BMW X5 AC problem
 

Hey guys,

I'm having trouble with my 2002 bmw x5 that I purchased back in March of 2010. I'll start off explaining the situation and hopefully I can get some input.

My AC start off being a little cool on the drivers side and the passenger side was running warm. I added more refrigerant in there and the AC was cool on both sides. After having it run for pretty cool for a month or so, it just stopped be cold. The AC is blowing as the same temp as it is outside of the SUV. I researched it and this site came up and many folks suggested a aux fan replacement and also replacing the FSU, which i did. It still blows hot.

What should I try next? I rather not take it to a place to look at it because most places around my area charge for looking at it and I'm planning to fix it myself to save on costs. Any suggestions would be a big help. Thanks!

heater/water valve. fixed ours right up!

sorry to say but symptoms suggest a leakage somewhere. if the evaporator has never been replaced, it is a likely culprit for a 2002. evaporators usually dont last that long. this will be a difficult diy as the dashboard needs to be removed. maybe worthwhile to go to a good ac shop that has the capability to check (e.g. dye injection) and identify the location of the leakage. if evaporator is the culprit, the last owner may have cheated you.

Step one should be analyzing the running pressures of the system. That will tell you if you still have a charge, if the compressor is working properly etc. You can not properly diagnose most AC problems without a set of gauges on it.

If that were the case, wouldn't my refrigerant level be low since it's leaking?


When I refilled it on refrigerant the pressure reading of the low side said it was low. After refilling it until it was in the 30ish reading, it was fine. Then the AC when completely dead on me. I took another reading and the pressure was in the red.


Thanks guys for the quick reply!

If the low side pressure is full high, in the red, the compressor isn't kicking on. The DME has to release it to activate when ac is requested, so the easiest way to see if it is being released is to unplug it and check the voltage at the plug with a volt meter. If it is betting battery voltage but the compressor doesn't kick on when plugged in it needs a clutch. (not sold seperately, but there's a thread on here about repairing it)

Can I assume that the DME is the wire that is plugged to the compressor that can be seen from the top?

Yep, the only wire plugged into the compressor.

Just a quick update on my problem. Took the x5 to a mechanic my dad knows and we found out that the compressor does work, I just need a new AC pressure switch. Anyone know of a site that would have it for cheap? Thanks!

try bimmerparts.ca. they are great to work with and will ship anywhere.

HELP!!!
 

Greetings X5'ers,

The a/c on my 2002 has failed me. I first started experiencing the a/c going from cold to just barely cool. On the driver side vent, air is cold. Two center vents and passenger side, air is barely cold. So I decided to take the vehicle to AAmco for a "free a/c check". Their "free check" consisted of pressure check and any visible leaks. Mechanic claimed pressure was good and saw no leaks at plain view so he advised that a condenser vacuum and refill of dye and 10% of freon was necessary to detect further and thats when the "Free check" turned into $201.00 and another visit. After leaving the shop, a/c working fine I was pleased with the $201 dollar charge, until after driving for 2 hours. The air just got hot like I had the heater on. So I bring the car back and they pull out the florescent light to search for the "leak". No leak was found, but now the mechanic says that the cause was my condenser/auxiliary fan failure. He says that while the car is idled the fan is on, but once the car is in drive the fan shuts down causing the condenser to overheat and the compressor to shut down. So they quote me at $980 dollars to change the fan plus labor. I said thanks but not thanks. So being that I now claim to know that it is the condenser fan and since I am such a DIY'er, I purchase the fan from BMW of Manhattan for $407 and proceed to replacement. After 1 .5 hours (aamco quoted me for 4 hours labor charge @ $91 dollars) the job is done. I notice that this fan has more power than the old one and stays on with the a/c being off. So immediately I know that the fan was not the cause of this a/c fail. I turn on the a/c and it seems to be working. I drive for about an hour and boom, the a/c fails again. This time I am flagged by a person walking and when I come to a stop and look at the front of the hood, I see white gas/smoke. After researching I come to find out that this was not gas/smoke, that its the release valve from the condenser that just released all the freon due to overheat of the condenser. The fan is working properly but the a/c is not working.

This is beginning to frustrate me because the heatwave in NYC is unbearable and I don't know what else to do. Can someone please advise me of what could the problem possibly be or know of a good a/c mechanic in the NY, NJ area that can be trusted. I refuse to bring the car to the Stealer of BMW of Manhattan.

Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciate it.

Thank You!!!

Bmw switch
 

If your ac doesn't blow cold, first check your ac pressure switch located on thin ac line, right side under hood. That part is 20 bucks on ebay. Cheap repair

Buy a manifold gauge set, not the single gauge that you get with a can to recharge the system. Connect the gauges to the system and tell us what the low reading, high reading and ambient air temp was when you took the readings.

Buy a refrigerant recovery machine to recover any refrigerant in the system. Replace the defective part(s) base on the pressure reading that you got.

Buy a vacuum pump to evacuate the system for about an hour. Shut off the pump and wait another hour to see if there are any leaks. Locate any leaks and vacuum the system again. Once you have confirmed that the system is not leaking, buy yourself a set of accurate scale to weight the refrigerant as you recharge the system. Only put in the amount of refrigerant as specified for your car.

Don't want to spend all that money to fix the ac system, drive with the windows opened.

AC is not working properly right now because you vented all the refrigerant into the atmosphere. The high pressure sensor should have told the DME that the pressure was too high and to turn off power to the compressor and turn on power to the aux fan. You could have a defective high pressure sensor or some cheap ass previous owner could have hot wired the compressor so that it never cycle off. Check these two conditions and you will find the answer to your problem.

Upallnight, did you just provide a response to a post originally placed back in July 2010

he did. I love that he is dedicated enough to help someone, EVEN if the post was 6 years ago. I tip my hat to upallnight!

Thanks, but I didn't realize the thread was 6 years old.

That's because X5VEL bumped the thread back up to the top.

I realize that it was not your intention to respond to a 6 year old thread, I just thought is was kind of funny.