Air conditioning failure

[musali]

thanks guys, Ill try to replace the aux fan and see if that helps.

take care,
musali

[BMWX5]

Originally Posted by musali

thanks guys, Ill try to replace the aux fan and see if that helps.

take care,
musali

Any progress ? I had the same problem

[rogerkiu]

i had the same problem, it blowed hot air all the time, even after i pulled the key out. It turned out to be the A/C controll failed. I had the a/c controll replaced and coded, it works fine now.

[sarnomel]

I'm of course having problems with my airconditioner. If you read my other posts you will see that I have had a problem with just about everything there is to have an issue with and I haven't even listed all the ones that I just got fixed without question.. that was before I found this forum. Anyway, I was told I needed the blower replaced, which I did for around six hundred, however, it is still blowing hot air. I took it to jiffy lube because someone told me they would recharge the freeon(don't know how to spell it) and the guy tested it first and told me that he wouldn't do it because I had a hole in one of the lines so it would just leak out. My question is was there ever a problem with the blower? and after they replaced it why didn't they see this whole in the line? I guess I know the answer to that question.. Stealership! my real question is how difficult is it to replace this line with a whole in it and after that is fixed do the just fill it with freeon and it should work? I do have a new blower.. also is the blower the same thing as the aux fan?

[Weasel]

sarnomel
No the blower is different from the aux fan. the blower fan makes it blow at you, the aux fan is the big electric fan in front of the radiator and condenser behind the grilles.

musali
If the aux fan wasn't working, the high side pressure would get really high when the ac is operating, the aux fan cools the condenser which lowers the head pressure. If the operating pressures were "within specs" then the low side should have been about 30-35psi, and the high side anywhere from 180ish to 250ish... depending on outside temperature and other environmental conditions. Anytime you set the ac to max, the aux fan should be running pretty fast, if it isn't running at all, I'd check power and signal to it, then replace it. However if its coming on, replacing it will do no good. If it gets cold when you first start the car in the morning, then gets hot as the engine warms, the heater control valves could be sticking open... which heats the air the ac just cooled. But if it does stay hot all the time, you should find out what the running pressures actually are and how they change/react to higher engine speeds, like holding it at 2000 rpms. Whoever looks at the system to diagnose it for you needs to fully understand how an ac system works and how to "read" the pressures... has to know what causes what. The guys at jiffylube are NOT the best people for this, as that is the proverbial bottom of the barrel when it comes to competent mechanics. I wouldn't even let them change the oil in a BMW. (although watching them search for the oil filter is quite funny)

And one more thing, don't let an experience with one bad tech ruin your perception of a "stealership" I know the labor price and parts prices are higher, but in general, you get what you pay for. I have been a tech at a BMW dealership for about 5 years now, and was at a few different independents including pep boys before. I can tell you MOST of the techs at the dealership are a HELL of alot better than even the better techs at an independent for diagnosing and fixing your BMW. Its just that they do hire some younger, less experienced kids from a generic tech school... and they are the ones who make the occasional simple mistakes and miss-diagnosis. If you go to the dealer for the correct parts instead of cheap aftermarket ones, and for specialized, factory trained techs that work on the same kind of car all day... and subsequently know them inside and out. Simply request from your service adviser to give your car to a "senior tech" or master tech for diagnosis.

[zzzzkev]

Geez, when this happened to me my stealer told me it was the center console condenser. $4,000!!! About 2 weeks later it happened again. He told me that the machines were "quirky". They put it on a 2nd machine and it was low on freon. Hmmmm, did I spend 4 grand to prove he had quirky machines? It hasn't happened again since then (2 years now) however, when the temp is over 90 degrees or so I have to keep the MAX setting to achieve any comfort level. I like it to feel like a meat locker when I'm driving. Aux fan?

[itsmywifesX5]

Hi everybody.
I too need help with this problem so rather than making a new thread, I hope it's OK to tag along in this one.
The fan inside my wife's X5 (hence the username) is not working at wall. After some research I decided to change the FSR, but that didnt fix it. The blower seems to have no power no matter what I pressed. When I switch on & off the AC I do hear some clicking from the front of the car, but the fan doesnt do anything. BTW all the fuses that have to do with blower and AC are good. If anyone has any suggestion, please tell me. Also, where is the relay located? Thanks.

Dan

PS: this is an awesome site. I was able to fix the window regulator using the instructions from this website. My next job would be the rear brakes.

[gregwx5]

I just got my car back from the dealer...AC was only blowing hot...they ended up replacing my auxilary fan, FSR, and my compressor was not kicking over so got a new one.....thank god for CPO!

[Weasel]

Originally Posted by itsmywifesX5

Hi everybody.
I too need help with this problem so rather than making a new thread, I hope it's OK to tag along in this one.
The fan inside my wife's X5 (hence the username) is not working at wall. After some research I decided to change the FSR, but that didnt fix it. The blower seems to have no power no matter what I pressed. When I switch on & off the AC I do hear some clicking from the front of the car, but the fan doesnt do anything. BTW all the fuses that have to do with blower and AC are good. If anyone has any suggestion, please tell me. Also, where is the relay located? Thanks.

Dan

PS: this is an awesome site. I was able to fix the window regulator using the instructions from this website. My next job would be the rear brakes.

I take it the fan inside of the car isn't blowing air at you through the vents, just no airflow... sounds like the classic blower resistor failure. If you look under the passengers side of the dash, remove the plastic cover under the glove box (just a few screws across the front) the carpet panel that goes up the side of the console to the front has a phillips screw towards the front, remove that and the carpeted panel can be removed. if you look with a flashlight you will see a 7 wire plug/harness plugged into this thing... the final stage resistor that controls the output speed ot the blower fan.



If you see that burnt line protruding from the back, (right above the plug in this picture) then thats definitely the problem. The resistor is simply clipped in on the side and is easily removed. Once replaced with the new and improved blower resistor, viola! reassemble and you're done!

and if you use the search at the bottom of the home page, just type in blower resistor and it will pull up numerous previous posts about this same problem.

[itsmywifesX5]

Thanks Weasel56. Yes that's correct, no fan at all whether I put it on auto or all the way up. I did change that resistor, but it didn't fix the problem. So I'm thinking it's either the relay or the blower motor. I hope I don't have to change the motor because I heard that it's very difficult. If you know which relays to check and where they're located, please let me know. Also, what is the aux fan?