Reply: Frantic Door Locks!! <longer than it should be>

[SMILLER@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Dave, the problem is obvious - your car's calendar is ahead by about 1
year, 3 months.  It is having a Y2K problem!  And they said it couldn't
happen!

But seriously, just because the alarm is OEM doesn't mean anything.  I
used to have a 1988 535i which I purchased from a dealer with 12K
miles on it.  The car was previously a BMW NA Executive car, which can
mean any one of a number of things, but says nothing about how it was
driven.  It came with an alarm, with the alarm box installed in the glove
compartment.  I asked the dealer for the instructions for the alarm.  They
said it would be better to get the instructions from the alarm
manufacturer.  So I went home, got a flashlight, opened the glove box,
and guess what?  The alarm was a BMW alarm!  So I went back to the
dealer and asked for the instructions.  It took them a few days, but they
finally sent some photocopied stuff that didn't say much about how the
system worked.

A couple of years later I had some electrical problems (can't remember
what they were).  The car was under warranty, so I took it to the dealer.
 They spent the better part of a day, and couldn't find the problem.  They
told me to take it home and bring it back another day for a second try. 
Back home, I noticed that the alarm had stopped working.  I discovered
that it had blown a fuse.  I replaced the fuse, and not only did that fix the
alarm, it also fixed the "undiagnosable" problem that the dealer took a day
to not fix.

So, what's my point, you're all asking by now?  Well, it is possible that an
alarm system malfunction is causing the door lock problem.  Ask the
dealer to disconnect the alarm, and if that doesn't fix the door locks, then
have them look for the door lock problem.  When the door lock problem is
fixed, then have them plug the alarm back in and verify that everything
still works.  Don't assume that the alarm can't cause a problem just
because it is a BMW alarm.  And don't let them tell you that "they all do
that"!

Scott Miller
Golden Gate Chapter
BMW CCA #44977

>Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1998 19:59:25 -0500
>From: Dave Heckendorf <dave_heckendorf@domain.elided>
>Subject: [E36M3]  Frantic Door Locks!!
>
>Hey all,
>
>I've got an interesting one for the masses to ponder...
>
>My new '98 M3/4 has a bit of a problem talking to the door locks.
>1) When using the OEM keyless entry/alarm the driver's door lock
>DOESN'T respond and EVEN BETTER, the other doors/trunk go
>UP?DOWN?UP?DOWN several
>times (many times in excess of six sets of up/down).
>2) When using the key in the driver's door lock, none of the other doors
>respond when locking/unlocking.
>3) When using the key in the passenger's door lock, all but the driver's
>door lock respond when locking/unlocking.
>4) When using the center console locking button, same as #1.
>
>The strange part is that the car was fine last Friday night when I parked
>it; but, Saturday morning, it started freaking out!!  Any ideas (other than
>take it to the dealer for warranty service, which I plan on doing when I
>go in for an oil change in ~600mi unless I/we can fix it now...)
>
>Thx,
>Dave

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