<E30> central locking problem/solution

[bolhuijo@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

 Lately, my E30 325ic has been reluctant to lock itself when I use the
key in the drivers door.  After examining the mechanism, I've found a
couple things:
 There's 2 ways for the central locking to activate: 1> the physical
motion of pressing down the lock from inside activates a sensor that
sends the lock signal to the other door, trunk, and fuel door. 2>
there's a tiny cam on the end of the lock cylinder that hits a
microswitch that activates all the locks as well.
 The little cam & microswitch affair has been broken on my car for
some time, so the car only locks when I turn the key far enough so
that the button is pulled down, thus activating the other sensor.  But
even that had become a challenge lately, resulting in me turning the
key back and forth a lot, trying to get the darn thing to lock.
 It turns out that the lock button itself was binding in the grommet
where it passes through the inner door panel.  A little work with the
ol' Dremel tool to open up the interior diameter of that grommet was
all it took to restore almost normal lock operation.  Now if I'm
feeling industrious, I should probably go back in there and replace
that microswitch...

- --
  John Bolhuis    | These are no ordinary monkeys --
 bolhuijo         | these are mean, spiteful, butt-biting
  @domain.elided   | monkeys with an obvious mission: conquest.
                                        -tabloid.net

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