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Remote locking stopped working

3K views 27 replies 10 participants last post by  bourner 
#1 ·
Hi guys,

key fob stopped working today. no response from any of the 3 buttons (trunk, open, lock)
central locking with key in door is working fine, as is the button to open/close on the central console. the alarm doesnt seem to be arming though without the remote.
My spare fob isnt working either but to be honest its been lying in a drawer unused for years so is probably knackered.

Ive just been to bmw, they were a bit on the rude and unhelpful side. said i might need a new key at £100 but it could be something else - as i said not too helpful

is it common for the rechargeable battery to fail after 8 years?? (my car is 2001) i guess it might be?

Anyways BMW say the battery is not replaceable as the key is a sealed unit so a new key is needed.

Has anyone had this problem?? just want to be sure before i hand out the cash

cheers
 
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#2 ·
yes i did..
after an exhausted search of the forums and trial and error,, it was the fuel door actuator lock.. i unplugged it and it all worked again.
when the fuel door lock seizes, your whole remote locking system fails.
i shoulda read more on the forums,, many had the exact same problem happen to them too.. woulda saved me a lot of messing around time
 
#3 ·
Hi guys,

key fob stopped working today. no response from any of the 3 buttons (trunk, open, lock)
central locking with key in door is working fine, as is the button to open/close on the central console. the alarm doesnt seem to be arming though without the remote.
My spare fob isnt working either but to be honest its been lying in a drawer unused for years so is probably knackered.

Ive just been to bmw, they were a bit on the rude and unhelpful side. said i might need a new key at £100 but it could be something else - as i said not too helpful

is it common for the rechargeable battery to fail after 8 years?? (my car is 2001) i guess it might be?

Anyways BMW say the battery is not replaceable as the key is a sealed unit so a new key is needed.

Has anyone had this problem?? just want to be sure before i hand out the cash

cheers
What kind of **** are they smoking in your part of the world? Which key are we talking about, the Diamond key? you can definatly replace the battery, I don't remember which cell it is, however.
 
#4 ·
The older keys have a battery that only the dealer can exchange because it takes reprograming. That is what happened to mine
 
#26 ·
Which older key? I changed mine on both of my 1/1999 prod date remote keys. ;)
 
#5 ·
more info

just been reading a few posts on this subject. many people seem to have problem with the fuel cap actuator and it seems that this can be tested by seeing if the fuel cap is open when the car is locked.... this is not the case as when the car is locked the fuel cap is also locked so i think i can rule this out

the key is a diamond key, there doesnt appear to be any visible way of opening it which would agree with what the dealer told me. Its a british car by the way.

just read another post regarding fuses in the boot, havent checked these yet, will do soon and report in shortly
thanks
 
#6 ·
fuses

ok, checked fuses in trunk and yes, there is one blown. a 7.5 amp one. read a post yesterday with someone who had this problem but cant find it today!

i think whoever it was in the other thread changed the fuse but it kept on blowing. any ideas about what could cause this fuse to continually blow?? i dont even know what its for yet

in the mean time im gonna go buy a few fuses and also try and find out what the fuse is for (guessing its alarm/ central locking)

sometimes when dealing with this problem with car audio equipment ive got around the problem by putting in a slightly bigger fuse. i.e in this case i would try a 10A instead of the 7.5A, this often seems to work but im not sure how risky this is as my knowledge of electrics is minimal

any ideas/comments??

thanks
 
#7 ·
two steps forward one step back

bought some 7.5A and 10A fuses. tried one of the 7.5's and hey presto it worked..... for about ten minutes. then the fuse blew and remote locking/alarm not working anymore. fuse seems to go when the engine is started. ie i put the new fuse in. it worked fine like 20 times so then i drive the car and get out and go to lock the doors and it doesnt work.

Im glad i never spent 100 quid on the key! but I still have this problem with fuses blowing.

anyone have any idea whats making these things blow and how to fix?

thanks
 
#9 ·
bought some 7.5A and 10A fuses. tried one of the 7.5's and hey presto it worked..... for about ten minutes. then the fuse blew and remote locking/alarm not working anymore. fuse seems to go when the engine is started. ie i put the new fuse in. it worked fine like 20 times so then i drive the car and get out and go to lock the doors and it doesnt work.

Im glad i never spent 100 quid on the key! but I still have this problem with fuses blowing.

anyone have any idea whats making these things blow and how to fix?

thanks
i know you think you can rule out the fuel door actuator..
my fuse kept blowing too

try unplugging the wire plug to the actuator,, then replace the fuse
its most likely shorting it out.
try it.

and btw the diamond keys are sealed at factory
you can replace the rechargable battery but you need to cut the key apart and either glue back together or drill some screws into it to keep it together.

a cheaper way is to buy a new blank diamond key off ebay for $20 usd and use it as a remote control only and your existing key as the key..

but if your fuse is blowing,, its not the key fob thats the problem,, unplug it (plug is right above your battery and a few inches toward the front of your car from the battery (open trunk, open battery compartment,, its right there in the open,, super easy to get to and to see)
ill bet you a ten bob note, its the fuel actuator lock thats shorting out your fuse... im getting De javu.. :)
 
#10 ·
fuses usually blow because of things being not properly earthed right? will try out the fuel actuator tomorrow to see if thats having an affect. thing is the fuel cap lock is working properly so it shouldnt be causing a short?? will experiment tomorrow

is there any other solution to unplugging it. ie buy a new wiring loom or something????
 
#12 ·
yes sometimes or from worn out moving parts.
if the fuel door actuator pin is having a hard time engaging and disengaging (like corrosion or wear) it will try to take more power than the fuse is allowing it to..

-don't buy anything unnecessarily. unplugging it is simple and easy.. and is just a test
 
#11 ·
by just unplugging it and testing it,, you can rule it out or in
once you do that, if it is the problem,, you'll need to either leave it unplugged/unlocked or replace it

if its not the problem, then at least we've ruled out all the most common reasons.
in this case, the next step is much harder.. searching everything electrically related to door locks.
for the sake of ease i hope its your actuator.
btw,, so far i have not replaced mine.. i will eventually or the day after someone steals gas from me.
 
#13 ·
fuel door actuator

cant work out which bit is fuel door actuator, and i cant find my haynes manual at the mo.. theres quite a few wires/wiring looms in that area.. in the mean time ive substuituted the 7.5A fuse with a 10A and so far so good its been working for 24 hours now. fingers crossed

thanks for replies
 
#15 · (Edited)
its the only 7.5 in the rear fuse block beside the battery

cant work out which bit is fuel door actuator, and i cant find my haynes manual at the mo.. theres quite a few wires/wiring looms in that area.. in the mean time ive substuituted the 7.5A fuse with a 10A and so far so good its been working for 24 hours now. fingers crossed

thanks for replies
its got green wires on it (if i remember correctly) with a two prong plug in connection
the pic below is the actuator itself, which is selling on ebay for $40

hope this helps!
 

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#16 ·
thanks drakar, 10 A fuse is still going strong but if it blows ill unplug the actuator.. in response to bmw 7833 the fuse is a brown colour 7.5 A and its above the battery in the right side of the trunk. if you get stuck look in the owners manual for the fuse numbers
 
#18 ·
I can lock (and unlock) all the doors from the driver's door with the key. The fuel filler door also lock (and unlock) together with all the doors. Is this still the fuse problem?

Check the fuse box just now. Saw one brown color fuse there. How i know if the fuse is already gone?
 
#20 ·
is the fuse definately ok?? If its ok you will be able to see a thin wire connecting one pin to the other. if the connection has been broken its burned out.

try another fuse just for the hell of it, they are very cheap after all

does the button on the console unlock/lock all the doors ok?

if the fuse is ok and the fuel door is locking ok with the doors id say your key might be faulty. do you have a spare key you can test??
(bear in mind the spare will need to be charged a bit first - the key is charged through the ignition when your driving)

how old is your car, how many miles/km has it done??
 
#21 ·
Recheck..

-Fuse OK.

-Console unlock/lock OK.

-Fuel door lock together with four doors.

-Test with spare key, still the same (The red LED light up when i press the button for spare key, so i think it still have enough battery).

My car is 97' with no more than 200K km right now (My key is ordinary type, not the diamond type, so can not recharge thru ignition).
 
#23 ·
maybe the key has enough battery to light the led but not work the doors??

does the led light up on your main keys??

can you change the battery on your key? just to be sure?

did you notice that te key became tempremental before it stopped working??

apparently some shops have testing machines that can tell if the key is sending a signal or not. thats in britain tho
 
#25 ·
I have this exact problem. I have just bought my 99 540i motorsport. The car came with only one key and it did not work. The light did not come on when I pushed the buttons so I got a local locksmith to change the battery. The light now works as it should. Everything works normal apart from the remote locking and my clown nose. I am not yet sure if my alarm is working but believe mine has an alarm because it has all the fuses. (Looking for a way to test also??) I have checked all fuses, fuel cap and tried to program in my key about 50 times and no joy.(all different ways) I removed the 7.5 amp fuse in the boot/trunk and the central locking still worked???? Does this mean I have the wrong fuse? PLEASE HELP US. :)
 
#27 ·
I am having a similar problem with my car...it won't unlock via the center console, or the key...key reprogramming does nothing... the gas door is fine....If anyone know...let me know..

The remote key unlocks the trunk but not the doors. It locks and unlocks the gas door without a problem.

So what gives?

Any ideas?

regards
 
#28 ·
Hi I have the same problem. My fob wont open or lock ,I check the fuse in the boot and that was alright. I check the fuel door actuator there was no power going to the plug , I hook up 12v to the actuator and that worked, then I thought it might be the relay so I swapped it with another one ,it didn't make any different. The central switch to lock the doors works. I put new batteries in the key and followed the proper procedures the led light flashes on and off like it should do but nothing happens,
 
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