Rdougan

Hey guys,

Over the past few months my key fob would randomly not lock/unlock the car, even when close to the rear tailgate (where the antenna is). But it never lasted long - sometimes only for a few minutes, then it would work again.

A few days ago it completely stopped working. After some searching, I found that it could be the antenna (https://5series.net/forums/e61-touri...-102236/page2/) - so I took off the spoiler and had a quick look, but the compartment was sealed with silicone, so I believe someone has already been in there. I'm going to look again tomorrow and properly take the unit out and check for corrosion.

But my question is:

If I can still tune radio stations, could the antenna still be the problem? The radio still appears to work just fine.

I should note that I have the regular keys, no comfort access.

Perhaps the key fob is just dead? I don't have the spare key with me right now, so cannot test. Is there a way I can test the key is still alive? Any other possible issues?

Thanks!

Peder

Could be the battery in the key fob. If not, then likely a wire in the top hinges has frayed and broken.
I had similar problem and it ended up being a shorted out wire near the battery. As long as the diversity antenna is sealed well, then they tend to hold up fine.

Rdougan

Finally got the spare keys and they both don't work either.

Any pointers on what wires to look for? The wires under the spoiler appear to be OK.

Rdougan

I'm stumped with this.

The system keeps switching between working fine and not working at all. It switches randomly every day or so.

When it works. the signal is fine from all distances and all keys work.

When it doesn't work, no keys work from any distance. :/

Any ideas what this could be? No error codes that seem relevant. The weather doesn't seem to make a difference either.

Rdougan

Found the problem....

BostonJon

lol, that'll do it every time...

pocholin

How did it break? door hinge clipping it?

Alexe60crock

Where is that located at?

Katitu

Hey buddy so about a year and a half ago, my car wouldn't lock or unlock sent it to BMW and they changed the diversity antenna.
However the past couple of days I'm experiencing the same problems as you, I've come up with a temporary fix with these steps:
- I open the tailgate and the window
- press the locking mechanism on the tailgate by the lock
- unlock it as if I'm opening the tailgate
- close the tailgate
- close the tailgate glass

The car locks and unlocks from all distances but it keeps happening after a while again. Where exactly did you find those broken wires? The car is really frustrating me!

Thanks
Katitu

Greg_V

Sencom replacement wire harnesses thru the tail gate and glass hinges fixed my problems.

http://tcbf62.blogspot.com/2016/01/b...iring.html?m=1

There are other posts on 5series with additional details.