oh brother! another actuator / central locking post

[Russianblue]

I have delayed (probably 2 years now) asking for help on this to spare you guys, but wanted to pick your brains before buying a new actuator.

PRIMARY PROBLEM:
Front door actuator seems wonky...but not really.
When I finish driving the car and pull into my driveway or anywhere else, i get out of the car, I click the lock button, and all doors lock except the driver's door.
The driver's lock does not respond at all. No partial/weak movement at all.
But then, I click unlock on the remote, all doors unlock.
Then I click lock again, and all doors lock. including the driver's door. Swift and strong. no issue.

Of note...I had this same problem with the driver door years ago. Although this seems completely coincidental, I could have sworn I somehow lucked into a fix by disconnecting the window switch and turning on the car, operating the locks, then plugging the switch back in. That worked great for about 2-3 years. Then I was working on something else in that door like the carrier or something (I can't remember unfortunately). When I put everything back together, the problem reappeared. It's persisted for the past 2 years or so.

one SLIGHT hint: VERY occasionally, once every few months, the first pull of the double-pull on the driver's doesn't work. it's gets hung or something. I have to unlock with the key remote or center console button OR kinda 'massage' the pull...gently, gently, release, pull, release, pull and it will unlock the door. Next time I drive, no problem at all. That issue does not occur very often.

I don't look forward to changing the actuator but I'm not sure what additional troubleshooting to do. any advice is welcome. could it actually be the door handle CABLE causing this issue? or something else? What would you address first? i HATE taking off these freaking door panels and i've had to do all four of them multiple times!!

[oldskewel]

Other than the second try on locking working perfectly, that sounds like a problem with the actuator. But it could be that the unlock and second try on locking somehow aligns the locking part of the mechanism better so it locks easily.

I rebuilt my driver's door lock actuator successfully a couple of years ago. Plenty of pics and description in here for you, in case anything helps:
https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...or-repair.html

One big difference I notice though, between my issue and yours, is that on mine, locking was perfect and unlocking was weak. Yours sounds opposite.

The root cause of the problem was one of the two little motors in there failing. That's why it could lock perfectly and would unlock weakly. Most door actuators like this seem to do it all with a single motor, but these have two.

As shown in that thread / post, replacing the actuator is easy. The hard part is taking the actuator apart and putting it back together - it was definitely not designed for that. But I found mine to be amazingly well built, other than the single motor that failed - and it basically just wore out - carbon brushes disintegrated.

[Russianblue]

Originally Posted by oldskewel

I rebuilt my driver's door lock actuator successfully a couple of years ago. Plenty of pics and description in here for you, in case anything helps:

oh I certainly read your epic thread yesterday Mr., or should I say Sir Oldskewel! mucho RESPECT to your genius.

However, I don't think I have the equipment or patience for that. and given that i now have TWO Xers to babysit, i really have to economize. Nonetheless, I was actually at Lowe's last night looking for Cobalt bits and thinking of you. I need some anyway. You have a brand you prefer?

I went ahead and ordered the cheapo Dorman actuator. They actually have a 'limited lifetime warranty' for whatever that's worth. I'm gonna give it a try. I will swap it in this weekend. If it doesn't work, that means something else is going on. if it goes bad in 6 months, I'll spring for the Genuine part...which should last me another 70k.

if it does work, i am happy to donate the old part to the R&D department there at OldSkewel HQ. Shipping is on me!

[oldskewel]

Originally Posted by Russianblue

oh I certainly read your epic thread yesterday Mr., or should I say Sir Oldskewel! mucho RESPECT to your genius.

However, I don't think I have the equipment or patience for that. and given that i now have TWO Xers to babysit, i really have to economize. Nonetheless, I was actually at Lowe's last night looking for Cobalt bits and thinking of you. I need some anyway. You have a brand you prefer?

I went ahead and ordered the cheapo Dorman actuator. They actually have a 'limited lifetime warranty' for whatever that's worth. I'm gonna give it a try. I will swap it in this weekend. If it doesn't work, that means something else is going on. if it goes bad in 6 months, I'll spring for the Genuine part...which should last me another 70k.

if it does work, i am happy to donate the old part to the R&D department there at OldSkewel HQ. Shipping is on me!

Thanks for the kind words. Glad you found it helpful.

I've got sets of Cobalt bits in both Craftsman Professional and Irwin. I think the Irwins are probably better because they cost more (), but they both work fine. Hand drilling into steel takes some practice to get it figured out. And each situation is different - depending on the hardness of the steel vs. the hardness and sharpness of the bit. Almost anything can work, but a little focus on finding the right speed and pressure helps, along with using cutting fluid.

Sounds like a good plan. Hopefully the Dorman works, and I'll be happy to take that old one of yours into our Global R+D center here in Redwood Shores, CA.

[Russianblue]

okay Mr. OldSkewel! 1 door lock actuator headed to the lab. PM me your address and i'll get it out today!

i was convinced the old one was still good and kept trying to make it work to save my $140 but in the end, the new Dorman part fixed the issue. Incidentally, the Dorman piece seems very well made. Time will tell i suppose.

what a nightmare though. I started this project Friday after dinner thinking it would take me 1 hour MAX.

Well, all three of the door actuator torx bolts were siezed for some reason. I had to DRILL ALL OF THEM OUT. that took forever in my effort not to damage the door metal.

So then, i took off the door panel. and as luck would have it, the door panel plastic frame at the top completely separated from the fiber board. AND. AND AND AND....one of the door panel clip holders basically shattered it's mount.

AND AND AND AND...the little 4-prong door lock cylinder shaft that protrudes into the actuator, it was cracked and broken where it connects to the door lock.

So the next morning involved a trip to the junkyard to retrieve 1) a door lock cylinder shaft and a 2) door clip mounting bracket and 3) some actuator mounting screws.

there was 2001 Xer there...with no DRIVER side door panel. so i got the mounting bracket from passenger side panel....that i found in cargo area.

the door lock cylinder shaft came right out of the junker. i was SO proud of myself...and then...lo and behold...it had this little 'skirt' on it that was different than my broken piece. i pretty much lost my $&IT@#! when i saw that but had and idea to make it work. I have to say I have removed more than a few skirts in my life, but never one with a bench grinder.

I made it home and the research began about the different suggested types of glue to use to hold plastic pieces to the door panel. and how to properly align the top plastic frame piece for gluing - the one you have to tug on to release from the window sill clips.

I ended up settling on JB weld plastic bonder. I practiced with the broken clip first. it worked great.
after an hour it was SUPER solid. Then i went after the upper trim frame. Mind you this involved sanding and scuffing the 'residue' from the inside of the door panel, cleaning off the chunks of old glue, painstakingly measuring and practice fitting the trim piece to make sure the friggin door lock hole ended up in the correct place and that the whole thing was mounted 1/4 inch too far right or left.

THEN I marked all the spots where my collection of clamps would go and where i would put glue. Since only had 5 or 6, i had to strategically allocate them. Also, the working time on that jb weld is only 15 minutes so i had to work VERY quickly. also had to mask the door panel itself to avoid damage from clamps and to make damn sure no epoxy got on it....which i would see EVERY time I got in the car.

By this time, i am very much fed up. but alas....it all worked. Even the custom ground lock cylinder shaft. I ordered some spares on amazon but didn't end up needing them. new torx bolts mounted right up. i grabbed a few spares just in CASE i might even need them one day. I was exhausted after that but another one down. And when i look back at it, spent the better part of two days doing what? - avoiding that situation where i pull on an unlocked front door only to find that the immobiliser is armed and I set off the alarm, lol!

I'll look for your PM!