no he wouldn't touch the gas, he said that if the thing blows cold when running then in his opinion the gas level was ok, he sent me off to sort out the fan first.

so i had my mechanic test the fan ( something i learnt here , thanks) and the software said it was inconclusive, so the mechanic sent it to an auto electrician, who tested the fan and concluded that the controller is dead.

so ive ordered a new fan, and will fit it myself ( again thanks to this site) and see what happens.

i saw on Bimmerfest someone claimed that if the pusher fan was faulty then that can also cause the a/c to be slow starting, i assume that the a/c controller may pulse the fan, and if it doesn't get the response it expects then doesn't allow the a/c to kick in till other parameters are met, just guessing here as i simply don't know.

however once the fan is replaced then i can assess the thing further.