 

 

As it says, do all the keys at the same time.

 

You could try that and see if the problem goes away.

 

As for the windows automatically dropping, perhaps something has dropped of inside the door panel. I would try and recode the keys first and see what happens.

 

This is from an E36 (previous 3 series to yours) but there was an antitheft feature on the steering lock which if the wrong key was inserted the barrell would spin and so not try and start the car. What used to happen as either the keys got worn, or the barrel became worn it would spin and so be difficult to start the car. There was also a shitty bit of plastic that used to break from time to time and let the barrel spin all the time, again a sign of forced entry but if you were a bit rough it was possible to break it. My M3 was starting to show symptoms of this, I never fixed it because it wasnt bad and I sold it soon after.

 

I'm not sure if the E46 has a similar system but its possible. Do you have more than one key for it? Might be worth trying the spare as it will be much less worn!

I'm not sure about using the key barrel to put all the windows up, but modern BMW's will put the windows up and close sunroofs etc when holding the lock button, and also lower them when holding the unlock button.

 

It seems strange that the two faults have occured at the same time so they must be related.

 

Here is the key sync procedure

 

Thought this might come in handy as a DIY for someone as some companys charge to do this!

 

- Sit in the car with all the doors shut and windows up with your key fobs (all your fobs need to be done at the same time)

- With one of your keys turn the ignition on then off and remove the key

- Press and hold the unlock botton and then press the lock button 3 times.

- Release all buttons and the locks will bounce up and down.

- Repeat this with the other key/keys (press and hold unlock and press lock 3 times, locks will bounce)

 

Note: Only switch your ignition on once, doing so again while programming will reset the process and you will have to start again.

 

 

As it says, do all the keys at the same time.

 

You could try that and see if the problem goes away.

 

As for the windows automatically dropping, perhaps something has dropped of inside the door panel. I would try and recode the keys first and see what happens.

 

This is from an E36 (previous 3 series to yours) but there was an antitheft feature on the steering lock which if the wrong key was inserted the barrell would spin and so not try and start the car. What used to happen as either the keys got worn, or the barrel became worn it would spin and so be difficult to start the car. There was also a shitty bit of plastic that used to break from time to time and let the barrel spin all the time, again a sign of forced entry but if you were a bit rough it was possible to break it. My M3 was starting to show symptoms of this, I never fixed it because it wasnt bad and I sold it soon after.

 

I'm not sure if the E46 has a similar system but its possible. Do you have more than one key for it? Might be worth trying the spare as it will be much less worn!

 

Thanks mate thats awesome :thumbup1:....only thing is that the fob hasnt been working recently to open the car automatically (I have just been using the key in the lock as I thought the batter was flat in it!) so will I still be able to press the fob buttons when doing that reprogramming sequence? Cheers

Sounds like the fob Batts knackered you'll have to do the procedure above once the Batts been replaced, i was gonna say the same thing with the Windows the door locks are usually only held on with a small clip it sounds like the clips broken and the locks stuck open whip the door card off and have a look it might be an obvious fix

Sounds like the fob Batts knackered you'll have to do the procedure above once the Batts been replaced, i was gonna say the same thing with the Windows the door locks are usually only held on with a small clip it sounds like the clips broken and the locks stuck open whip the door card off and have a look it might be an obvious fix

 

That does make sense. Its been peeing down so I am going to have to do it in the morning now. Spoke to someone earlier and they said that you only have something like a '30 second window' to change the battery or you get problems? Anyone else heard this?

Oh well I had the door card off and the lock barrel is fubar so gonna cost around £100 to get a new one from BMW :censored:

 

Why is it that everytime I seem to get £100 spare, something ***** up that costs £100 to repair! :(

X5, E46, E38 & E39 Diamond Shaped Key

 

To carry out this procedure you need to have one working key and one key which requires programming. Please read on if you do not have a working key as this is also covered further down. It may help sometimes to hold the key close to the rear view mirror as this is where the sensor is located in most models.

 

1. With both keys, get in the car and close all windows and doors.

 

2. Put working key into the ignition and turn to position 1 (the accessories should turn on)

 

3. Turn the key back to position 0 and take the key out of the ignition.

 

4. Using the working key, hold down the unlock button, press the BMW logo (lock button) 3 times, and release the unlock button. Doors should lock and unlock.

 

5. With the new key, hold down the unlock button and press the BMW logo (lock button) 3 times and let go of the unlock button. Doors should lock and unlock and you're done!!

 

Alternate Procedure:

 

1. Switch ignition on and off within 5 seconds, with all doors closed.

 

2. Take key out of ignition and press unlock button. Hold unlock button whilst pressing the lock button 3 times, all within 10 seconds.

 

3. Release unlock button.

 

4. The system recognises re-programming by locking and immediately unlocking the doors.

 

5. You have to do your other keys within 30 seconds after reprogramming your first key by following steps 2,3 & 4 only.

 

Alternate procedure if above doesn't work or if you do not have a working remote:

 

1. Turn key to position 1 five times very quickly

2. Remove key

3. Hold unlock button then press lock button 3 times, release unlock button.

4. If you have another key do the same button pressing within 30 seconds

5. Turn on ignition to finalize

 

Older 3 Button Key (E36, E38, E39)

 

Remote Key Re-Initialise - If a key fails to operate remotely, it will have to be re-initialised (all keys in sequence at the same time)

 

1. Get in and close all doors

2. Turn the ignition on & off quickly (no more than 5 seconds) to start the process. Next action must take place within 30 seconds

3. First key - hold down button #2 (unlock - on the bottom left with the key blade pointing up) while striking button #1 (lock - the BMW logo) three times. Release button #2. This should be confirmed by door lock operation.

4. If you have more than 1 key then you need to repeat for the other keys within 30 seconds of first or they will be rendered inactive.

5. After last key then cycle the ignition on/off to finalise the process (it is not necessary to start the engine).

 

Both keys should now have new randomly selected security code words - assigned by the car's system.

Those codes will be continuously incremented within the new sequence each time you hit a button. It is when they get out of sequence with the car that they loose the capability to be recognised and you then have to do this again.

 

This occurs when you take longer than 1 minute changing the battery, or if you hit the buttons more than 1000 times when it is out of range of the car.