trunk wont open

[carducci]

Hey all, I have a '94 318I

Earlier last year, the trunk wouldnt unlock until the 3rd or 4th vigorous turn...and now it doesnt unlock at all...and I cant get into my trunk.

The automatic lock mechanism seems to still be working since I can lock all the doors by turning the trunk lock the other way....but it wont open.

Any ideas how I can fix this???

[e30driver]

if you can't reach the lock mechanism from ski pass through (if you have one) then your best bet might be to use a screwdriver to force/break the lock open

check the electric unlock wiring before you do that... if something's just unplugged/shorted/broken connection, then you might be able to fix that and not need to worry

if you do have to force the lock open, you'll need to replace the lock cylinder (unless you don't mind leaving your trunk unlocked)

[carducci]

where do I check the the unlock wiring and how do I go about doing that??? When I lock the trunk it still locks all the doors....so would that mean nothing is wrong with wiring?

[e30driver]

I think that the lock/unlock signals use separate wires, so you may still have a wiring problem. It's also possible the actuator's dead and stuck in double lock (do E36s have that?).

There was a link on the forums a little while ago for an electrical repair manual. There was an E30 manual for sure, but I forget if there was an E36 manual. If you can find that, it would help you.