Air Conditioning Not Cold

[X5F]

Hello, I have a Facelift e53, N62 & I have a problem with the AC. It always worked fine & then suddenly stopped blowing cold.

I concluded that the clutch was no longer engaging so I purchased a new a/c clutch & installed it(nightmare job in vehicle)

Now you can hear AC clutch engage, but no cold air coming from vents. I have also tried hotwiring 12v to the clutch to make sure there are no other issues preventing it switching on.

Pipes do not get cold & low pressure side showing about 35psi, even if it was low I should get some cooling effect with compressor engaged.

Absolutely stuck & don’t know what else I can try to resolve this issue, ideas much appreciated!

[TwinTurboGTR]

When changing the clutch, did you evac the system down and recharge the system? You need to find out if you have a sufficient charge first. Then you need to make sure the compressor is actually working with a gauge set. It may be pulling that clutch in, but may not actually be activating the compressor.

[X5F]

Thanks for your response twin turbo

I did the clutch without removing the compressor so the AC gas levels would be the same as when it was working correctly.

I’ve just taken it to a shop to get it Re-gassed again anyway but their machine would not add any gas to the system & he really didn’t know much about BMWs.

I only can check the low pressure port & it remains at 35psi clutch engaged or not so although I’m getting the click maybe the compressor isn’t engaging.

I have INPA & it is not detecting any faults & It’s showing when compressor is on & off when the buttons are depressed at the panel.

Any other suggestions?

Would the expansion valve suddenly fail & cause this issue?

[Overboost]

G,day mate. Let me ask, when your hear the compressor clutch engage, does the aux fan start? (It should) If not, unplug the aux fan and start the X and try the AC switch again and see if the clutch engages and rotates the compressor and starts blowing cold. The aux fan is a critical component of the AC system and must be operational. You can also check the fan operation by unplugging the pressure switch down next to the compressor on the hard line. It should ramp up to full song in 5 seconds.

[TwinTurboGTR]

Originally Posted by X5F

Thanks for your response twin turbo

I did the clutch without removing the compressor so the AC gas levels would be the same as when it was working correctly.

I’ve just taken it to a shop to get it Re-gassed again anyway but their machine would not add any gas to the system & he really didn’t know much about BMWs.

I only can check the low pressure port & it remains at 35psi clutch engaged or not so although I’m getting the click maybe the compressor isn’t engaging.

I have INPA & it is not detecting any faults & It’s showing when compressor is on & off when the buttons are depressed at the panel.

Any other suggestions?

Would the expansion valve suddenly fail & cause this issue?

OK, well the system may not need any refrigerant... we just want to see tat the high and low pressures are. INPA and GT1 are great tools, but may not be the best way to go about it. We already know the switch works and the ecu is commanding the AC to turn on. What we dont know is if the compressor is engaged or not. The only way to tell is to hook it up to a set of gauges and real the high and low through a cycle. Did the shop that tried to add refrigerant even see what the pressures were?

[X5F]

Thank you twin turbo Gtr & overboost for your reply’s.

Unfortunately the shop did not tell me what the pressures where, he had a machine that automatically adds 134a if needed. His machine would not add any to the system so he thinks the levels are fine.

The Australian version of the facelifted X5 has no aux fan, only the radiator fan that doubles as an aux fan & I can confirm works properly.

I pulled the high pressure Ac switch connector & it roared to life instantly so fast it sounded like a turbine.

It’s summer here & it’s so hot driving a Black/Black X5 with no AC.

Any other things I can try/Rule out ? It’s 1.30am here so I won’t reply till tomorrow.

Thanks again

[TwinTurboGTR]

theres really not much else you can do without getting some baseline numbers down. Need to know when pressures are going up and down so you can see when the compressor comes on and off. Hopefully you can get to a set a gauges soon. Good luck.

[Overboost]

Originally Posted by X5F

Thank you twin turbo Gtr & overboost for your reply’s.

Unfortunately the shop did not tell me what the pressures where, he had a machine that automatically adds 134a if needed. His machine would not add any to the system so he thinks the levels are fine.

The Australian version of the facelifted X5 has no aux fan, only the radiator fan that doubles as an aux fan & I can confirm works properly.

I pulled the high pressure Ac switch connector & it roared to life instantly so fast it sounded like a turbine.

It’s summer here & it’s so hot driving a Black/Black X5 with no AC.

Any other things I can try/Rule out ? It’s 1.30am here so I won’t reply till tomorrow.

Thanks again

Right, so the fan is not the issue. Good to have that confirmed. The last thing I can think of is clutch itself. What clutch did you get? Maybe check to make sure when you hear the click, it actually locks to the compressor?

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by X5F

Hello, I have a Facelift e53, N62 & I have a problem with the AC. It always worked fine & then suddenly stopped blowing cold.

I concluded that the clutch was no longer engaging so I purchased a new a/c clutch & installed it(nightmare job in vehicle)

Now you can hear AC clutch engage, but no cold air coming from vents. I have also tried hotwiring 12v to the clutch to make sure there are no other issues preventing it switching on.

Pipes do not get cold & low pressure side showing about 35psi, even if it was low I should get some cooling effect with compressor engaged.

Absolutely stuck & don’t know what else I can try to resolve this issue, ideas much appreciated!

Only one pipe should get cold, but the other pipe should be hot. Do you have a variable displacement compressor? If you do have a variable displacement compressor perhaps the variable valve that regulates the displacement is bad.

[X5F]

Just a quick update, have ordered a manifold gauge set.

Clutch 100% clicks when powered directly & by control panel.

How can I tell if compressor itself is engaged ?

Definitely no cooling at all & piping warm.

It has the Kansai made in Japan compressor, not sure if it is variable or not.

Thanks for everyone’s input !