Paging oldskewel... or anyone else with door lock actuator troubleshooting experience

[Bdc101]

https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...g-problem.html
https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...g-problem.html

I have been experiencing similar problems to these threads from oldskewel and Siddy1200. Here are my symptoms:
1. Keyless entry no longer works at all
2. Central locking button works for all four doors
3. Rear doors struggle to get the locks up and down. About 75% success rate
4. Putting the key in the door lock cylinder works fine and unlocks all the other doors properly.
5. In my Foxwell, I get no codes. In my PA Soft, I get the following codes for the ZKE module:
"Central Locking Mechanism Short Circuited" for both driver's and passenger's door
6. I checked the FZV unit in the hatch, and there are no physically broken wires which I can see.

I have tried to reinitialize the keys with no luck.

Today, based on the advice in these threads, I unplugged my driver's DLA and noticed that the rear door lock actuators no longer struggle to lock and unlock. They have a 100% success rate and work faster and sound better than normal.

I would like to ping the brain trust to see if this sounds like a bad DLA. Is there any reason to buy a used one off Ebay or should I just buy a new one? Would this possibly solve my remote unlocking problem as well? Any other suggestions?

[oldskewel]

Not sure if I can really help much other than to confirm that these systems are complicated, as you've found already with that test of disconnecting the DLA. I similarly had convinced myself that the rear DLAs were weak, until swapping in an electrically good driver's DLA made them fully strong again. I'm assuming you've seen some of my posts on these issues.

On a used eBay DLA, they're probably pretty old by now. Two problems I have fixed on my driver's DLA are:
one of the internal motors was failing so I took the whole thing apart and replaced it.
The plastic external bracket that holds the cable sheath had started to crack, becoming flexible enough to make unlatching the door unreliable.
And the second DLA that was given to me by a fellow xoutpost member had that electrical problem.

So a used one can have problems. I'd consider that along with the pricing difference when deciding new or used.

Only other tip I can offer is that the Foxwell has an active test function to command things like the rear doors to lock / unlock (it does both of them together), so you can cycle through those tests, knowing that things like how hard you press the button are not affecting results.

When my driver's DLA had that electrical failure, I had the same symptoms as you do, except I'm pretty sure my center console button did not work. Whatever I wrote in my posts back in the day may correct this or anything else I'm saying here from memory.

Good luck and hope your key cylinder does not fail before you get this fixed.

[Bdc101]

Thank you sir! I think I need to buy the new actuator and just bite the bullet. It should not need any coding, correct?



And yes, my key lock cylinder already broke and I rebuilt it with an ebay kit. Plus, I am fortunate to live in an area where I don't really need to lock my doors.

[Homerlovesbeer]

DLA = Door Lock Actuator

Correct?

[Bdc101]

Originally Posted by Homerlovesbeer

DLA = Door Lock Actuator

Correct?

Yup. Quite a rabbit hole of issues that oldskewel and others (Siddy1200) have troubleshot that all seem to be related.



I just hope that since I'm getting both driver's and passenger's DLA codes, that both of them don't need to be replaced. However, unplugging the driver's DLA made all the other locks work much better, so I'm crossing my fingers.



Also, I'm still puzzled why the PA Soft throws codes for the DLAs but my Foxwell doesn't.