Unlocking Problems

[Stone Cold]

Folks, I am having problems unlocking the car with the key fob, boot unlocks and the door unlocks OK with the key, the car is an E46 330 Saloon

Is this likely to be the battery in the fob, if so, how do you change them, I cant see any obvious way to get in, do you just prise the key apart?

Any other ideas? my local dealer wants to charge me £111 + vat just to diagnose so they can go......

Any help appreciated

Thanks

PS I have tried a search but nothing doing?

[Crusoe]

e46 keys have rechargable batteries inside, if it is your spare key and you don't use it much then it might recharge if you take your car for a decent drive. Think the manual suggests using both keys once a month for a journey of at least an hour. If they are dead you should be able to get the battery replaced, how to guide here http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=4515...

[steve_bmw]

I have the same problem on my z4. It locks fine but sometimes it wont open. There is a controle module that contains some relays, I forget what its called but the relays can fail. It has been well documented on the net. GM5 module I think.

[Stone Cold]

Thanks Steve, that sounds like my problem, is it fixable or a dealer job do you know?

[steve_bmw]

you can buy the relays on ebay or from a website in the usa last time i looked, this is what i will be doing if it starts happening more often.

If your car locks ok everytime but unlocking is a problem then its most lightly to be the gm5 relays.

[steve_bmw]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-10-pin-relays-repair...
this is what you need. You may be able to swap the relays yourself if you have a good soldering iron and solder sucker, if not find an electronics company near you and slip them a tenner if they can do it.

[Stone Cold]

Cheers Steve, appreciate that, it locks fine, its just the unlocking