A/C problem - help needed.
 

My wife's A/C is no longer blowing at all. All the knobs work (light up) - I put it on heat - still no flow. Check the Fuses and they seem to be ok (the Arc's are not broken on them).
Last year I replaced the FSR, but I don't think it would have gone out again.
I check a few of the post and some mention auxiliary fan or the fan blower.

How do I go about finding out which one the issue is? Where do I find the fan blower ( I tried finding it on RealOEM - but no luck)

Any direction would be helpful - thanks.

Aux fan is in front of the radiator and not likely a suspect for no air flow in the cabin. Given the cost involved I would try replacing the FSR again (Use an OEM unit.) and see what happens. If that does not get your fan to blow then the dash has to come out to get to the heater/AC blower unit. Try a search for a recent post on somebody pulling the dash to replace the fan.
GL.

I would reset all the fuses too. My radio stopped working. I checked all the fuses and they looked fine.

Then I removed the radio fuses and just put them back - the radio worked.

I don't want to highjack this post but I just now have the opposite problem, my blower fan won't shut off, even when I turn off the ignition. I had to pull #64 fuse a 50a to get it to turn off. Anyone have any ideas.

Probably the FSR. Search on FSR / Final Stage Resistor.

Ok, That will be my first stab at it - replace the FSR again.

Did you read the posts here?

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...wer-motor.html

Yes--It scared the SHIT out of me!!! I really hope the FSR fix this or she will be one "HOT" Chick for the summer - no pun intended.

Hey Twinspoppa
I replaced the FSR this weekend, that was the problem. Thanks for the help.

You're welcome. Xoutpost is great! :thumbup:

Got my OEM FSR today in the mail...will replay it again this weekend - Hope it works. "Hot-lanta" is no joke in the summer.

Just a follow yup.....it was tha FSR....the OEM did the trick....now it's nice and cold......that's all!!!!!!

Wow. I hope that doesn't mean you have to replace the FSR every year.

I confess.... I didn't use an OEM the first time.....this time I did, let's hope I don't have to do this again.

Sorry to hijack but I am having a similar problem. Mine is a 2001 X5 4.4. I have had it for 7 years and on the original FSR. Anyway, yesterday driving home the AC was working great then it sounded like the fan slowed way down and wasnt blowing hard. I could turn the fan all the way up and it would blow harder but air wasnt blowing out much. I could feel that what was blowing out was cold though. This morning driving to work it was the same. Does this sound like I need a FSR? Thanks!!

If you check around the site you will see that the symptoms of the FSR bad or going bad vary. It is the cheapest thing to replace/do yourself. I would suggest try that first. Get an OEM FSR. ;-)

Instructions below. You can also check on Ebay for an OEM FSR.

http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/...placement.html

Sorry to revive this thread once again, but I was hoping I can get some help on diagnosing my AC problem. I have a similar problem to what most X5 drivers have, cold air for the driver and warm air in the center and right vents.

I know my FSR is bad because I can recall many times in the past where my aux fan will stay on after I turn the car off. So I ordered a new FSR (OEM BMW) last night and will plan to change it for the first time in this car. But now I realize that my aux fan never goes on anymore (within the past two or three days). So my question is, is there any chance a new FSR can get the fan to run again? It seems as the fan is dead rather than running erratically.

I also checked the r134a pressure on the low pressure port and it was about 45 psi which is high, I assume its because the aux fan was off which caused the pressure to rise. I have been keeping my AC off now since its over 100 F and I don't want to create more problems.

Weasel, hopefully you can chime in on this if you have any suggestions. Any other help will be greatly appreciated. I will post again after I get my new FSR.

Put in the new FSR, then go use your AC. If there is charge, it will work, even if low, but not too low. So you will be ok to try it out. Then go to AC shop and get it recharged, and oiled.

Thanks for your reply, I really hope that is the case and not the aux fan. It does not turn on at all anymore, so I may have to replace it if the FSR does not 'revive' it.

Is the aux fan, the AC fan on your car? I really don't know as I have an electric fan only. If it is the AC fan, it might not turn on due to low refrigerant, and oil.

It is has many names, auxilary electric fan, condenser fan, AC fan. Basically its in front of the radiator and it helps to keep the condensor cool by drawing heat away from it. Without it running, the AC is very inefficient especially in hot weather like over 85 F. I know the AUX fan is controlled by the FSR and other things, which is why I will replace the FSR first. But i have yet to find a post about an aux fan coming back to life after replacing the FSR. most users experienced erratic fan behavior, but mine simply does not go on anymore.

I did some research and found out that if you pull the plug off the pressure switch on the A/C line the aux fan should run. (Thanks rjs1222). Can anyone else confirm this as a way to test the aux fan? Also if I am getting cold air on the left side, does that mean my compressor is good? I really hope I do not have to change a compressor

FSR/FSU does not, according to any wiring diagram I have, control the AUX fan. The FSU controls the blower fan for heat/AC. (The fan blows air into the cabin.) The FSU controls the on/off/speed of the fan.
The AUX fan is in front of the radiator and blows air through the radiator to cool it. It should be on with the AC and may run for a few minutes after the engine is switched off. both the relay for the AUX fan and the AUX fan motor are known failure points.
There is an old post on the subject of cold one side, hot the other. It might be worth searching for it and seeing what Weasel and others said in there as to the cure for the problem.

Well then what causes the aux fan to stay on when the car is shut off. This used to happen to me as well as other members on this forum. Most people said it was the FSR

A low AC charge will cause the aux fan to act up. Have you checked the pressure at the AC low pressure port? When my reading drops below 30 psi the aux fan will slow/stop, over 35/40 psi it runs like a date raped ape.

A bad FSR causes the blower fan to blow erratic and sometimes run when the ignition switch is off, not the aux fan.

this wont let me reply wtf

I KEEP GETTING THIS MESSAGE:
You are not authorized to access the webpage at http://www.xoutpost.com/newreply.php...treply&t=87325. You may need to sign in.

My pressure level was 45 psi, but the aux fan is off so the pressure would read higher. So how do I know how much to add? I do not want to overcharge it. Is one can too much?

The AUX fan in SOP will run for as much as minutes after the vehicle is shut off. Some people throw out FSR/FSU as the reason for every AC woe. It's like an automatic reaction.
The TOTAL charge for the system is just under 1 can from all accounts. If you need to recharged then you must have a leak. I had to replace the Service Port (High & Low) seals some years ago. The OEM seals were revised and a kit issued for older models so that standard "O -rings" can be fitted from then on. Cost was $11 per port or so then.
I took it to an AC repair shop. They found the leak and installed the new seals that I supplied, vacuumed out the system and recharged everything with the proper amount of "freon and oil for $95. Worth it when you consider the price of other parts should the recharge be done wrong!

Well to be honest I don't know if it needs to be recharged, all I know is the aux fan is not coming on, and that I have cold air on the driver side. I may indeed have proper freon pressure. If it is true that low freon levels will cause the aux fan to shut off then it is probably low, but that doesn't mean I have a leak right? Freon was never added to the car since it was bought brand new in 2005.

45 psi is fine if checked in an ambient temp of over 90deg F (the low pressure side reading will drop/rise with temp change). The system only holds around 14oz of R134a and 2oz of compressor oil, DO NOT ADD EVEN A SMALL (12oz) CAN! If you add do it in small (1 or 2 oz) increments.

I understand this, which is why I didn't add any and immediately disconnected the can. But I feel like no one is addressing my main issue. That issue is that these pressure readings are not reliable if the aux fan is off, I don't know by how much but I need to know. Maybe I really have like 25 psi, I will never know what the actual pressure is since the aux fan is not coming off.

last line is supposed to read :"since the aux fan is not coming ON"

You need to back probe the electrical connector on the aux fan to see if there is voltage. If the reading is OK, the fan will need to be replaced.

Did you test the AUX fan and/or the AUX fan relay to see if it either is faulty?

No not yet, I am at work but thanks for the suggestions, I will test the aux fan first thing when I get home

Anyone know where the aux fan relay may be?

I tried to pull the plug on the pressure switch on the lower AC line, however the fan still did not kick on. Is this the pressure switch I should be checking?
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Attachment 54943

I will check the voltage on the aux fan later.