[Serf27]

Driver door DIY in the first post has been working flawlessly since it was posted.
Right rear door actuator was failing electrically, (constant door open error) so I opted that as the next soft close retrofit. Sadly, the 2 pin method is not working. I am getting a factory soft close motor pigtail to see if the casing around the 2 wires is magical and needed. Have found a 12V source, just need to wire it in order to edit passenger rear door.

[GnomeChild]

Just a heads up, your part# for the front actuator in the OP is off; it doesn't bring up any BMW part when crossreferenced in RealOEM. This is what I was able to find when I dug into the F10 section:

51217185689 (Front Driver)
51217185692 (Front Passenger)


In regards to the rear doors, are you reusing front door actuators or are you using the rear door ones? If so I was able to find numbers for the rears as well

51227154515 (Rear Driver)
51227154516 (Rear Passenger)


That being said, someone mentioned e60 actuators earlier. Is there any benefit/difference if using them instead? I would assume the F10 ones would be better/nicer, no? Those are the ones we should be looking for, yeah?

It'll be a while before I'll be able to tackle this project myself so I wouldn't be of much use right now, but hopefully by the time I get around to it all the kinks have been ironed out

[Serf27]

Yea, those are the part numbers from the parts I got. They’re aftermarket eBay, but reference those part numbers.
The e60 actuator someone posted earlier had too many pins and it would be difficult to configure what each pin does. The cable length on the e70 is too small, so F series is needed.

I’m going to source an OEM pigtail and verify if the pigtails have magical powers or if this soft close motor is just defective..

[GnomeChild]

I think my favorite thing about this retrofit is the fact that the actuators use an isolated motor that just directly taps into the wiring, no programming needed. It's refreshing seeing mods that don't require coding, reprogramming, repinning, running lines through firewalls, routing to junction boxes, etc. I've gotten to the point where it seems like more than half the mods I have planned require some use of NCSExpert to finalize the install and it's nice that these basically work nearly plug-and-play without having to be coded. While I'll probably eventually get more experience with coding and probably won't dread mods that require it in the future, it's nice seeing things that can be done/upgraded while I keep my brain in monkey mode

Literally so easy an idiot can do it


That being said, have you noticed any rattles or binding on the window from only installing your front actuator motor at one point? It doesn't seem like colorado.e9x even mounted it at all (looks like it's just hanging there) and I'm just curious if there's any audible rattling or play. When I tackle this I might make some sort of custom bracket in order to anchor the motor to at least 2 mounting points but we'll see. If it's fine with just 1 point I may just leave well enough alone

[colorado.e9x]

I was planning on mounting it.. Later that day I found I didn't have bits for my drill and I didn't feel like going to Home Depot lol

With that being said it fits very tight and it has never gotten loose and rattled. Bumpy roads and canyon runs included

[Serf27]

The front driver hasn’t made any rattling noise.
The one I’m working on now, right rear, looks like I’ll have space to get 2 mounting points bolted on.

[JenkisZ]

So it's completely ok, to run 12V from windows? I thought Car would start spitting errors due to additional power drain on that line.

[Serf27]

Originally Posted by JenkisZ

So it's completely ok, to run 12V from windows? I thought Car would start spitting errors due to additional power drain on that line.

I am wired into the window motor. It shows constant 12v.
I haven’t gotten the actual oem plug for the soft close motor to work. The soft close motor may also be defective.
I don’t think the soft close motor uses 12v all the time. Only when the door is closed is when it needs power, so it shouldn’t throw any errors.

[Serf27]

Right front door instructions added.

[GnomeChild]

Works as intended? Ever sort out the passenger door?

[Serf27]

Originally Posted by GnomeChild

Works as intended? Ever sort out the passenger door?

Yes. Right front is working great.
It is the right rear and soon to be the left rear that have issues.
It looks like a power wire has to be run to the rear doors for it to work.
I’m trying to find a wiring diagram for the door harness before I run an additional wire though.

[scroller]

Originally Posted by Serf27

Here's a proper DIY on adding the soft close doors to your E9X car.
No coding required!
Here’s a video of it working.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Lhh7WYW9lmY?feature=share

This DIY works for a lot of E chassis vehicles and other chassis, as long as the car uses the door actuator design/style that is used here.
My E70 has it and its super nice!
In this DIY, I'm only doing the driver door. Installation instructions may differ on the other doors, I will edit the post when I do the other doors...

The specific actuator I used does have a pinch hazard safety mechanism. If it senses pressure when pulling the the door closed, it will stop and return to the partially closed position. That doesn't mean you can leave your finger there, it still closes for a split second before opening back up. I put a pencil on the edge of the door when it was closing, it did open back up when it sensed the pencil but in that split second where it closed, it crushed the pencil!


Images are viewed best on mobile.

Soft close motor may be referred to as “SC motor”.



LIST OF PARTS NEEDED
[LIST] 1 Door Actuator w/ soft close motor from F10/F01 P/N 5121-7-185-789.
This part number brings up aftermarket actuators- 51217185689[./LIST]
IT IS IMPORTANT YOU GET AN ACTUATOR/SOFT CLOSE MOTOR THAT HAS A CABLE WITH SOME LEGNTH SO YOU CAN MOUNT THE SOFT CLOSE MOTOR.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/51217185689...-127632-2357-0

• 1 Self locking (or regular) nut to mount the SC motor.
  P/N 6450-9-123-157

The way I mounted the motor, I only used one nut. There are 3 mounting studs on the SC motor. You will need 3 nuts if you're making a custom bracket, I didn't need to make a custom bracket. These nuts are similar to the nuts that hold the speakers to the door panels or tail lights to the body, I had some extra ones.
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...h/64509123157/

• 1 Soft close Motor electrical connector. P/N 6113-8-364-520

This is the connector that plugs into the SC motor.
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...g/61138364520/

• 1 pair of connector pins P/N 6113-0-070-586

These pins slide into the black connector listed right above this.
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...t/61130070586/

Your door harness on the E9X chassis WILL NOT have this pigtail wrapped in the loom. I have seen this pigtail wrapped in door wire harnesses on E70 models that didn't have the SC motor, that's where I got my connector from, an old E70 door harness.

• Black electrical tape

• 2 electrical connectors

Using these, doesn't require any wire cutting.
https://www.autozone.com/miscellaneo...B&gclsrc=aw.ds



Time to start! With no issues, this should take 1-1.5 hours.

First thing that's needed is to remove the old door actuator. I won't be showing this, but here's a link showing it, once you get to the point where the actuator is removed, come back here.
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...hlight=speaker

^They didn't remove the window regulator, which I highly suggest. Heres another link showing the regulator removal.
https://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tec...eplacement.htm


Now we can really begin



Step 1.) Photo #1 & #2
Your old actuator is attached to your door handle bracket with a cable. You need to remove the cable/handle bracket from the old actuator and attach it to the new actuator. It's straight forward, unclip the cable and clip it back on the new piece.

Now you should have 3 parts tied together:
Door handle bracket
Door actuator
Soft close motor
There is a yellow cover/cap on the back of your old door actuator, pop it off and clip it on the new actuator.


Step 2.) Photo #3 & #4-#5
Configure your black connector and electrical pins.
Since I used a piece from a used harness, I'll try to walk you through this step.
Based on the photos on the ECS site, it looks like its 1 single wire with 2 pins.
Cut the wire in half and insert 1 pin into each slot on the back of the black connector. You can label one as red and another as brown, or keep track of which is which. Once the pins are in the connector, give them a slight tug to make sure they don't come out and make sure they're fully seated.
The last thing you want is to have those pins/wires pop out when you put everything back together.
The connector I used had roughly 1ft of wire on it. This was barely long enough. If the ECS wire (when cut in half) is 1ft or less, I recommend extending it a little. Once the motor is mounted, its hard to work with the wires.
The top pin on the black connector will be your positive/power wire. See photo #3, take note of this wire so you can wire this one to the power on the door harness later.

If you do not have an oem connector, in theory you should be able to use 2 female wire connectors to connect wires into the motor. See Photo #4-#5.
If you use this method, secure the wires to the motor so they don't come out! Also, note which pin will be the -/+. The orientation of the motor in photo #5 shows that the top pin (green wire) would be your positive cable.



Step 3.) Time to start re-installing NO photos
Start by pushing the parts back up into the door.
First goes the door handle bracket, followed by actuator and SC motor. Bolt the door handle bracket in place so it holds the rest up.
Now bolt the actuator in place and plug it in.
Make sure your SC motor cable is free and that the new wires you added are also free.
Put your door handle back on now.


Step 4.) Mounting the Soft close motor to the door. Photo #6.5 & #7
This step is a bit hard to explain. LOOK closely at my photos to see how its mounted.
At this point, your regulator should already be bolted in and wire connectors on the motor in place.
The cable length on the SC motor is just long enough to pop out of the door so you can mount it, that's why its important to have sufficient cable slack.

Only 1 stud on the SC motor makes contact with the door frame, so I bolted that one. I held the motor in place where the stud made contact, I then put my finger over the stud and pulled the motor away and left my finger on the door. I made a pinching motion with my thumb and finger (thumb was on the outside of the door) and where my thumb was touching the door, that's where I drilled a hole. See photo #6.5.
If you put the motor in at an angle, the bottom of the edge will catch the door frame on the outside while the top is bolted on from the inside. This tension keeps the motor in place. See photo #6.5

Photo #7 shows the motor in place and shows where I ran the motor wiring.(blue line). You can also see a hole I drilled earlier to mount the motor. That position did not work because it got in the way of the window track.

YOU DO NOT WANT TO INTERFERE WITH THE WINDOW TRACK.

This method works great and the motor stays put. You're welcome to design some sort of bracket if you'd like!


Step 5.) Window track/regulator install.NO photos
Put your window regulator back on and make sure it fits without any issues. The studs on the window tracks should slide into their designated holes freely and evenly. You will mostly be paying attention to the rear track, if the studs don't slide evenly (top to bottom) then something is wrong and you need to re check the position of the SC motor.
Don't put the window back on yet until youre done with everything.


Step 6.) Locate Wires to pull power/ground. Photo #8 & #9
You can either run wires all the way to the fuse box or do the following.

Locate your window switch connector/harness. There will be 2 wires which we will pull power/ground from. Photo #8.
We will be using a RED wire with gray stripe and a brown wire from this connector.
DO NOT confuse the RED with gray stripe wire from the gray with red stripe wire.
Photo #8 shows the wires we are using circled.
The Red with gray stripe wire is a little thicker anyways, so you shouldn't get confused on which to use.
The brown ground wire is simple, just 1 brown wire on this plug.
NOTE! There is an additional brown wire in the same wire loom, this wire is used for the floor lights when the door is opened, DO NOT tap into this wire. I removed the factory tape to check which of the 2 brown wires went into the window switch so I could tap into the correct one.
Photo #9 shows this. Green=yes, Red=no.


Step 7.)Tapping into the harness Photo #10 & #11.
The clips I used have a metal plate that when squeezed down over 2 wires, makes small cuts on the wires and they make contact via the plate.
Slide the clip over a wire on your oem harness and slide the corresponding wire (red to red-brown to brown) from your SC motor into the clip. Squeeze the metal plate down with pliers and fold the plastic cover over it. See photo #10.

Tape it all up now. Photo #11 shows the harness taped, where the SC motor harness is ran, and a zip tie holding the wire up on an oem hole.

Now get out, tap your door closed and look at it work!



Once you've tried it a few times, verified its working and showed your family the modern technology door, time to put the rest back together. Really just slide the window back in place and put the vapor barrier and door panel back on.
Its a good idea, to test your window movement up and down before putting the door panel on to verify its not binding or getting caught on anything.


The placement of the motor makes for a very snug fit between the motor and door panel. The door panel clips and screws hold the panel in place just fine.

I will be updating this thread in the future for the other doors with SC mounting locations and wiring for them.

Video of it working.
https://youtube.com/shorts/Lhh7WYW9lmY?feature=share

ENJOY!

Hello,

I have found a full set from X5 E70 soft close with harness and plugs, did from E70 will be able to retrofit them is it have some changes from F10 soft close and even plug them somewhere different in the fuse box when you are retrofiting them?

[colorado.e9x]

Originally Posted by scroller

Hello,

I have found a full set from X5 E70 soft close with harness and plugs, did from E70 will be able to retrofit them is it have some changes from F10 soft close and even plug them somewhere different in the fuse box when you are retrofiting them?

If it bolts to the door and shuts as intended, and the main harness is the same there shouldn't be any issue. We just tapped into a constant 12V found in the door itself, no fuse taps. Would be messy. You will have to route a constant 12V to the rear doors though.

Serf27, where were you thinking of getting supplied 12v? I got too many things piggy backing off my cigarette lighter lol

[nieznamcie]

Thank you for this amazing tutorial, I can't wait to install this in my E92.

[scroller]

Thanks for the explanation you made through it I also put it on my left hand drive soft close F10 should be the parts.I can say that the feeling is quite different to the constant slamming of the doors and irritation. The only difficulty I had was with the grip of the front doors itself, which is normal because there is quite a big difference compared to the 5 and 3 series.

[ggets]

I will definitely try this on my e90. Sadly it is quite far away from me right now, so I will have to wait for a bit.
One thing I don't understand, though is how are the rear windows different such that you don't have a constant voltage line to tap into? Do they not all operate the same way?

[Serf27]

The voltage for the front door motor came from the mirrors.
The rear door has voltage at the window motor but it is not constant unless the window switch is activated (I think). The voltage for the window switch LED light is not enough to power the soft close motor.

[Serf27]

For those asking about using different actuators:

I only recommend doing this with F10 and F01 actuators and motors.
The e70 uses a shorter cable and it makes it extremely difficult to assemble inside of the door and the cable does not have enough slack for you to mount the motor to the door.

To get power to the rear doors, I tapped into my fuse box a while ago and ran a power wire to my PDC module. That power wire is under the carpet. I may try using that for a power source. For those with PDC or RDC, you should also have a power wire under the passenger side carpet that you might be able to access.
More info on that later.
1 rear actuator and SC motor is already installed, I just need to run power to it.


Update on the drivers side: The small rubber mount on the motor ripped, but since I only used one mounting point/nut, I swapped a rubber mount from the motor to where it was mounted in the car.
The second rubber mount also ripped soon after, so I think it is best to use a bolt to go through the door and directly bolted to the motor where the rubber mount goes.

Passenger side is working fine.

[colorado.e9x]

Something I didn't really think about until just now..

Serf27, do your doors shut slowly & smoothly? My front doors virtually slam shut every time; then try to soft close after they've already shut

[Serf27]

Originally Posted by colorado.e9x

Something I didn't really think about until just now..

Serf27, do your doors shut slowly & smoothly? My front doors virtually slam shut every time; then try to soft close after they've already shut

The way I’ve noticed how the actuators work is, even if you slam the door, the door does not fully close. It will slam half way shut and then slowly close.
If you tap the door closed, it is a much smoother close. In both scenarios, the door doesn’t fully close and the motor pulls it closed afterwards.

You’re saying your door will be completely closed and then the motor continues working? Does the motor click when this happens?

[ptpending]

this is well known retrofit in eastern europe
the best soft close actuators for e9x is from f07 5gt cars because they have longest bowden cables
thats why the used actuators from f07 cost two or four times more of the actuators from f01

[Serf27]

Originally Posted by ptpending

this is well known retrofit in eastern europe
the best soft close actuators for e9x is from f07 5gt cars because they have longest bowden cables
thats why the used actuators from f07 cost two or four times more of the actuators from f01

Good info.
I used new aftermarket from eBay that were much cheaper. I may try the new F07 for the left rear.