I have both a 2000 Z3M as well as a 1999 Z3, both coupes. My problem is with the 1999 plain vanilla Z3. I am hoping that the "symptoms" I am describing will be obvious enough that someone can point me in the right direction. I have already read through the various central locking problem threads I could find here with the search function, and understand that problems with wiring looms, actuators, and the locks themselves are fairly common, but where to start in my situation is not clear (at least to me).
I purchased this Z3 coupe about a month ago and on delivery there were no remote key fobs supplied, and the central locking did not work, at all, in either door or in the hatch. I checked and double checked all the related fuses, even substituted new ones, one by one, for the related fuses, with no benefit. I contacted an aftermarket alarm company, United Auto Security, who told me the problem was probably in my ZKE/General Module IV behind the glove box, in that the relays can burn out but can be replaced as a board-level repair. I removed the module and sent it to them for this repair, from which it was returned with the 3 removed/replaced relays in a separate envelope. I also ordered an aftermarket keyless remote system from United.
I installed the repaired GM IV plus the aftermarket keyless remote module (to the prewired BMW harness). All installations and removals were done with the battery disconnected which was then reconnected. Central locking is still entirely inoperative; putting the key in any lock and locking or unlocking causes no sound other than in the lock being manually opened or closed and does nothing to the other locks. When I press either lock or unlock on the new keyless remote, the lights flash, as they should, and you can hear a lock related sound in the hatch/trunk lock, however it does not lock or unlock, and nothing happens to either of the door locks. I am assuming and have no reason to disbelieve that the GM IV was repaired correctly. I was told that it was fully tested and fully operable when it was sent back to me, and that 2 of the 3 relays were burned out when I sent it in.
What I would like to do is to find one explanation for this behavior, which would be the most logical, but after looking at the wiring diagrams I can't come up with one, but maybe I am missing something. Is there one wire or circuit somewhere that could explain this behavior? Or instead does it mean I have something wrong in each of the 3 doors/locks? For example, the trunk lock/actuator could be broken, and similarly something with either the wiring and or locks or actuators in both of the other doors? That would be 3 more problems in addition to supposedly burned out relays in the GM IV? Seems like a lot of problems to have simultaneously in one car!
I am also at a point of trying to decide if I should just throw in the towel on this problem and use the damn keys manually and forget about central locking and remote wireless entry; I'm already out about $300 and many hours of my time, plus I don't know if the dash/glove box can be removed again and reinstalled in a presentable condition as it appears to have been opened before I got there myself and was not put back together in the best condition by one of the former owners. . . . .
Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
I purchased this Z3 coupe about a month ago and on delivery there were no remote key fobs supplied, and the central locking did not work, at all, in either door or in the hatch. I checked and double checked all the related fuses, even substituted new ones, one by one, for the related fuses, with no benefit. I contacted an aftermarket alarm company, United Auto Security, who told me the problem was probably in my ZKE/General Module IV behind the glove box, in that the relays can burn out but can be replaced as a board-level repair. I removed the module and sent it to them for this repair, from which it was returned with the 3 removed/replaced relays in a separate envelope. I also ordered an aftermarket keyless remote system from United.
I installed the repaired GM IV plus the aftermarket keyless remote module (to the prewired BMW harness). All installations and removals were done with the battery disconnected which was then reconnected. Central locking is still entirely inoperative; putting the key in any lock and locking or unlocking causes no sound other than in the lock being manually opened or closed and does nothing to the other locks. When I press either lock or unlock on the new keyless remote, the lights flash, as they should, and you can hear a lock related sound in the hatch/trunk lock, however it does not lock or unlock, and nothing happens to either of the door locks. I am assuming and have no reason to disbelieve that the GM IV was repaired correctly. I was told that it was fully tested and fully operable when it was sent back to me, and that 2 of the 3 relays were burned out when I sent it in.
What I would like to do is to find one explanation for this behavior, which would be the most logical, but after looking at the wiring diagrams I can't come up with one, but maybe I am missing something. Is there one wire or circuit somewhere that could explain this behavior? Or instead does it mean I have something wrong in each of the 3 doors/locks? For example, the trunk lock/actuator could be broken, and similarly something with either the wiring and or locks or actuators in both of the other doors? That would be 3 more problems in addition to supposedly burned out relays in the GM IV? Seems like a lot of problems to have simultaneously in one car!
I am also at a point of trying to decide if I should just throw in the towel on this problem and use the damn keys manually and forget about central locking and remote wireless entry; I'm already out about $300 and many hours of my time, plus I don't know if the dash/glove box can be removed again and reinstalled in a presentable condition as it appears to have been opened before I got there myself and was not put back together in the best condition by one of the former owners. . . . .
Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
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