[Bumble487]

Hi folks,

New user here from Scotland.

I’ve not long bought a second car for running around in (2012 Alpine White E92 318i Sport Plus Manual)

I’ve done around 600 miles in it and enjoying it. However, I have a couple of minor issues. I’m no mechanic by any means, but not afraid to get my hands dirty either and have maintained motor bikes for years and done minor some work on cars. As such, I have most standard tools.

First issue:
The passenger (left side in Scotland!) window does not drop when opening/raise when closing. It goes up and down fine with switch and remote. I’ve also tested and get no ‘door ajar’ warning when opening the door while driving.

I have purchased bimmerlink and scanned. I get the following fault:

Error code
9CBC
Error description
Short circuit or interruption door contacts front
Mileage
Error svmptom
No signal or value
Error status
Error present and stored
Error severity
Error would not cause a warning indicator

I’ve also noticed that the wing mirror on the same side does not heat (otherwise works fine). No fault stored in that respect.

Car locks/unlocks fine with remote and in car, also auto locks when moving off.

Drivers side - everything works fine.

Battery is not in great shape, but not horrendous either (12.2v across terminals after sitting overnight).

Is it safe to assume that it’s a faulty sensor in door lock actuator which is not telling the car when the door is being opened/closed, and replacing that will solve the issue? Is the mirror linked in some way, or is that just a coincidence and a separate issue?

I also have some NOX errors but will keep things clean and post separately about that when I’m ready to fix that.

Many thanks (and great forum btw!)

[crashoverride]

BMW's are really picky about the battery. I had a battery would start my car every time for a year, but my heated rear window wouldn't work and I couldn't let the car sit off with radio playing for long etc... All fixed when battery replaced with correct one. So always make sure battery is top shape before chasing gremlins

Get the battery in order then start chasing gremlins. Until battery in good order you will be just throwing good money and intentions at the problem with no guarantee of a fix




.

[Cal122]

Congrats on your new ride! An easy item to try, have you tried to reinitialize the window? They need to be reinitialized whenever the battery is disconnected.

https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1661341

[Bumble487]

Thanks.

Should have mentioned I’ve tried to reinitialise the window without success, that’s why taking all of the above issues into account, including the short circuit error code, I’m thinking it’s possibly the door close/open sensor.

[Bumble487]

Assuming that the new door lock actuator/sensor resolves the issue - will I need to reset the FRM short circuit counter? Or is that only for lights?

Thanks

[Bumble487]

BUMP on my question above about resetting the short circuit counter.
Grateful if anyone can clarify.
Thanks

[Riickk]

FWIW.. When I owned a '97 328 convertible, I'd get knocking sounds, but only on left-hand turns. Cause was the door sensor, which controlled the window movement on opening & closing. The exposed plastic button, that threw the switch, had worn down; as door moved outward on left turn (centrifugal force) & window was triggered off/on/off/on.
Might this be the root cause on your car? Test with some cardboard on door frame?
The fix on my car was to either remove door card, and replace the $150+ sensor switch, or to build-up the plastic button by about 1/8" with some (J-B Weld) epoxy. HTH

[Bumble487]

Originally Posted by Riickk

FWIW.. When I owned a '97 328 convertible, I'd get knocking sounds, but only on left-hand turns. Cause was the door sensor, which controlled the window movement on opening & closing. The exposed plastic button, that threw the switch, had worn down; as door moved outward on left turn (centrifugal force) & window was triggered off/on/off/on.
Might this be the root cause on your car? Test with some cardboard on door frame?
The fix on my car was to either remove door card, and replace the $150+ sensor switch, or to build-up the plastic button by about 1/8" with some (J-B Weld) epoxy. HTH

Thanks for this. There’s no button on the e92. I believe the switch is inside the door lock actuator itself…!

[Serf27]

No need to reset FRM counters. That is for light only.
Replace actuator and that’s all.
Mirror not hearing should have a code. Do you know if that mirror or glass has been replaced?

[Bumble487]

Originally Posted by Serf27

No need to reset FRM counters. That is for light only.
Replace actuator and that’s all.
Mirror not hearing should have a code. Do you know if that mirror or glass has been replaced?

Perfect - many thanks.

No error code for mirror not heating and I don’t know if it’s been changed in the past. Will pop it off after I’ve sorted the door and see what’s what.