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Problem with the door sensor?

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120K views 32 replies 25 participants last post by  nickray1970  
M
#1 ·
My car is constantly saying that the drivers door is open, when its not. And because of this I cannot lock the car with the key and therefore activate the alarm.
Im guessing its a problem with the door sensor but BMW want £136 an hour to find the problem....
Anybody had this problem or suggest ways of fixing it?

I have a E46 2004 325ti.

Thanks.
 
#33 ·
Muzzy1 said:
I've tried cleaning the contacts but no luck.....
It affects everything, its as if the door is actually open when its not, so it affects the interior light as well.

Also has anybody got any tips or guide for opening up the door?

Thanks.
This might be of help..
It's the only thing I've found so far, I'm having the same issue on my car.
I'm just about to order a couple Hall Effect Sensor's, and give it a try!
Click to expand...
 
N
#10 ·
Bimmertildeath said:
I'm having the same problem too, but in my case, the dashboard light doesn't indicate when my driver side door is ajar... this is effecting the 1/4 inch drop with the window and alarm system.

It's PISSING me off!

Where is the door sensor located? (I'm guessing in the nook of the door where the latch enters)
Click to expand...
Did you find out where this sensor is?
 
D
#7 ·
I talked to a service tech at my dealership...

The sensor is located in the door latch itself. I tried messing around with it, but there's not much there. You'd have to take the door panel off and get inside there to really do anything.

The tech also told me that sometimes in cold weather, especially in the coupes, the weather stripping will expand out. So he recommended just pushing it in with your hand to make sure the door gets all the way shut.

I did all of that and it seems to have fixed my problem. I haven't gotten it for a few days now. (keeping my fingers crossed.)

The tech did say it would be $500-1000 to replace that sensor, he did one on an x5 for $800 recently he said. So there's an idea of what you might pay to have it fixed.

Good luck.
 
J
#8 ·
daddycrabs said:
The sensor is located in the door latch itself. I tried messing around with it, but there's not much there. You'd have to take the door panel off and get inside there to really do anything.
Click to expand...
Ok, here's a trick from my Lincoln Mark VIII days. Those cars were infamous for their recurring "door ajar" propensity and the cure there may also work for the Bimmers. In that case, the sensor is just a plain N/O switch that closes when the latch engages properly. With the dust/dirt/grease/grime, the plunger doesn't move freely, so what we did was flood the latch area where the sensor is located with WD40 to dissolve the crud, working the door and spraying till the problem disappeared. Then, very important, you would flood the area with high quality silicone spray lubricant to displace the WD40 and leave a lubricating film. This last step is important, cause the WD40 will evaporate/dry out and things will get sticky again. Mind you that by flooding I mean spraying till it starts dripping abundantly out the bottom of the door.

http://www.lincolnsonline.com/tech/00089.html
 
G
#13 ·
This needs a genius maybe, im completely puzzed...

Problem: Even though the drivers door of my e46 coupe is unlocked, it wont open (neither from the outside nor from the inside).

Extra info:
1). Surprisingly, suddenly at times it starts opening normally! but then after a short while back to the same problem (unlocked but not opening neither from the inside or the outside).

2). I unlock my car manually using the key (since the remote battery seems to be dead) but it unlocks fine and I've been doing it long before this problem.

3). The central lock only opens the passenger door and not the drivers door. However, this is recent and the original problem existed before this issue.

Any help what the problem could be? And what parts I need to change? ...something electrical or mechanical, or both :eek: ?

Thanks
 
J
#14 ·
Door Sensor and window issue

I tried using WD40 in the latch and it would work intermetedly, so I loosened the latch and sprayed more WD40 in the mechanism. By loosing the mechanism, this allowed the WD40 to work in those places where grease and dirt would accumulate. I blew it out with air and tightened it back up and the sensor seems to work fine! The window adjusts (for opening and closing the door), lights come on when the door is opened, and the onboard monitor system correctly shows when the door is ajar.

That's for the help and advice!
 
D
#20 ·
Hi guys, Anyone knows what's the problem please?

I have an e46 318 ci convertible and when I come to lock the car with the lock button on the key everything works but when I press the unlock button from the key, the doors unlock but the alarm goes off.........
I have to stay locking and unlocking the car till it finally stops....
Anyone knows what the problem may be please?????

Thanks in advance...
 
E
#21 ·
Check the harness connection between the door and body

I had this problem and after changing the the whole lock assembly I moved the wires inside the rubber boot in between the door and body. The lights inside the car went on and off. I knew the problem was there. I took the harness apart and noticed that one of the pins was rotted. I bypassed the wire and that fixed the problem. So before changing the whole lock, it would be worth it to check the harness and the wires inside the rubber boot.
 
R
#22 ·
Nope, sounds like moisture infiltration through the switch seal or via the rubber seal between the striker and b-pillar got into the plug somehow.
You'll want to make sure you strip the insulation back far enough to make sure you have good copper to crimp the replacement pins to.
You'll need to purchase the pins for the plug and make sure you have the proper amp pin crimping tool to do this properly.
Depending on the size of the pins you might be able to remove the old damaged pins with an amp pin extractor available at mouser.com or digikey.com and reutilize your old plug body.
Probably wouldn't hurt to replace the rubber seal between the striker and b-pillar as well as apply a bit of grease to the plugs before securing. Ordinary wheel bearing grease will work just fine, don't get conned into dialectric grease.
The body side plug and pins can be purchased at Pelican Parts, use bmw fans to find the exact part number prior to ordering.
 
R
#28 ·
my error, you are correct about the e46. I misread the original post.
However I have repaired the e46 door sensor before and if you have any kind of mechanical ability and are willing it can be repaired which I have done on a friends vehicle.
It's a bit time consuming and not for those afraid of screwing it up.
It's been a while since I've done it but it can be done.

But for most individuals it might be better to purchase a replacement unit, and I do agree don't get a used unit.
 
P
#29 ·
I just had this problem after getting windows tinted, the back left side window appeared opened when it was not, to lock the car id lock it when that door was actually open and then close the door. I was driving to that tinting place now to give them a piece of me and on the way there the door sign was constantly coming on and the lights in the car while driving. I asked my wife to open and close the door maybe it will slow down. And she slammed the door and now its fine. Idk ... Weird. Maybe it was wet from the tinting.
 
N
#30 ·
I also get intermittant problems with the locking mechanism, but between all the alternator saga stuff, and the issues with my wheel sensor harness, I have been removing the battery cables a bunch, and not torqing them on tight, so it might be mostly low volts issues with me. Currently I can get the drivers door to open with the fob, but not the passeenger doors. The interior switch is also worthless to open passenger doors unless started up and rev'ed a touch. This started when my alternator went bad on me, do I am not going to bother to even try to resolve the issue until the alternator is replaced and then I'll clean the mess up.
 
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