Ac not working, Checked Refrigerant, What else to do?

[Quicksilver]

In my humble opinion a BMW AC expert might save you tons of headaches chasing your tail. Find an Indy you trust. It will be money well spent,

Originally Posted by shevin

I just bought a BMW x5 2003.
AC is not working I tried added refrigerant, but the PSI level was already in more than green (in yellow zone)
so I tried to empty the refrigerant and refill it again ( I thought maybe the old one is not good) and I filled it up to yellow zone ( which is about 50 PSI )


I don't see any leak, what is the next item I can check ? (on my previous cars whenever I turned on the AC I would hear the compressor noise, this one makes no noise whatsoever...) is there anything I can do myself without mechanic?

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

In my humble opinion a BMW AC expert might save you tons of headaches chasing your tail. Find an Indy you trust. It will be money well spent,

Probably doesn't want to spend the 100-200 bucks to take the X in for a scan. Looking for a cheap fix like the AC in a can at Pep Girl, or the Manual Zone.

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by shevin

I checked there is a 13.4v DC voltage on the aux fan using my mulitmeter

Since you have a meter, with the key on, find the ground connection at the connector and link the ground to each of the negative sides, one at a time, and see if fan activates. The link closes the circuit.

FYI- There is nothing wrong with doing basic troubleshooting to learn or to save some money. I can remember a time that if I didn't figure out what was wrong and fix it myself the vehicle was going to sit until I did. Vehicles are much more complicated than the good 'ol days but I still start with basic troubleshooting in 95% of the cases.

[David.X5]

^^^ what? Aren't you instructing him to create a dead short?

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by David.X5

^^^ what? Aren't you instructing him to create a dead short?

Oops, yes, the other slots are also negative but are only grounded when a jumper is run from the slot that is already grounded. I corrected it.

[upallnight]

The fan connector consist of three wires. Two heavy duty wires for power, 1 positive and the other for negative and a third smaller gauge wire which is the control to turn the fan on and adjust the speed of the fan. A pulse width modulated signal is sent on this wire to the electronic built into the fan. This signal is sent by the DME.

I wouldn't be advising people to use any type of untried testing method to see if the fan can be activated because you can go from an expensive fix to a very expensive fix if you ruin the DME.

To determine if the fan is the problem, the best and safe way is to get it scanned. A bad fan will post a DTC in the DME since the DME issues a command at the start of the key on cycle and if it doesn't receive the correct signal from the fan it will log a DTC for the fan. Even if the fuse is not blown, the fan could still be the problem. I scanned Babyduke X last summer and told him that the fan needed to be replaced if he wanted the ac to work. The fuse was still good and there was sufficient refrigerant in the system.

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by upallnight

The fan connector consist of three wires. Two heavy duty wires for power, 1 positive and the other for negative and a third smaller gauge wire which is the control to turn the fan on and adjust the speed of the fan. A pulse width modulated signal is sent on this wire to the electronic built into the fan. This signal is sent by the DME.

I wouldn't be advising people to use any type of untried testing method to see if the fan can be activated because you can go from an expensive fix to a very expensive fix if you ruin the DME.

To determine if the fan is the problem, the best and safe way is to get it scanned. A bad fan will post a DTC in the DME since the DME issues a command at the start of the key on cycle and if it doesn't receive the correct signal from the fan it will log a DTC for the fan. Even if the fuse is not blown, the fan could still be the problem. I scanned Babyduke X last summer and told him that the fan needed to be replaced if he wanted the ac to work. The fuse was still good and there was sufficient refrigerant in the system.

The process I posted is not untried but it was for older BMWs. Sorry Shevin, my mistake.

I previously agreed that scanning would be the best route to take. However, I think it worthwhile to contribute basic troubleshooting that anyone can do whenever possible. Is there a safe way to test the fan not involving a scan?

[upallnight]

There's a reason why BMW and other car makers went with using diagnostic software to trouble shoot problems in the automobiles these days. Cars are a lot more complex these days and the only way to fix them correctly is with the use of diagnostic software. The software and hardware are not that expensive any more.

Scanner 1 4 0 Diagnostic Tool Code Reader 4 BMW E38 E39 E46 E53 E83 E85 x3 x5 Z4 | eBay

You can get the software and the hardware for a little more than 17 bucks. Can't afford to spend 17 bucks on software and hardware, then you should consider other means of transportation.

[Quicksilver]

I'm sure you're right but i had to at least express what
I thought was a logical and practical course.
I guess I still can't get over why anyone would purchase
what can be described as a Luxury vehicle and expect to
get by with a cheap as you described it a "Pep Girl" fix. Oh well
Wishing the OP the best......

Originally Posted by upallnight

Probably doesn't want to spend the 100-200 bucks to take the X in for a scan. Looking for a cheap fix like the AC in a can at Pep Girl, or the Manual Zone.

[bcredliner]

[QUOTE=upallnight;1076500]There's a reason why BMW and other car makers went with using diagnostic software to trouble shoot problems in the automobiles these days. Cars are a lot more complex these days and the only way to fix them correctly is with the use of diagnostic software. The software and hardware are not that expensive any more.

Scanner 1 4 0 Diagnostic Tool Code Reader 4 BMW E38 E39 E46 E53 E83 E85 x3 x5 Z4 | eBay

You can get the software and the hardware for a little more than 17 bucks. Can't afford to spend 17 bucks on software and hardware, then you should consider other means of transportation.[/QUOTE

Alert the Media---Cars are a lot more complex than they used to be!

I'm not sure what you mean by--- the only correct way to fix them--- as this forum would not exist if the correct response to every new thread about symptoms of a problem was to read the codes. The vast majority of responses are to replace a particular part based on the symptoms or basic troubleshooting steps to find the root cause.

I agree that code reading/clearing software pricing is much less than it used to be and is also more user friendly. I wouldn't buy this one as it is a "cracked version" and it is likely that it will show only an abbreviated number of codes. I like the readers that read in depth codes, connect by bluetooth, in my case to my iPad and will also display realtime measurements of a running engine. And, most importantly are designed to be user friendly enough for the DIYer that isn't using it that frequently. They will cost more than $17.00 but will be a much greater value.

As you know codes can be misleading. An example if there is an air/fuel mixture problem there can be several codes thrown so there is often a need for basic troubleshooting to find the core issue. That was my only reason for asking for your input. In this case my guess is it is likely the testing side would be needed to determine the problem and if it can't be done with basic troubleshooting that means I would have to drag out the INPA suite, my dedicated windows computer and a bottle of valium.