After 3 weeks, the BMW A/C is operational. The new pressure switch fixed the fan start up. The fan kicks on a soon as pressure builds. A/C is now instant. No more having to drive down a half mile for it to get cold. Or have a hot engine so the aux fan turns on for cooling. Engine idle noise is now drowned out the by AUX fan running. While working and idle, the AUX fan did ramp up speed.
The drier was easy to replace. Removing the top radiator holding bracket allows access. The cap was taken off. Using a bolt, a pry bar lifted the drier assembly. First though, I had a little struggle removing the C clip. A small set of pliers and small screwdriver work great. Wow, it was really dirty. I had to be creative to clean down the drier tube. No metal flakes were found in the system. The previous owner had A/C work done before purchase. It has a lot of dye in it. A lot of dye came out while replacing the pressure switch. A 24mm socket works great. It was only hand tightened.
The old compressor was drained of oil. The same amount of PAG46 was added. The new compressor was turned over manually to oil it.
It was under vacuum for 1 hour. The Harbor Freight gauge set showed almost 30Hg. I'm sure it didn't reach that low but it showed no leaks. It was left on gauges for 30 minutes after vacuum. Feeling confident, addition of R134a was started. Pressure reached 70+ PSI with the engine off. It was enough to start the compressor. R134a was added until pressures reached the low range for 80-85F ambient temperature. Low side was reading 45 and high side was 225 PSI.
Is the compressor OEM? Or a replacement OEM? The drier sure looked OEM. The radiator has a tag of manufacture 2018.
For a 96F degree day, temps reached 38F out the center vent while driving.
09-11-2024, 08:39 PM
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