1993 BMW E34 525i Door Open Issue

[bmw69]

Hi All

Need some advice on an issue with my doors.
When i drive, the Check Control says "Door Open" but they are closed.
The interior lights that come on when the doors are open no longer turn on and i cannot lock the car because it immediately unlocks again.
The interior lights do work when i switch them from door setting to permanently on.

I have a new Door Striker i have kept as a spare but my problem is that the interior lights are not working when the doors are open either so now i'm not sure if its the door striker or something else.

Any Advise please, would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ralf*]

I am also thinking door striker

On my E36, many many centuries ago, I had similar issues, the door striker was fine, but the tiny microswitch moulded within the door striker, had worn out.

My memory fades, but I seem to recal I had most of the symptons you describe, new door striker, with 100% unworn microwsitch...sha-na-na

 

[bmw69]

I am also thinking door striker

On my E36, many many centuries ago, I had similar issues, the door striker was fine, but the tiny microswitch moulded within the door striker, had worn out.

My memory fades, but I seem to recal I had most of the symptons you describe, new door striker, with 100% unworn microwsitch...sha-na-na

Thank you for the quick response Ralf.
I tried the new striker on the driver door already but didn't make a difference.
I have no clue how to check which striker is the problem because it doesn't indicate which door is open and none of them trigger the interior lights so ill have to try one by one.
Not sure if the lights go off after a while even if the door is open and that's why it doesn't come on because it's seeing that the door still hasn't been closed.

 

[anton-sa]

faulty door switches, also, you need to toggle the setting by the dome light.

as in, interior lights permanent ON, always OFF, or on the DOOR setting which will make them switch on when the door opens.
one or more faulty door switches can cause these issues.

remove the door switches spray some contact cleaner on em..
worked on my ex e30 325i i used to own a few years ago....

also spray the connector on the switch and the plug, over 2 decades of oxidisation can very much cause issues

 

[bmw69]

faulty door switches, also, you need to toggle the setting by the dome light.

as in, interior lights permanent ON, always OFF, or on the DOOR setting which will make them switch on when the door opens.
one or more faulty door switches can cause these issues.

remove the door switches spray some contact cleaner on em..
worked on my ex e30 325i i used to own a few years ago....

also spray the connector on the switch and the plug, over 2 decades of oxidisation can very much cause issues

Thank you for the response Anton
I left the car in the sun for half a day about 2 days ago and its been locking fine ever since.
I Replaced 1 of the strikers with a new one on the front passenger side and tested the drivers side first without success.
I'm going to replace the other 3 with news ones and if that doesn't stop the problem when it gets cold ill have to send it in.

 

[anton-sa]

here is where you most likely have a issue, stiff mechanisms and strikers will cause the central locking to "bounce back". IDEALLY you want to lube all your mechanisms and locks...

Also the central locking module with the e30 sits in kick panel location driver side. i think the e34 is the same... dodgy sunroof drains will and can cause them to get damp and give all sorts of issues

also with these old cars you will find stiff mechanisms/locks, hell even elec windows, are worse in cold weather.

this is the one area of a car that NEVER gets serviced which is pretty much the problem, the oil/lube/grease is decades old.

its a complete PITA/PIG JOB but on my e30 i actually stripped all the elec window mechanisms etc etc, used some engine cleaner to get rid of old grease and then put new. worked a bomb. took a whole day to do but once everything done my windows stoped seizing (the passenger rear window would like "seize up" ) from time to time...

 

[bmw69]

I will deffinitly follow your advise and do as much as i can.
So far the car has had no electrical problems, everything has been working fine except the door sensors which happened last winter as well.
Thanks again Anton really appreciate the advise.

 

[anton-sa]

A pleasure. also. dont forget about the petrol flap central locking actuator aswell as the bootlid one. they can cause issues aswell.

 

[bmw69]

Sorry Guys forgot to update what resolved my issue with the open door message.

Car was sent to Mike Bridge Auto's in Montague Gardens Cape Town to figure out what was causing my door open message.

He found that at some point in time someone has hit in the inside of the car with an angle grinder by mistake and nicked the wiring loom causing a short.
3 Wires were damaged

Mike fixed the loom and not only did it fix my door issue but also fixed the problem with my windscreen wipers not working correctly, they wouldn't park in the correct position and also just stopped all together after a few minutes of use except for the highest speed.
Part of the loom that was nicked was between the front and back door.