E34 Central locking

["Gerry Phillips" <gphill03@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello all,

I'm trying to get some ideas about a problem I'm having with my central 
locking and electric window operation.  I'm really trying to find out if 
the two problems are related somehow.   About two weeks ago, my 
independent mechanic told me that my driver door wouldn't lock because I 
need to replace the lock actuator.  The front passenger door and two rear 
doors lock, but not the driver door.  Okay, so I figured I'll just replace 
the actuator and get back to living a normal life again.  Now, I notice 
when I unlock the other doors from outside, get in the car and drive off, 
after a while the window switches lose their illumination and I can't open 
the windows or the sunroof.  After a few minutes, the switches illuminate 
and everything works again.  When I turn the engine off, I seem to hear a 
very faint clicking sound that sounds like it's coming from the other 
three doors.   Is there something that the doors and windows have in 
common?  I'm guessing so because of the feature that allows you to lock 
all doors and close all windows and sunroof from the outside with the key 
turned and held to the right.  I just want to get a handle on this so I 
can get back to my mechanic armed with some information.  Excuse my 
ignorance if I'm simply overlooking the obvious.  This one has me 
scratching my head. 

Peace and blessings!

Gerry A. Phillips
'89 535i
'87 325is
BMWCCA #157658
Peachtree Chapter/Atlanta

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