I need some window/door lock help badly guys

[mjpgolf1]

So the backstory first, as it is important to know in helping me figure out the problem. I locked my key in my 2003 X5 3.0L last summer and being hours from my home where the extra key was I had to call the local police to come out and help me get in the car. Well I now know that it is pretty much impossible to jimmy a lock on these cars and in the process of trying my wiring that goes into the drivers door lock actuator got completely mangled.

So I just didn't feel like dealing with the issue and was busy with work so for the last 6 months my remote and central door lock button only would lock/unlock the other 3 passenger doors and open the tailgate so I had to use the key to manually lock/unlock the drivers door when entering or exiting the vehicle. Keep in mind that during this time all windows and mirrors worked fine from all switches (Windows and mirrors come into play later in the story).

So a week ago I put the key in the drivers door to unlock it and the lock cylinder breaks. So now it's time to look into the issue and get everything fixed.

My dad owns a new car franchise dealership (non BMW) and he has one mechanic that's really good and he is the only one we let work on our cars when it's something that I can't DIY myself. So I ended up having to order an entire door from a well know junkyard because I needed several parts in the door that were destroyed while trying to get in the truck.

The door arrives and he spends a few hours replacing the mangled wiring harness, the door lock actuator, and manages to fix the lock cylinder with pieces from the door that we bought. So we get everything back together and still the drivers door will not unlock. All other doors unlock and all windows and mirrors are still operating fine. Another strange thing that ties into this is that the car thinks the drivers door is closed at all times. When I turn the truck off and open the door the interior lights don't come on and there is still power going to the drivers window even though the key is out of the ignition.

So we figure that the actuator must be bad and call the junkyard and they send out yet another door. We again instal the next door lock actuator and still nothing.

So that is one problem in itself that I need help with. But while I was troubleshooting I read somewhere that if I pull fuses 20 and 24 that it may help the drivers door lock work, so I do that and after reinstalling those fuses now I can only roll the drivers window up and down from the drivers door switch (auto up and down quit working though). I can also control the drivers mirror but not the passengers mirror from the switch. I can roll the windows up and down on the other doors from their single switches but the auto roll up and down also quit working on those as well.

So I'm at my wits end here guys and I need some suggestions of what I can do to fix these two different issues (that may very well be connected). If I can't figure this out its going to have to go to the dealer and I'm sure that will be easily thousands of dollars by the time they get done.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I've tried disconnecting the battery for over 20 minutes to let it reset. I've tried unplugging and plugging back in the drivers door window switch. I've also checked fuses 20,24, and 60 which are all part of the central locking system and they are good.

Please help I'm pulling what little hair I have left out from this. The truck is in fantastic cosmetic shape both inside and out and I have to have everything working right or it will drive me nuts. I'm just a perfectionist and I take pride in my beloved BMWs so this has to be right.

[pwvarley]

Did you replace the entire harness or solder in a new connector/wires onto the old ones that got mangled?

Is there a chance that it was not correctly installed as two separate units did not work?

I feel like the auto up/down I have noticed only works when the door is shut I am pretty sure, so it is probably connected to the car thinking the door is constantly closed...


I would double check the harness that you installed

[mjpgolf1]

Originally Posted by pwvarley

Did you replace the entire harness or solder in a new connector/wires onto the old ones that got mangled?

Is there a chance that it was not correctly installed as two separate units did not work?

I feel like the auto up/down I have noticed only works when the door is shut I am pretty sure, so it is probably connected to the car thinking the door is constantly closed...


I would double check the harness that you installed

We replaced the entire harness. I have checked and double checked all wiring and it's good. Pretty straight forward because everything just plugs in.

As for the truck thinking the door is closed, that was going on before I replaced the actuator. So after the wiring was torn up from trying to get in the truck the drivers door lock didn't work, because of obvious destroyed wiring, and the truck thought the door was always shut, which caused the drivers window to be able to roll down even after the key was out and the door was opened and the interior lights to not illuminate when opening the door. That isn't a new issue, but it's part of the whole problem. The issue of the auto up down not working, (the drivers window switch only being able to control the drivers window and mirror, wont control passenger side front and rear window, drivers side rear window, or passenger side mirror). That part all started while I was troubleshooting the new door lock actuator not working and it happened after I pulled fuses 20 and 24 and reinstalled, which was something I read and figured it was worth a shot but it just made another issue for me to deal with.

[mjpgolf1]

The only thing I can come up with here is that I need a new drivers side window switch. It looks like there is a module that is in that switch assembly that controls the Windows, locks, and mirrors. I'm going off of the theory that when the wiring was marred up inside the door that something shorted out in that switch causing the door lock actuator that I just put in to not work and also showing that the drivers door is closed all the time. That would also hopefully help fix the window and mirror issues that came up just recently. Any thoughts on this theory are welcomed here. I know the whole thing is an electrical guessing game but there has to be someone on here that's had some similar electrical issues and has a suggestion. I'm even good with complete guesses at this point as you never know what could help

[iansanderson]

Drivers door always showing closed is typically the door latch assembly. There is a hall sensor that goes bad. If you have swapped that already, I'll second the master switch. Last step would be a bad general module, but I would definitely go through everything before spending the money on a GM.

[mjpgolf1]

Originally Posted by iansanderson

Drivers door always showing closed is typically the door latch assembly. There is a hall sensor that goes bad. If you have swapped that already, I'll second the master switch. Last step would be a bad general module, but I would definitely go through everything before spending the money on a GM.

I wouldnt think that the rest of the issues I'm having would be present if the latch was bad though. Who knows, but I ordered the master switch last night so hopefully I can plug that in and fix my issues. Keep our fingers crossed.

Any special way to install this switch when it comes? I don't mean how to physically remove the old one and install the new, I mean should I have the battery completely disconnected, connected, or however type of configuration? I've read different schools of thought on this install. Thanks again for any help guys.

[David.X5]

The window switch isn't that picky about power. I've removed and replaced in the midst of fixing a window. Wouldn't hurt to remove the battery cable of course.

If you are touching or working around the door airbag then definitely absolutely disconnect the battery cable and give the system some time to discharge.

[mjpgolf1]

Ok I'm getting no where at all. Actually my issue got worse but I bought some software to pull some codes so hopefully someone can help steer me in another direction.

So far I've replaced the actuator and the entire door wiring harness. That did nothing to help the issue. After that happened and didn't work I ordered a new drivers side window switch panel and installed that and still i have the following issues:
-drivers window is the only window that I can roll down from the drivers switch, but the auto up down feature does not work.
-only the drivers side mirror can be controlled from that switch panel as well. The passenger mirror does tilt in reverse though.
-each window does work properly from its individual switch.
-drivers door lock still inoperable. Can only lock and unlock with key.
-the truck thinks the door is always shut. I can turn the truck off and walk away, come back an hour later and open the drivers door and roll the window up and down without the key in it.
-the interior light doesn't come on when opening the drivers door, obviously this goes hand in hand with the truck thinking the door is constantly closed.

Here are the codes that I pulled after clearing everything out and running the truck for a few days. The weird thing is that these codes are showing passenger door issues but I have no clue why that would affect the drivers door stuff.

A7 (167) mirror, potentiometer horizontal or cable, passenger door "showing fault currently not present"
A6 (166) mirror, potentiometer vertical or cable, passenger door "showing fault currently not present"
A2 (162) Open circuit mirror heating or cable, passenger door "showing fault currently present"

Shadow
A0 (160) Repeat blocking central locking activated "showing fault currently not present"
93 (147) power up from the GMIII "showing fault currently present"
95 (149) power up from the passenger door module "showing fault currently present"

Please give me some guidance guys. I'm going crazy and broke chasing this issue, but now I'm so deep that I have to keep going otherwise I just threw $600 in the trash.

[David.X5]

One tip is to get used parts from a place like LKQ. They take most parts back, but always worth checking.

At least two of those problems seem to link to the fault that makes the X think the door is locked. Since you have a new actuator and door harness, it is probably farther upstream or something like an open ground. Needs troubleshooting.... I'm sure it is a PITA.

What software are you using? Can you test the various modules with it?

[mjpgolf1]

Originally Posted by David.X5

One tip is to get used parts from a place like LKQ. They take most parts back, but always worth checking.

At least two of those problems seem to link to the fault that makes the X think the door is locked. Since you have a new actuator and door harness, it is probably farther upstream or something like an open ground. Needs troubleshooting.... I'm sure it is a PITA.

What software are you using? Can you test the various modules with it?

The software is the BMW 1.4.0. This has definetely been a PITA to say the least. I feel like I'm just throwing parts at this thing and getting nowhere. Im now leaning toward replacing the GMIII with a used unit from eBay and possibly replacing the passenger door switch also. I'm sure I had a short when we were trying to slim Jim the door open and tore the wiring but I have rechecked all the wiring in the new harness as well and everything appears ok. I'm pulling my hair out. I bought this software to get these codes but I'm not sure what numbers or letters I should be googling to find out what they are. Is it the 2 digit number or letters or is it the numbers in parentheses? I'm really going crazy here. This truck is way to nice to just put up with the problem or sell but I am running out of ideas. I have an e46 as well and I've had great luck figuring out any issues I've had with that so this is really bothering me that I'm getting nowhere with my X5.