[Nezil]

I think it should be obvious now to those that have read other posts of mine, that I really enjoy tinkering with my car, and the best way to do that is to modify and retrofit parts from other BMW models… this alone is probably the thing I’ve most enjoyed about owning a BMW. They’re so modular, and it’s easy to find parts, diagrams, service guides etc.

So as the title suggests, this time, I’ve fitted soft close door locks from a 5er. This is something that I’d wanted to do for some time, because the doors on the 2 series are long, heavy and when the windows are up, because they’re frameless and push against the seals slightly, require you to slam the door to get it to properly close. I’ve seen numerous times when my passengers struggle to shut the door, and it creates a feeling of something being broken, not something high quality.

For those that don’t yet know what I’m talking about, to avoid you having to skip all the way through to the end, here is a video that demonstrates the end result:

Obviously I’m not the first person that’s done this modification, and it would be wrong of me to post here about my experience without referencing those that I turned to when planning my install. The main reference that I used initially was this PDF posted by BBEENNEE: https://www.dropbox.com/s/27i0bkslev...%20V2.pdf?dl=0 mentioned in this forum post: https://www.2addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1350471. I found this to be useful, but I wanted to do a much more OEM install, and therefore expanded on this quite a bit. I also watched the video made by Bryan @ Kies Motorsports for BimmerTech. He has some good information and video about clipping in the Bowden cable for the door handle etc.

Parts List
Wanting to do this OEM, I knew that I’d need the following parts, taken from BBEENNEE's DIY:

- Front Right Door Lock: 51217185689
- Front Left Door Lock: 51217185692
- Power connector x 2: 61138364520
- Crimps for power connector x 4: 61130009633

I’d also need to find a solution for power and ground, and crimps for the door connector.

Starting with the door connector, I removed both sides and took photos of the connector housing and the crimps themselves. I tried searching RealOEM initially and couldn’t find any crimps that looked visually identical to those in the door connector; presumably a dealer would replace the entire harness if there were an issue… Moving on, the connectors are made by TE, which is part of Amphenol. There is a part number stamped on the housing, but when searching for that on the Amphenol site, you find that though it’s listed, it’s shown as ‘restricted’, so not a lot of further information. Fortunately, the series is listed, as their MQS series, and there are data sheets available for crimps for that, and I was able to track down the part numbers as:

- Male crimps (vehicle side): 5-963716-1
- Female crimps (door side): 5-963715-1

These are widely available, but often in large quantities only, but I found that Arrow Electronics was able to ship these in reasonable amounts. I ordered 20 of each in case I made any mistakes, and in part because I thought it might be necessary to use multiple pins to handle the current.

Finally, I was going to be using some un-used fuses in the fuse carrier, and so ordered the BMW part number for the crimp with wire for that:

- Fuse holder crimp with wire x 2: 61130007438

Power
I use ISTA+ for my wiring diagrams, but Newtis also has this information here: https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...ystem/AGOq94yZ. I traced the power cable for each lock to a single pin in the door connector, and then on to a single 10A fuse for each lock. ISTA+ / Newtis also provides the cable gauge as 0.75 mm^2, which can be cross referenced to 18 AWG. Knowing this, I decided to use a single pin in the door connector for power, and look for an unused fuse in either the front or rear fuse carrier.

I had already started making a Google Sheets spreadsheet of fuse usage and location and decided this would be a good time to finish this work and update it with the details of all fuses. There are many fuses in each location which aren’t used, and some empty locations which actually have power and could be used. Using a multi-meter, I checked the power state of each fuse, and compared this to the wiring diagram in ISTA+ (if it existed), and then also looked at the back side of the fuse holder to see if there was anything connected to the output side of the fuse. This data is all in the publicly shared spreadsheet here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

One other thing to note is that the wiring diagram shows that the power for the soft close locks is supplied by the ‘Terminal 30B relay’. This might require some explanation… Recent BMWs, including our M2s have four power ‘terminals’ that are activated by the systems in the car:

- Terminal 30 - Battery positive, always on
- Terminal 30F - Battery positive, but can be switched off in the case of a fault or low battery condition
- Terminal 30B - Battery positive when the driver is present; switches off 3 minutes after the car is locked, or 12 minutes after the engine is stopped but not locked. Switches on when the car is unlocked, trunk opened, comfort access etc.
- Terminal 15N - Battery positive when the ignition is switched on

So… after all of that research, I decided to use fuses 24 and 26, which serve Terminal 30B in the front fuse carrier.

Ground
BBEENNEE's DIY routed both Power and Ground through to the car, but having consulted the wiring diagram in ISTA+, I discovered that (obviously) many of the components in the door need ground, and there is therefore a ground line already assigned in the door connector. Many ground wires are joined together in the door and routed through this single pin, which I can also make use of.

Installation
Getting the door locks out is not that difficult, and is covered in BBEENNEE's DIY and Bryan’s video. I did find it helpful to loosen the nut at the bottom of the window guide to give greater clearance to get the old lock out and the new lock in. This nut and its position affect the angle of the glass, so you might want to mark the location before you undo it to make sure the glass is aligned correctly when you do it back up.



Actually fixing the motorised part of the lock was a bit more of a pain. It's normally held in place with 3 M5 nuts, which hold the part on rubber blocks. Of course there are no holes in our door intended to mount this component, so I had to improvise.

There is actually quite a bit of space in the door, and one option would have been to drill holes. I opted not to do that, and instead found 1 location where I could mount the motor with one nut, and used industrial strength velcro to mount the rest of the body of the motor. The holes in the door are way too big for M5, so I used two 1" fender washers either side of a larger hole. It's not ideal, but I don't want to drill holes in my car and the velcro is super strong. I wish I'd captured more photos of this, but the finished wiring photo below does show the location of the nut and fender washers.

For wiring, I used a cable tie to feed the wire through from the connector to the inside of the door:

Then plugged the cable in, using the un-used pin 1:

I did find that the 2 pin power connector was too close to the other connector on the motor component, and had to modify the part by trimming a section out of the flat part of the connector... annoying; perhaps there is a better choice for 2 pin housing that could have been used:

Finding the ground splice in the door was pretty easy:

All of my connections were soldered and then covered and sealed with glue filled heat shrink:

And then tidied up to the factory harness with Tesa felt tape. Can you see where my new wires are? The fender washer and nut can be seen in this photo as well.:

I think I covered fitting a crimp to the fuse carrier in my WMI install thread, but if anyone is interested I can post about that. You basically lift the fuse carrier out, remove the connector from the back side, and slide in the crimp to the empty space in the housing that you want to use. The front fuse carrier wiring exits to the inside of the car in the passenger footwell through the opening where the steering column would have gone on a RHD car.

[mattssi]

That's a cool project man, nice work.

[SM2]

That's sweet so Total cost $220 ish?

[FaRKle!]

Nice addition! Soft close is one of my favorite mods I've done to my car.

[Nezil]

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

Nice addition! Soft close is one of my favorite mods I've done to my car.

FaRKle!, I've been watching your videos on suspension and really wanted to get in touch with you about BMW suspension and other mods.

You're nearby so I was going to suggest meeting up at some point... social distancing of course. If you're interested, PM me!

[Nezil]

Originally Posted by SM2

That's sweet so Total cost $220 ish?

Apart from the locks, it's probably about $30 in connectors and cables.

The locks themselves are a bit of a mystery... and I'll be completely honest and say that I've so far only done the passenger side... Let me explain...

I knew I wanted to do this project, but was concerned about the massive range in price for the locks. BMW typically wants ~$500 each for these, so you might expect to get these for a wholesale price of ~$350 to $400... but if you look on eBay, they're going as cheap as $85!

I figured that most of those on eBay were Chinese knock offs, but I don't really understand why a Chinese company would make these knock off... there can't be that much demand.

To add to the confusion, Bimmertech sells a kit with 4 locks in it for $999.00 / $250 each. Their kit has longer Bowden cables between the motors and locks to help with placement, so they might be a custom order. On top of that, Bimmertech supplies some brackets, cables etc and has to make some money so it would seem to me that the Bimmertech units are equivalent to the ~$100 eBay parts.

In the end, to be safe, I ordered a single driver side lock from eBay that was said to be 'Genuine', and though used, in good working order. When it arrived, I spent some time looking at the pictures on eBay of the other units and there seems to be more than one version. There are some with a brown electrical connection between the lock and motor, and some with a black electrical connection. The apparently 'Genuine' part that I got turned out to be a passenger side one despite the listing saying otherwise, but it does have the manufacturer 'Kiekert' stamped into the metal of the lock as well as moulded into the plastic of the motor section. None of the photos of the lower cost parts on eBay have Kiekert moulded in the motor section.

I did notice that some of the parts listed as 'Genuine' also do not have Kiekert moulded into the plastic.

So I think what may have happened is this... BMW started with Kiekert as the manufacturer, and at some point, moved manufacturing to China to lower costs. There are now black market parts on eBay that are from the China factory, and they're probably as good as OEM.

I've placed an order for a lower cost unit on eBay (drivers side) and when it arrives I'll be able to compare it to the Kiekert passenger side unit that I have.

I will report back on my findings, but if the eBay lower cost parts are viable, then yes... $220 is about right for parts.

You should note that it is a job that takes several hours, so if you're paying to have it done, it won't be a cheap job.

[SM2]

Originally Posted by Nezil

Apart from the locks, it's probably about $30 in connectors and cables.

The locks themselves are a bit of a mystery... and I'll be completely honest and say that I've so far only done the passenger side... Let me explain...

I knew I wanted to do this project, but was concerned about the massive range in price for the locks. BMW typically wants ~$500 each for these, so you might expect to get these for a wholesale price of ~$350 to $400... but if you look on eBay, they're going as cheap as $85!

I figured that most of those on eBay were Chinese knock offs, but I don't really understand why a Chinese company would make these knock off... there can't be that much demand.

To add to the confusion, Bimmertech sells a kit with 4 locks in it for $999.00 / $250 each. Their kit has longer Bowden cables between the motors and locks to help with placement, so they might be a custom order. On top of that, Bimmertech supplies some brackets, cables etc and has to make some money so it would seem to me that the Bimmertech units are equivalent to the ~$100 eBay parts.

In the end, to be safe, I ordered a single driver side lock from eBay that was said to be 'Genuine', and though used, in good working order. When it arrived, I spent some time looking at the pictures on eBay of the other units and there seems to be more than one version. There are some with a brown electrical connection between the lock and motor, and some with a black electrical connection. The apparently 'Genuine' part that I got turned out to be a passenger side one despite the listing saying otherwise, but it does have the manufacturer 'Kiekert' stamped into the metal of the lock as well as moulded into the plastic of the motor section. None of the photos of the lower cost parts on eBay have Kiekert moulded in the motor section.

I did notice that some of the parts listed as 'Genuine' also do not have Kiekert moulded into the plastic.

So I think what may have happened is this... BMW started with Kiekert as the manufacturer, and at some point, moved manufacturing to China to lower costs. There are now black market parts on eBay that are from the China factory, and they're probably as good as OEM.

I've placed an order for a lower cost unit on eBay (drivers side) and when it arrives I'll be able to compare it to the Kiekert passenger side unit that I have.

I will report back on my findings, but if the eBay lower cost parts are viable, then yes... $220 is about right for parts.

You should note that it is a job that takes several hours, so if you're paying to have it done, it won't be a cheap job.

I just finished installed OEM heated seats in my X4. Doesn't seem too tough for a project.

[RamonRuiz]

Any problem with alarm and antitheft?

[LuvMyE92]

One of the neatest things about some luxury cars is that soft close feature. Great project!

Now, me, personally, I would have drilled holes in the door. Who would know? Plus, don't you want the motor mounted as securely as possible? Seems that the torque would easily detach it from the velcro.

[Dasnub]

Anyone have the reverse for my trunk? People won’t stop slamming the s*** out of it 😂

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by Dasnub

Anyone have the reverse for my trunk? People won't stop slamming the s*** out of it 😂

Same here, I have some people that slam the shit out of my trunk, walk back into the car and ask me "What's wrong with your trunk"

[Nezil]

Originally Posted by RamonRuiz

Any problem with alarm and antitheft?

Not that I'm aware of. I'll take a look at that though.

[Nezil]

Originally Posted by LuvMyE92

Seems that the torque would easily detach it from the velcro.

The mechanical connection is a Bowden cable; like a brake cable on a bike. There is no torque on the mount for the motor itself. It's mounted on rubber stand offs as it is, and I'm confident that it would take more effort to pull the motor off the velcro than it would to rip the small rubber mounts!

[RocketBoots]

Bravo sir, bravo

[TrentMeister]

This is a must!

Cool post man this is the type of thing I look forward to seeing in here👍🏼

[dtmurf]

Nezil , thanks again for another great project and as always, well researched and shared! Some questions…

Any issues with Comfort Access (and associated features) after install?

Any issue with the window popping up or down?

Once you have the soft close locks installed, what happens if some monkey ‘slams’ your door? My BIL closes car doors like he’s throwing a 16 lbs. bowling ball!

The connector you modified has blue wires running into it but the wiring from the ground and door connection are black. Am I missing something or did does the black wire connect somewhere else?

Took a quick look on eBay and most of the locks on there don’t seem have the…I’m not sure what to call it, back in the day, you’d pull or push the ‘button’ to lock and unlock the door but now I guess it’s just an indicator of the door being locked or unlocked…the little bendy wire thinge that goes up to the window sill…will the one from the original lock work/fit?

The locks on eBay have a multipin connector…is this used (pic below)?

[Nezil]

First off... thanks to everyone for all the kind words. It's encouraging to hear feedback like this, and it makes taking the significant extra time required to capture photos and document a write up worthwhile.

Originally Posted by dtmurf

Some questions…

Any issues with Comfort Access (and associated features) after install?
Any issue with the window popping up or down?

None and none... the windows pop up and down based on the position of the lock, which is used to signal other things in the car as well.

After the soft close retrofit, the windows pop up after the door has been pulled closed by the motor unit, or if you slam the door (see below). It's basically a signal based on the second position of closing.

Once you have the soft close locks installed, what happens if some monkey ‘slams’ your door? My BIL closes car doors like he’s throwing a 16 lbs. bowling ball!

Nothing... I remember a few years back that Mercedes had a soft close system that could be damaged by slamming the doors. With the BMW system, the doors actually feel identical if you were to remove the fuse. The soft close only activates if you close the door gently. Slam it like you have to without soft close and there is zero difference.

The connector you modified has blue wires running into it but the wiring from the ground and door connection are black. Am I missing something or did does the black wire connect somewhere else?

Sorry if that wasn't clear... the part numbers I listed for the 2 pin connector and crimps result in a connector with about 30cm / 12" of wire already attached by BMW; these wires are blue.

Based on the wire diameters used by BMW in the 5er that these locks come from (looked up on ISTA+ wiring diagrams) I used 18 awg wire to go from the fuse box to each door connector, and from the door connector to the 12v positive blue wire of the connector. This 18 awg wire I used was black. I also used this wire to go from the ground splice in the door, which I re-did with my additional wire, to the other blue wire of the connector.

Took a quick look on eBay and most of the locks on there don’t seem have the…I’m not sure what to call it, back in the day, you’d pull or push the ‘button’ to lock and unlock the door but now I guess it’s just an indicator of the door being locked or unlocked…the little bendy wire thinge that goes up to the window sill…will the one from the original lock work/fit?

That locking indicator goes in to a white hole on the new unit. You pull your indicator out of your lock during the install.

The locks on eBay have a multipin connector…is this used (pic below)?

Yes, this connector signals to the vehicle the state of the door (open, closed, locked etc). On the factory locks only some of the pins are populated. On the eBay units they seem to have all 7 pins present, but I suspect only a few of them are actually connected. In any case, the connector from the stock lock plugs in here.

I actually have an eBay part on order now, and will install it later this week in the driver side door. I originally ordered a driver side module to test but it turned out to be a passenger side unit when it arrived. I will therefore have both a genuine used BMW part and a lower cost eBay part to compare when it arrives, and I'll provide feedback at that point.

As I posted above, the Bimmertech kit seems to use the eBay type parts, and I've not heard of any complaints with these so I suspect it will be fine.

The best thing about these locks is that if they do fail for any reason... remove the fuse and they should behave identically to the stock locks.

[VisualEcho]

So awesome.

[Nezil]

So I've done a bit more digging in response to this comment:

Originally Posted by dtmurf

Any issues with Comfort Access (and associated features) after install?

And the fact that the eBay parts listing states this:

2011-2015 740i
Note: Only for cars with Soft Close Automatic Doors S323A. Not for cars with Thief Proofing Device S8TGA, Alarm System S302A or Comfort Access S322A.

My car, and I think all US cars have S322A (comfort access) and S302A (alarm system) as standard, but I've had no issues since I installed my comfort close lock and I've not read about any issues either.

The Bimmertech site sells a comfort access retrofit kit, and this doesn't include replacement locks.... so what exactly is incompatible with the locks from eBay?

Next I took a look at RealOEM for my car, and can see that there are two versions of the lock

• 51217202143 for vehicles with S302A (alarm system) or S8TGA (deadlocks)
• 51217229461 for vehicles without S302A (alarm system) or S8TGA (deadlocks)

I can conclude then that the locks I had as stock support deadlocking even though my car does not have S8TGA listed in any VIN decoder. I believe therefore that deadlocking is dependent only on coding, or on coding + wiring from the front electronic module (FEM).

Again on RealOEM, I this time looked for the lock options on the 740i. This time there are three options:

• 51217202143 for vehicles with S302A (alarm system) or S8TGA (deadlocks) but not S323A (soft close) - [same part as my M2 stock]
• 51217229461 for vehicles without S302A (alarm system) or S8TGA (deadlocks) or S323A (soft close)
• 51217185689 for vehicles with S323A (soft close) and any other options [What I'm fitting]

First off then, on both cars, there appears to be no different part based on S322A (comfort access). It is remotely possible based on what the eBay post says, that the part they're selling would support only S323A (soft close) and not S302A (alarm system), and while according to RealOEM you could have specified a 740i that way, BMW's part for soft close supports everything else.

What I suspect to be the case, is that the description on the eBay post should say is:

Note: Only for cars with Soft Close Automatic Doors S323A. Not for cars with only Thief Proofing Device S8TGA, Alarm System S302A or Comfort Access S322A.

A single word can make all the difference, but in any case I should know soon once my part arrives.

I'm tempted to see if it's possible to code deadlocking if my locks support it!

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by Nezil

I can conclude then that the locks I had as stock support deadlocking even though my car does not have S8TGA listed in any VIN decoder. I believe therefore that deadlocking is dependent only on coding, or on coding + wiring from the front electronic module (FEM).

Due to liability reasons, "Deadlocking" is not active on any US-spec vehicle..


https://www.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?p=25595520


Sweet mod BTW

[dtmurf]

Nezil, thanks for the answers and the additional research!

[ASAP]

This is a real odd choice of a retrofit for a 2 series... albeit I appreciate the effort.