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  #1  
Old 06-15-2015, 02:31 PM
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AUX Auxiliary Fan not working but its not the FAN!

BMW X5 2004 3.0 E53 – NOT A BAD FAN – CIRCUIT PROBLEM!

HELP! My electrical Aux fan doesn’t work and my car overheats now in the summer.
HAVING WIRED IN A NEWTEST FAN – I KNOW IT’S NOT THE FAN ITSELF. CAN’T FIGURE OUT WHAT’S WRONG – HELP PLEASE!
I did NOT remove the existing fan. Thank god - an awful job. I just tested a new one.

My repair steps: Here are paths I’ve taken:

Tried laying a new fan on the engine (uninstalled) with pos and neg wires. Didn’t work. I assume that the third little black wire in that cluster of 3 (sensor wire from the DME) is holding me all up. (Might be wrong, but it’s my guess.) Have not tried to test that 3rd wire as it needed an oscilloscope or something.
Also, I have a hole in my cat, not sure if that’s contributing. My Bentley manual says that Cat temp could be a factor, but not sure.
Final Stage Resistor inside under dash – I replaced this last year, but it could be bad.
Fuse – 50 amp is not blown in Glove fusebox
A/C pressure switch on A/C line– jumped the pos and neg posts for continuity and while car off, there’s continuity. Did not get any continuity from the 3rd terminal. I think it's a combo high/low sensor.
Both cooling temp sensors in the hoses were just replaced 3 months ago. Assume, correctly and good, but may not be true
A/C does blow cold once the car moves. But, if standing still, A/C gets warm and the engine gets dangerously hot. I have to turn engine off when hot. The A/C gets cold slowly even if I am driving at higher speeds. I have to toggle the snowflake switch once or twice to get cold.
I’m at the point of trying to figure out if it’s the ECM (engine control module, located in the engine EBox) or DME or a sensor. ANY THOUGHTS?
How to know?
HELP! I can’t figure out how to get this to work! Anyone know?
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  #2  
Old 06-15-2015, 02:45 PM
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See if this helps:

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  #3  
Old 06-15-2015, 03:57 PM
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The fan (new or old) won't spin with just positive and ground connected - the signal wire controls the speed. You would need a function generator and know what sort of pulse width modulation BMW uses to manually operate it. It is better to plug the fan in and use software to force the fan on. A generic scanner won't do it, but there are several BMW specific software tools that will.
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Old 06-15-2015, 04:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by synct View Post
BMW X5 2004 3.0 E53 – NOT A BAD FAN – CIRCUIT PROBLEM!

HELP! My electrical Aux fan doesn’t work and my car overheats now in the summer.
HAVING WIRED IN A NEWTEST FAN – I KNOW IT’S NOT THE FAN ITSELF. CAN’T FIGURE OUT WHAT’S WRONG – HELP PLEASE!
I did NOT remove the existing fan. Thank god - an awful job. I just tested a new one.

My repair steps: Here are paths I’ve taken:

Tried laying a new fan on the engine (uninstalled) with pos and neg wires. Didn’t work. I assume that the third little black wire in that cluster of 3 (sensor wire from the DME) is holding me all up. (Might be wrong, but it’s my guess.) Have not tried to test that 3rd wire as it needed an oscilloscope or something.
Also, I have a hole in my cat, not sure if that’s contributing. My Bentley manual says that Cat temp could be a factor, but not sure.
Final Stage Resistor inside under dash – I replaced this last year, but it could be bad.
Fuse – 50 amp is not blown in Glove fusebox
A/C pressure switch on A/C line– jumped the pos and neg posts for continuity and while car off, there’s continuity. Did not get any continuity from the 3rd terminal. I think it's a combo high/low sensor.
Both cooling temp sensors in the hoses were just replaced 3 months ago. Assume, correctly and good, but may not be true
A/C does blow cold once the car moves. But, if standing still, A/C gets warm and the engine gets dangerously hot. I have to turn engine off when hot. The A/C gets cold slowly even if I am driving at higher speeds. I have to toggle the snowflake switch once or twice to get cold.
I’m at the point of trying to figure out if it’s the ECM (engine control module, located in the engine EBox) or DME or a sensor. ANY THOUGHTS?
How to know?
HELP! I can’t figure out how to get this to work! Anyone know?
Yeah, take it into a REAL Mechanic. You lack the knowledge and the proper equipment/tools to perform any repairs. Before you do something else that either damage the X or yourself, take it in.
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  #5  
Old 06-16-2015, 10:18 AM
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Thank you for all your responses.
Just to be clear: I tested the pos/neg on the harness leading to the fan. Voltage was 12V. Did NOT test the thin control signal wire. Read enough here to stay away from that. Got a brand new fan and plugged it into the harness. All 3 wires. Nothing. FSR, temp sensors, hoses just replaced (curiously this started shortly after.) Did that indy in Morris plains, NJ do it right? Some doubts.

What I don't know is what's coming out of the signal wire, and IF there's a signal to activate the fan. Upallnight, you make a good point about that. But already took it to the BMW dealer in Suffern who said I "need a new aux fan." RIGHT.

So, now to find an indy with diagnostic gear capable of testing the signal wire and more. This is a pretty pervasive problem. A lot of complaints, few solutions. Some replaced the Aux fan and that did it. Others never seemed. To find a solution.
I just want to use this resource to get some clues about what it might be to talk to a shop. Why reinvent the wheel?
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  #6  
Old 06-16-2015, 10:24 AM
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zulu95, thanks for the diagram. I saw that before too. Looking at that, I wonder about the A/C pressure switch (3 leads, 2 of them do give continuity, probably the high side. I think it's a combo high/low switch). Or a radiator temp sensor (as I said, just replaced both with all hoses and tank.) hard to test the temp sensors, other than with BMW software, so off to a GOOD indy in North Jersey. Any reco's for n indy or ideas? Thanks.
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  #7  
Old 06-16-2015, 10:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by synct View Post
Thank you for all your responses.
Just to be clear: I tested the pos/neg on the harness leading to the fan. Voltage was 12V. Did NOT test the thin control signal wire. Read enough here to stay away from that. Got a brand new fan and plugged it into the harness. All 3 wires. Nothing. FSR, temp sensors, hoses just replaced (curiously this started shortly after.) Did that indy in Morris plains, NJ do it right? Some doubts.

What I don't know is what's coming out of the signal wire, and IF there's a signal to activate the fan. Upallnight, you make a good point about that. But already took it to the BMW dealer in Suffern who said I "need a new aux fan." RIGHT.

So, now to find an indy with diagnostic gear capable of testing the signal wire and more. This is a pretty pervasive problem. A lot of complaints, few solutions. Some replaced the Aux fan and that did it. Others never seemed. To find a solution.
I just want to use this resource to get some clues about what it might be to talk to a shop. Why reinvent the wheel?
How did they determine this? Did they scan the X and a trouble came up that the fan was no good? On my X when I scanned the X it gave me a trouble code that the fan was bad. Confirmed this by checking the 50 amp fuse and it was blown.

At start up the DME will command the fan to turn on and turn off power to the fan and wait for the fan motor to send back a voltage through the signal wire back to the DME that then fan did turned on and is now producing a DC signal.

The IKHA module is also responsible for turning on the fan. If you have BMW scanning software you can verify this.
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Lotus Europa 1970 Destroyed by fire
Lotus Europa 1970 S2 Renault Powered
Lotus Type 52 1970 Twincam Webers Powered
PORSCHE 911 Targa 1982 The Garage Queen
Audi Avant donated to Kars for Kids
BMW 525IT Sold
Audi 4000CS Quattro Sold
Jensen Healey Lotus Powered Sold
Opel 1900 Sold
Triumph Spitfire 1971 Sold
Triumph Spitfire 1968 Sold
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  #8  
Old 06-18-2015, 07:39 AM
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Strange- replacing the fan again actually worked!

I had plugged in the new aux fan several times without any movement. And frustration, I tried it again yesterday before sending it back and it worked!

Took it right over to an auto body shop and in one hour and $100 later I was back in shape. I have no idea why it didn't work for this time. I cleaned the connectors. BMW gremlins!!

One thing that the auto body shop guy told me that's important was that you really CAN NOT run this car without the aux fan. The reason is that the AC condenser when running IS HOT and blows hot air into your main radiator. (that's why, when you turn on the AC the engine will run hotter.). In the summer it only makes the situation worse when the aux fan is inoperable.

Thanks to everyone for their help.
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  #9  
Old 07-01-2015, 04:04 PM
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OK, IT *WAS* THE AUX FAN

Can't believe it, but I plugged in the new Aux fan one more time before sending it back. Just laid it on top of the engine, the old one still installed.

Damn! It worked this time. So, I took it to a local cheap body shop and for $100, they slapped it in as I watched.

IT ALL WORKS NOW. No overheating. Keeps on when I turn it off. Can't believe it. Not sure why it didn't work before, but who cares (until the next time it doesnt work!)

BMW GHOSTS....
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Old 06-29-2016, 07:41 PM
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Unhappy New Aux fan worked when plugged in but doesn't after install

Quote:
Originally Posted by synct View Post
Can't believe it, but I plugged in the new Aux fan one more time before sending it back. Just laid it on top of the engine, the old one still installed.

Damn! It worked this time. So, I took it to a local cheap body shop and for $100, they slapped it in as I watched.

IT ALL WORKS NOW. No overheating. Keeps on when I turn it off. Can't believe it. Not sure why it didn't work before, but who cares (until the next time it doesnt work!)

BMW GHOSTS....
I seem to have the opposite of your problem as I purchased a new aux fan and plugged it in on the motor to test. With the AC on it turned on, so I turned the car off, installed the new fan and now it will not turn on. What could possibly be the problem?

I spent the extra money on the OEM BEHR fan to be sure it would not go bad. Could something be shorting the fan out, or maybe it will suddenly start working like yours did? I do not have much time as I will need to uninstall the fan and return it soon if it did actually fail.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.
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