Final Stage Resistor Replaced!!

[dougpark714]

AC speed control stopped working on last week on the hottest day.. Yikes!!!

The replacement process was much easier than I thought.

The article on this forum was excellent. I also found the http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=143393 (instruction for e39 but mostly the same) link to be very helpful. It shows the exact areas to push to free the harness and the resistor. No tools required to free harness or resistor. At first the resistor seemed to be stuck on the black plastic vent but then came out. Inserting the new one was easy since the new one was smaller.

Got the part at mountain view bmw for $110. The service guy said he sells a lot of them. I asked for a discount from $123. The install took ~35 mins since I had to take breaks -- my garage was about 92 degrees at night!

No need to take out the glove compartment. There's plenty of space to reach and replace. Really. Use a flashlight.

FYI, the black tabs need to be turned counter clockwise to free. A bit stiff at first. Everything else was straight forward.

I would recommend this update as a preventative measure. I think it's just a matter of time before it fails since the old was seems to have a design flaw -- hence the new design. Getting stuck with no AC was really miserable on one of the hottest days in the bay area, especially with kids.

AC works perfectly now..

DP

[PersonaNonGrata]

[rayxi]

Nice. Looks much easier on the E53 than my E46, which I did a couple of weeks ago. I had to take the glove compartment out first. The FSR was behind a duct and another component and held in place by torx screws.