How to test if Auxiliary fan is bad?

[coolusa]

Help...I am not able to take the bumper off. I removed all the 18 bolts and not able to slide..its as if something else is holding...I cannot find any directions for 2004 x5 3.0..I followed the 2001 X5 directions and they are not the same. there is one link for 2004 X5 and the link is not working.
I was reading some other articles and may it looks like there might be another bolt behind the fog lights. I am just afarid that i might break something there.

[CharlieHustleX5]

There are t-30 torx bolts that hold the fog to the bumper support but none behind them. The 04 and 01 use the same bolt configuration. Are the ends of the bumper seperated from the fender brackets at least?

[coolusa]

I took the fog cover and found a bolt, so i removed that. No the fender is not seperated ..how do i do that?. I am trying to pull and but its look like something else is holding.....should i also remove the fog lights? thanks for your response.

[coolusa]

finally i was able to remove the bumper...and remove the two bolts on either side...I am not able get the auxiliary fan out...does the fan come out from the front or bottom of the car...please help...

[ArtMan]

If you take off the plastic bumper cover then loosen the bolts holding the actual metal bumper (no need to remove all, just loosen) you can just slide the fan down and out. and replace the new one same way.

However, I dont mean to hijack the thread. But i replaced my fan and then i had the cold: kinda cold: warm: and hot from left to right on the vents and it was the freon so that was topped of and things were good. Now its been about 1-2 months at most the fan is dead yet again.

I get full blowing air so not the blower or FSR and the compressor does come on and freon was topped off. So what could it be? any suggestions? does the fan depend on a relay or something?

[coolusa]

thank you everyone..I was able get the new fan in and finally i am getting ice cold air.

[ronh95]

FYI...

Found a good price for BMWCCA members on the OEM pusher fan for my wife's '05 X5 3.0 at BMW of Chattanooga after seeing their ad in the Roundel claiming 30%-40% off list prices. List was $568 and member price was $353. Sold!

Shipping is TBD, as they have to weigh/measure the box once it arrives (had to order the part - takes two days), but he thought it would be $25-$30. For reference, Bavarian Auto who I've used in the past and like a lot, wanted $68 to ship it UPS ground and the part was $471.

Ron

[ronh95]

Follow up: Received the aux. fan and installed it yesterday on my wife's 2005 X5 3.0. As I still had a little doubt that the old fan was bad (i.e. could it not be working because something that controls it is bad?), someone had suggested they plugged in the new fan and ran the a/c on MAX to check it's operation before removing the old unit.

I did this and it indeed validated that the fan was the culprit. It took about 30 to 40 seconds after switching to MAX air before the fan started to run. It ran very fast for about a minute, then slowed down. I presume this is normal operation.

As far as the install goes, I found the link for front bumper cap removal helpful, though since I couldn't see the two little plastic spring tabs that latch the sides tight, it was difficult to get them unsnapped. I did find that a set of plastic panel removal tools that I'd bought awhile back at Harbor Freight were helpful in getting the sides unsnapped and the fog lamp surrounds removed (there are bolts behind these covers.). To gain clearance to remove the fan, I had to remove all bumper fasteners, but did not have to actually remove the bumper. It was still tight enough that I had to remove the grill from the old and new fans to allow them to slip behind the bumper from below and care must be taken not to damage the fins on the condensor. Not a big deal, but just exercise care.

On a funny note, I got everything reassembled and was pulling my ratchet out of a hole in the bumper surrounding the fog lamp and knocked the 10mm socket off the end of the extension. Arghhh! Had to remove/reinstall again. All in all, it took me too long, because I was so cautious (4 hours in all), but saved $500-$600 in labor costs, so I was pleased.

Ron

[Mujahid]

does anybody know what signal this fan works with?

[rb0135]

I know this thread has been going for a little while, but those that arent sure they have a bad fan, have you checked for Codes????

I am getting from DIS, codes 41F1 and 4B22 (electrical fan short to ground and electrical fan mechanically blocked) which I have been told is a failed/failing Condenser fan.

I know it is easy (cheap) to test with 12 volts, but if you can scan for codes, try that too..

Just my 2 cents worth...

Rob