X5 E53 Air Conditioning - all systems go but no cold air

[upallnight]

Do you have the variable displacement compressor? With the engine off the charge appears to be low. With the compressor running, the low side shouldn't be higher than the static pressure with the engine off. Something is not right.

[OnewireAT1]

Originally Posted by upallnight

Do you have the variable displacement compressor? With the engine off the charge appears to be low. With the compressor running, the low side shouldn't be higher than the static pressure with the engine off. Something is not right.

humm good question:

I am not from down under and here is my part number:
64526918000
Air-conditioner compressor


When I looked at the unit it doesn't appear to have a control input that a variable would require but I am not 100%. When I went off reading about variable compressors it looks the control is internal ??

Also I went to aircondition.com and found this ..

"How can I tell if the expansion valve is bad?
This has to be our least favorite item to diagnose. We've had expansion valves quit working while on the road and show no signs of problem back in the shop. What's worse, an expansion valve can stick closed, stick open, or hang somehwere in between.

Of all the bad expansion valves seen over the years, I think those that stick closed are most common. Those are the easy ones. Gauges will show very low suction side pressure along with lower than normal high side pressure. The low side may even draw into a vacuum. That's a big clue. Those that appear to be stuck closed may have inlet screens clogged with ground up desiccant particles. This will look like beach sand packed into the inlet.

It's common for a defective expansion valve to stick closed, however, the expansion valve can also stick open. This is indicated by higher than normal low side pressure, and slightly higher than normal high side pressure. To some, this might appear as a weak compressor or slightly overcharged system."