jpark540

Thank you for sharing the information on how to fix this problem. I was in the parking lot of CVS and opened my trunk and could not close it. The latch got stuck in the closed position and I couldn't close it. When I got home, I followed the instructions and took off the right rear panel and took off the black tape on the wires that lead into the tube of the trunk hinge. Sure enough, there was the BROWN WIRE that was cut along with a couple of wires that was starting to show copper. I took a wire connector and fixed the BROWN wire and clicked the trunk release inside the car. I heard the truck latch open and it was FIXED! I am so happy that I don't have to take it in to the shop. Thank you for the info.

Notheld

Thanks guys. Im having the same issue with the trubk lid. It should be fixed
tomorrow.

Notheld

update - Not sure if this was mentioned earlier so ill throw this out there for any one lazy
like me..

After repairing the brown wire trunk lights came on but the latch wasn't functioning. I reset the key function in the trunk key hole. Im pretty sure i pulled the glow in the dark rip cord under the tool box located on the trunk lid at some point. So i proceeded to take apart the latch just enough too look inside, and found plenty of old grime and grease caked on the gears and motor. I used a liberal amount CRC electronic contact cleaner and then
sprayed some WD-40 on the gears. Started the car closed the trunk and problem solved.

Thanks everyone ...

nightdevil

welp im having this same problem. Still wont close after fixing cable... i didn't try the trunk release button up front but we will see tonight.

nightdevil

Okay in an effort to save everyone money and share my experience I will summarize until my trick that work.

1. Drunk light started to get Dim and eventually would not lock
2. From the forum I found the broken brown wire, along with a couple of others starting to break, and reconnected them
3. Still did not work. Light is working correctly but I could hear a buzz from the motor when I tried to unlock when attempting to close. Even using a screw driver to act as the latch did not work.

So after slamming my truck and getting upset a few times i was going to replace the latching mechanism. I took the three screws out and moved the lock. I found 4 latches to keep the compartment module together riveted at one end. I unlatched all 4 with a screw driver. When I pulled it up to look inside I hear something snap when I pressed the release button. I don't know what it was but it worked since then. Put it back together and tested it. Screwed it back in and tested it.

So I assume it was just stuck on the cover in some way. I may have broken it somehow but it works perfectly! So if nothing else works from what you have read... open the truck latch module press the button and close it up... hopefully that works for ya!

jxo

Nightdevil: am also having trunk lock issues and would be interested to hear more about the "snap" and what you did to get the lock working again.

My lock was not locking. When I use the remote trunk button I do hear the actuator doing something but it won't lock. I can't lock it with the key either.

I removed the lock/actuator assembly and saw the spring had broken. Repaired and re-installed the spring. But still no luck getting the lock to work.

I am not sure what the 4 latches are that you are referring to.

Was the snap just the spring mechanism pulling the lock?

I am debating whether I need to spend $125 for a new lock/actuator assembly or I am not "resetting" the lock properly.

Domrepkid

so i too am hearing this buzz noise when i unplug the actuator it stops, when i plug in the actuator it stays in the unlocked mode and will not let me close the trunk. could it still be wiring/ has anyone else had the buzz?

KJE

Reply to post #37, I had a similar issue, strange hum on the trunk lock actuator. At first I thought it was a problem with the actuator (since it's a common problem and the car is 11 years old) so I bought a BMW replacement, Part #: 51-24-7-840-617-M9, which is the updated version of the actuator which shipped with the car. Installed it and the same issue, trunk wouldn't open, humming sound again. I checked all of the wiring as instructed on this thread and all seemed in good condition, no obvious breaks or stress marks on the cable insulation. Since most people tended to have issues with the brown ground wire, my buddy made an artificial ground (from the lead powering the actuator) and we probed the new ground to different parts of the car. What we found when we had a good ground was that the trunk link would become far brighter, and the trunk would actuate perfectly as intended. We then ran a long ground all the way to the ground which the battery is typically connected to (since we knew this would provide a good ground) and low and behold the actuator worked flawlessly- namely it opened from the key, the trunk release in the vehicle and the micro-switch on the trunk.

Since we didn't want to run a huge ground wire all the way to the battery ground, we then severed the brown ground wire running into the actuator and crimped an additional pigtail to a good grounding point on the trunk (the hole we drilled is hidden by the trunk liner so it can't be seen). Now it works well. Since I'm convinced that wire damage was caused by an aggressive trunk opening (even though I never managed to locate the break), I also thought it was worth applying the cheap fix suggested on many forums to use a carabiner on the trunk spring to reduce it's tension and open the trunk in a less violent fashion- I figure prevention is better than cure here. All in all everything is working well now and the trunk opens in a much more controlled fashion. Hope this helps!

Johnny 5 Bimmer

Man I gotta says I love our groups. I was about to take it in to the man and booom... Fouund ths awsomee DIY ... as many have posted, there are wires taped together (harness) that were split and shredded.... BE SURE to use the proper tools taking out the pins cause the plastic crap I bought from HF (plastic) broke second clip... was a pain but got er done...

Being that I had the lid apart, Installed back up cam while I was at it.. WIN / WIN.. BMW.... shame shame....another poor engineered / wiring harness... Thanks to YT DIY all day long..

anmaguco

I was having problems with the trunk of my e60 530I and decided to serch here and after all the threads on this matter I got to fix my car and save me a good deal of $, thank you all.