E60 Driver's Door: No power to windows, mirrors, remote-lock, etc. - Door Module fuse.

Symptoms:

• Driver's window switch-panel doesn't operate or illuminate buttons.
• Remote door-lock doesn't operate, but all doors operate when key is turned.
• Driver's door courtesy light does not illuminate.
• Mirror control and other door switches do not operate or illuminate.
• Speaker still works.

Cause:

FUSE 10 - 30A - [Driver's Seat Adjustment] It's the first green fuse from the left in the glove compartment fuse-box.

The fuse is labelled Driver's Seat Adjustment, but is really just power from Terminal 30, which also supplies the Driver's Door Module. This module is located inside the driver's door and metes out power to the different door components so that all operations are communicated back to the CAS [Comfort Access System]. This means that when the fuse to the door module blows, power is lost to the window, mirror, etc. switch panel, the remote door lock, basically everything except the speaker. This causes a lot of confusion as to the root of the problem, as it would be very hard to guess that the fuse for the driver's seat adjustment motors would also power a hidden module in the door that controls everything. Oh well, that's modern cars. 

There is a lot of conflicting information on forums about this. It appears that most people have the symptoms described above and not one reply mentions this fuse! Owner's have even shelled out for new door modules which have had no effect and perhaps their lack of further contribution to the thread suggest the same sheepish frustration I felt when I found the fuse. Quite a few people have foxed indy auto-electricians with this problem, who have probably been testing wires, as I did, while not knowing about the fuse.

I eventually discovered the fuse by tracing the wiring diagrams on bmw-planet.com. This is a brilliant place to access the TIS wiring-diagrams and navigate them easily. I have condensed the layout of the door module wiring in the pic below.

E36 Compact: E46 Driver's Arm-Rest Retrofit

Just as on E46, the two bolts holding the handbrake down hold the right side of the arm-rest bracket. The third threaded-hole is covered by putty a bit further down the left side of the trans-tunnel.

The three existing holes fit the E46 arm-rest bracket, longer 13mm bolts and shims perfectly.

The rear roll-down ash-tray trim screws to the rear of the arm-rest bracket.

The centre-console trim took a bit of getting in under the gearstick trim panel, but fits the rear and arm-rest pretty well.

As does the handbrake handle and leather gaiter. Just deciding now whether to retrofit the gearstick trim panel and window-switches from the E46, or cut the centre-console trim to fit the E36 better. Hmm.

E39 530d: New Drivers Window Switch

Re: my post last week - 'Gotta have a teething problem - Drivers Windows Switch', the problem is now resolved, thanks to a whole new switch module. Well a used one, but advertised as "perfect condition" by nerijusnerka on eBay and it lives up to the hype thankfully, seeing as the unit was a little pricey @ £25 delivered, but not bank-breaking to have my driver's window back in action.

It's a piece of cake to get the old unit out and plug in the new one and as soon I tried the switch all functionality had returned - I tested each window and the child locks, all now working fine, so I'm glad my deduction was right and it's not the computer... I also noticed a chip on the edge of the broken unit where someone has obviously had a go at fixing it before, so it's nice to give the car a blemish-free interior again - I can't spot a single other mark in there!

PROCESS:

1. Fold a cloth over the end of a flat-screwdriver and gently prize it down under the edge of the switch-panel. Lift the edge of the panel up with the screwdriver a few millimeters and continue around the panel until it is proud enough to be lifted out by hand.

2. Starting with the rear one, unplug the two slim upper clips from the panel by depressing the button in the centre until the latch can be lowered. Lowering the latch completely lifts the plug clear of its socket.

3. Slide a flat-screwdriver down the gap on the rear-face of the large lower clip and lever the base of the clip outwards about 1cm until the wiring-clip slides freely out of the socket.

4. Reverse the process to install the new switch-panel.

E39 530d: Gotta have a teething problem - Drivers Windows Switch

The car has been better than good so far. It drives superbly, is quiet and refined, swift and economical - the 3.0 litre diesel engine is incredible, managing 184bhp and still getting me comfortably over 40mpg for my work runs! A far cry from topping up the Scooby tank by at least £40 every week, but not a world away from the horse-power... go figure.

The only fault I have to report though is a faulty driver's window switch unit. It worked fine for the first few days, then became sporadic and finally stopped working altogether. I tried it on my way home from work this evening and to my surprise it went down. Unfortunately it wouldn't come up again so I was forced to figure the problem out tonight. I drove around for a while in the hope that it would reactivate, but the window didn't budge an inch. I used up half a roll of black-tape sticking a bag over the open window on the windiest night of the year, only to then discover that the windows can operated from the remote key-fob. A genius feature of the techy BMW is that holding down the lock button will close any open windows and turn any electrics off. Holding the boot-release button causes all four windows to go down. I am impressed and very relieved!

The likely culprit was the switch-unit, but I prized it off to find 3 separate wiring harnesses leading to it - one each for the front 2 windows, rear 2 windows and the rear child-lock, so I became worried that the problem was elsewhere is the electronics system. The door-hinge wiring harness was a possibility - apparently they're prone to splitting and getting corroded - or worse still the car's brain - the GM5 computer, which controls the ABS, door-locks, windows, air-con, basically every electronic gadget and these are pricey to replace.

Luckily though, the drivers window responded immediately to the key-fob trick so the GM5 is sending/receiving signals just fine and the door-hinge wiring is still sound. Phew, this means it can only be the window switch-unit - when one circuit in it breaks it must kill all the buttons, regardless of which loom they plug into.

I've found a load of E39 switch-units on eBay around the £25-40 mark so I'll have to get one when I can and see if that puts the window problem to bed. It'll have to wait now though, as my new Angel Eye headlights have just arrived. Get in.