E30 Electric window fault Heeelp meee!

[UBH8N 0]

So ive got a fault thats got me stumped.

My electric windows on my 89' 2 door e30 only work when either the drivers or passengers door is open. When i got the car they worked perfectly, but over time slowly stopped working.

What Ive tried:

-replaced all related fuses

-Made sure the circuit breaker was working properly (it is)

-I read somewhere that it could be the unloader relay (K7). Replaced that, still no go

I get power to the switches and it works fine with the door open enough to activate the interior lights, but as soon as the lights go off everything stops going.

Ive done a little research and heard of a few cases of this problem, but cant find a thread with the solution, has this happened to anyone on here?

Any help, input, suggestions greatly appreciated

[e30ftw 410]

i had this happen on my last e30, didn't get to the bottom of it though. It has something to do with the door closing buttoms on the inside of the pillar, Click them and you may hear a relay clicking in the passenger footwell. I think that has something to do with it, because that is what happened with mine.

I ended up changing that cars entire body electrical loom due to other things but yeah.

[Dave@nz 11]

Hi,

My M3 has a relay which I can hear click behind the LH front speaker kick panel and from memory extra door switch on the lh side.

May be try to locate the relay and swap it with a working one.

Dave.

[UBH8N 0]

Thanks for that guys, spent the beter part of the day replacing my sump so didint get time to check out the relay. Will check it out tomorow and let yous know

[2052NV 43]

cool i have a similar poblem, my drivers side stopped working after i water blasted it the other day (may have been a coincodence) can hear a click but no go and it aint the switch. will need to wip off the door card and check power to the motor.

Do the motors bugger out often on these?

[_BRS_ 209]

Had this happen to me over time, just bit the bullet and took it to an auto electrician, he found some wiring that had corroded away under the fuse box, all sorted now!

[e30ftw 410]

cool i have a similar poblem, my drivers side stopped working after i water blasted it the other day (may have been a coincodence) can hear a click but no go and it aint the switch. will need to wip off the door card and check power to the motor.

Do the motors bugger out often on these?

Yours sounds entirely different, If you get power at the switches and others are working it's not the same as this issue. Check the connector between the door and pillar by the hinges. Probably corroded connectors.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2136]

Im not sure if it is exclusive to facelifts or prefacelifts too, but...

Can also be one of the connections on the starter motor. You probably think i am high saying that, but it is well documented.

That said, we were playing with Marks (1rotty) E30 a few weeks ago and it had all the symptoms of the following link and we still not sure, the terminals on his starter are different to prescribed starter for facelift E30.

have a look at the last paragraph here:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/Doors

do your mirrors etc work?

also have a look at these threads too lol:

https://www.google.co.nz/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=E30+windows+work+door+open&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=_hTeUo6kNsSCkQXFmIE4

Edited January 21, 2014 by _Ethrty-Andy_

[hotwire 352]

I have replied to this fault multiple times on here over the years.

Windows & mirrors (fan too from memory) are all controlled by the unloader relay. It opens circuit while engine is cranking.

Look for (from memory) a black/green wire out of connector C101 (engine loom plug) this wire connects to the starter solenoid to earth the relay

[UBH8N 0]

So ive fixed it!! Turns out it was that wire coming from the solenoid on the starter, was a solid black wire for me. I had previously looked for that wire to fix the problem but couldn't figure it out because the wire i was looking for wasn't there, it was compleatly disconnected and had worked its way into a blind spot where i couldn't find it...until just now, wooo!! thanks guys

[2052NV 43]

epic!!! mine is pfl and does not have electric mirrors etc so does this mean i dont have the problem at the starter motor??

[e30ftw 410]

I think you are way off the mark if you only have one window not working, You may want to trace where you are getting power to (faulty switch is possible) or else see if ther is power reaching the window motor and thats where your fault could be.

[2052NV 43]

yea im thinking its the motor or connections inside the door as i tried it last night with the door open etc and no change. Will wip of the door card and check power supplies and earths etc at the motor

[UBH8N 0]

yea im thinking its the motor or connections inside the door as i tried it last night with the door open etc and no change. Will wip of the door card and check power supplies and earths etc at the motor

Check the switches first, a bit easier to get to. Rule that out first

[2052NV 43]

swapped switches already

[brockie123 31]

had this problem on mine when i put the early 2.5 into my FL loom, made all sorts of problems but most anoying the windows