2006 BMW X5 3.0I AC Condenser and Aux Fan Cause Overheating

[Nick416]

Crystalworks, I am referring to the compressor. Also I am guilty of diving my last 3 series with the ses light on for a while before I traded it in to lol

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

Oh, I thought you meant the compressor. The condenser is basically just a radiator for your AC system. It does some other stuff, but is just a mechanical device. Running without an auxiliary fan will not damage the condenser.

Oh, and spending $2000 after purchase price on a used BMW is pretty standard fare. Only way to avoid that is to pay top dollar to an enthusiast who has already done the work that 99% of used BMW's need. Most owners don't do the maintenance they are supposed to on time, or decide to live with check engine lights, clunking suspensions, etc until they trade the vehicle in or sell it to pass on the problems to the next guy. Sad, but true.

Compressor is the right terminology, the op is using condenser instead of compressor. If a shop is telling him that his condenser doesn't turn on because the aux fan is bad, I would run not walk away from that shop. Most likely because the owner is new to BMW he probably confused condenser for compressor.

Wow $2000 after buying a BMW???? Even enthusiast don't always keep up their BM Trouble U. I use to belong to the local BM Trouble U club and many members once the warranty was over they stop bringing their cars in for work and just drive them until they buy a new car.

[Nick416]

Lol I want to make sure it's safe for my family and don't want to break down. Will the compressor not come on if the fan is bad? The belt spins the pulley but the clutch does not engage. Could this be because of the fan being bad?

[B-M-W]

Originally Posted by Nick416

Lol I want to make sure it's safe for my family and don't want to break down. Will the compressor not come on if the fan is bad? The belt spins the pulley but the clutch does not engage. Could this be because of the fan being bad?

YES!

I all ready said this. If the fan is bad the compressor will not come on unless you modify something.

[Nick416]

Ok great. Thank you for your help!

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by upallnight

Wow $2000 after buying a BMW???? Even enthusiast don't always keep up their BM Trouble U. I use to belong to the local BM Trouble U club and many members once the warranty was over they stop bringing their cars in for work and just drive them until they buy a new car.

Yeah, I didn't mean ALL enthusiasts maintain their BMW perfectly... but the way to get a good one is to buy from one of the enthusiasts who do. LOL or buy a really good aftermarket warranty... which usually still costs $2k - $3k based on the quotes I was given for my wife's e83 mtech X3.

OP, I'm not sure why your compressor isn't turning on. A bad aux fan alone will not cause that I don't think, unless the pressure is building up and tripping the pressure switch. Even if that were happening, you would still get cold air while you were driving at highway speed when air is moving over the condenser.

[Nick416]

That is what is confusing. The shop told me the compressor will not engage if the fan is bad. Some of the posts that I've read said that is true and some say it is not true. Member B-M-W says that is correct. I am hoping he is right because I gave the shop the go ahead to fix the fan.

[B-M-W]

Don't hope that I am right.

Your vehicle is programmed to disable particular items when a fault occurs and this is one of them.

What you should be doing is taking the fan apart yourself. This is a very easy DIY.

[Nick416]

Thank you B-M-W!

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by B-M-W

Don't hope that I am right.

Your vehicle is programmed to disable particular items when a fault occurs and this is one of them.

What you should be doing is taking the fan apart yourself. This is a very easy DIY.

Good to know. I guess all the modules are tied together and communicating faults and the like. I am used to diagnosing older BMW's I must admit...

OP, perhaps your shop diagnosed your problems with software which told them the compressor was not engaging due to a failed aux fan. That would make sense.