a/c not working
 

Hello all pardon this thread once more as from my searches it has been covered quite a lot .

I just need a couple of ans from the experts .

1.x5 03

2.standard a/c system (manual)

3.press a/c button light comes on no rpm drop and no cold air .


4. took to dealer and they checked freon and pressure , all good.

5. they reckon i need a new condenser but will require further diagnostics
cost €1500 just to work out where the problem is , expensive rip of
ireland.

6. read all the treads and it seems the aux fan can be the problem so i
removed the plug /sensor from the gas line and the fan comes on so
i guess the fan works. (see pics)

7. so i guess this leaves the clutch or compressor or condensor ?

is there any other trouble shooting i can carry out ?
any help would be appreciated.

brgds

I'm not an expert, but having gone through AC issues recently, I can share what I learned. It seems you are still not 100% sure if the Aux fan is working properly.(also,i don't understand how you tested it:rofl:)
If the freon is up to par, you can test the following.
-fuses, (self explanatory)
-aux fan can be tested by turning AC to max in parked car, fan should stay on at max AC
-If fan is inoperable, drive car at constant highway speeds and turn ac to max. If you get cold air, the fan is the only problem. if air is still ambient temp then the problem is more complicated. In my case it was the compressor.

I don't know how to test the compressor. But I remember finding a thread about testing the clutch by feeling if it rotated with your fingertips. The poster described where to stick your arm in the engine bay to reach it. If i remember correctly it's in the compressor. don't quote me on that though...
with the right key-words I'm sure u can find it.



I hope this helps some!

Rui

Thanks RooRoo

Yes I have checked the fuses in the passenger foot well , when i removed the sensor plug as shown in the pics the aux fan came alive and ran to high rpm so iguess the fan is working .

I can turn the clutch/compressor with my hand and it turns freely ,

while driving at any speed the air is ambient with no cold air or fan operating.

Any other ideas ?

Wait a second...
If you don't have any air coming through the vents then your problem is probably the FSR. do a search, if I remember correctly it is a fairly simple, affordable fix.

Good luck!:thumbup:

Rui

Thanks again rooroo,

Air is coming tru vents , (ambient air) with a/c on

I have tested the volt signal to the compressor and it is positive so power being signaled to it , aux fan came on when i removed the plug I have shown in the pics , not sure what its for ? so basically I have no cold air , only thing I can think of now is the compressor is shot ?

anyone have a wiring diagram of the HVAc system?
i am getting a 5 volt signal to the compressor clutch even with the key off, when the compressor is engaged, the voltage doesn't change except for just a split second it will jump up to 14 volts then back down. All these readings are with the wire removed form the clutch, and the leads of my fluke in the plug and on the ground of the compressor.

I am thinking i have a bad connection somewhere, i just don't know where to start looking. this all cropped up right before hte truck died on teh highway and would not restart. it had drained the battery down. with a fresh charge on the battery it is starting and charging the battery again (I suspect a bad regulator in the alternator) but the compressor still will not engage.

ok,
i checked and the 5 volts appears to be a reference voltage for the truck to check the status of the compressor

i have voltage all teh way out to the compressor. I pulled the bullet conector apart right before clutch and put 12volts on it and still nothing. I put my meter on it and was getting .1 ohms resistance to ground, so it looked like the coil was OK, but with power on it it would not pull in. I guess i can pull the clutch off and see if I can re-shim it to get it to pull in, but for now it looks like it will not.

so your aux fan comes on when you remove that plug? in the pics huh? Ok so i m also battling this ac issues. heres what i have done..

1. i got cold air that started to be intermittent.
2. i noticed that i would get hot air at red light but cool while moving.
3. i turned off ac and could see Condenser doesnt turn but with ac i see it engages
4. i could turn fan and after much smacking and turning it would jiggle and try to start
5. after all that i replaced the fan and fan worked like a charm the first week or so. Then i noticed that i would blow warm/hot till i drove the car so it would not blow cold meaning aux wouldnt come on till i drove then its fine for the rest of the day! note If it starts the morning then after that its good.
6. i took apart the heater/water valve and noticed that the rubber gaskets were torn like so many other folks here. So i repaired it but its still doing the same thing. So if you havnt checked your valve then do so i have a thread explaining how to repair it / also a link to a another repair in case there is a short in the valve....
7. still stuck and well thats what ive done and i have cold air now but only after i drive.

OK so i let the car sit overnight so that the aux wont start...so i started the car and hit max ac and no fan so then i unplugged that sensor in your picture and bam aux came on like you said. I then looked at the plug and noticed a lot and i mean a lot of corrosion in one of the holes. so im thinking its not functioning cuz of this so now the question is what is this sensor and how can i clean it and can i apply some of that electrical grease that you put on battery terminals to keep this from happening again?

ok so i cleaned the contacts as good as possible ... I would like to take out that sensor but im afraid that it maybe part of the freon...so I dont want to loose any. So i scraped the pin as good as i could and now ac turns on but i will update again tomorrow once the car has sat overnight.... also i followed that plugs wiring and its connected to the wire that goes to the condenser and to the vacuum and to the aux fan but it could just be grouped and have nothing to do but ill try to look up the wiring diagrams and what not.

so day 1 after cleaning that sensor = working aux fan = working ac.....

so a week is past about and the problem persists. Now My father has a M-benz sprinter van and his AC is out too and guess what that plug/sensor in picture 1 and its located on the line 3 in the realoem picture below and once removed aux fan works like a charm.

so ...can any one help identify this part its the little hex head plug on the tube labeled 3 it goes to the evaporator.

but if you unhook it ac works like a charm.....but i need to know that is please any help.

ok so here is the real oem picture
Attachment 44727

here is one side of the plug with BMW 6453-8370623
Attachment 44725

and here is the 2nd side with DENSO 499000-7111
Attachment 44726

any mechanics that know that the hell this is? possible a pressure monitor? Come on anyone?

after searching and reading im leaning towards that this is the DRYER-EVAPORATOR PRESSURE HOSE ASSY and found something that looks similar on this site

Attachment 44764
2000-2009 BMW X5 A/C Sensor - Climate Control - ACM 00-09 X5 A/C Sensor - 1185-01101052 - PartsGeek

Just wondering if i were to remove this (stupid question) from the line will i loose my freon or just some....

also found it listed on ebay as bmw OEM part# 64 53 9 181 464

So need advice from some AC guru, searching online im getting the vibe that some people are saying if you open up the ac line then you have to replace the dryer the long aluminum cylinder thing also which means the AC system needs to be drained and refilled properly. Can anyone confirm this?