Ok, it was the FINAL STAGE RESISTOR for the HVAC blower. BTW, the new automatic tranny....working well. Last week, car wouldn't start and you can see the dash lights dim as I engaged the starter. Yes, got a new battery last November (Interstate battery with 800 CCA) Anyhow, I had a battery booster and started the car with it. Got it checked by local mechanic and it appears that after I shut off the car, the blower for HVAC system would go on & off even though the engine was off. No, he ruled out the battery otherwise, that is where I got the battery which had a 7 year warranty. I did have the final stage resistor for the HVAC replaced under warranty once (because it was doing funky things with the fan back in 2002).

Anyhow, even though the car was off for a while, the final stage resistor for the HVAC was burning hot....obviously, it was drawing more power....I'll take a picture of it, but usually when the HVAC blower is running, it also helps cool off the resistor. The new final stage resistor has more cooling fins and looks updated/upgraded from my old resistor made by Valeo dated 12/01.

Hopefully, that was it and I'll see if the X5 will start tomorrow morning.

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