Z3 door locks won't work!!

Hello all, enjoying our new to us Z3, but have a problem I need some help with. I've been searching and reading for hours and have come up empty. I have an 01 with the factory alarm. When you hit either button on either key fob, the LED flashes on the fob and the alarm chirps 3 times. The doors don't lock or unlock. They do work fine with the key. Any ideas? Using the key is getting old quickly. thanks.

I found a potential answer to my question on Yahoo that seems reasonable. I'm posting it here so anyone else that has the same issue will find this via search. If someone knows this solution to be true or false, please chime in.


The 3 chirps mean that one of the alarm switches is tripped. Have you done any work on your stereo recently? If yes, then the problem will be the switch behind your radio. There is a long probe (2 inches) that attaches to the back of the stock radio that inserts into the alarm switch. Many times that probe "misses" the switch if the radio is removed and reinstalled (the alarm thinks the radio is being stolen if the probe is not inserted into the switch). Aftermarket radios do not have the probe, so the usual remedy is to unplug the wires from the switch. You will have to remove the radio and reach into the hole to unplug the switch (leave it unplugged).

The second most common failure is the hood switch. That switch is under the hood on the driver's side, in the front of the car, just above the headlight. You will see a black, pencil eraser sized plunger sticking up. You need to unplug the wires to that switch to test it. If you can unplug it and the alarm then works ok with the switch unplugged, then that is the problem.

If neither switch above is the problem, try pulling fuses 31 and 43. Wait about 30 seconds, then reinstall them. That will cycle power in your alarm module. Hopefully, that will reset the module if the problem is there.

You're on the right track.

My money's on the hood switch; just unplug it and try again.

Not mentioned, but I personally know that it can happen (specifically, to my 99) is the wiring where it passes from the trunk compartment to the trunk lid, The constant flexing caused a couple of the conductors to fracture, resulting in an open circuit. My symptoms were a little different; using the key, I could lock or unlock either the doors or trunklid without the other being affected. It wasn't until I saw that the trunk mounted brake light wasn't working did I pinpoint the culprit for the lock actuators.

I had the 3 chirps for a while - it was the hood switch. Didn't replace the switch, put a sticky-backed rubber foot pad, the kind of thing that comes with small electronics boxes, on the hood where it hits the switch. The extra 1/8" of switch push cured the problem. Cheap? Why yes, yes I am.