E46 aircond problem

[YK9]

Hi,Would like to know if anyone had encountered the following problem. The aircond of my E46 325i M54 is not blowing out air horizontally but no issue with "up" and "down" button. So, I now only have cold air blowing straight up at the windscreen and towards my feet. Any idea what is wrong?

 

[Iceduke]

u mean it doenst blow out the normal ac vents? could be the flap inside that wasn't flip properly by the system. Get it check with a AC specialist

 

[jarance]

Please advise what is the status as shown below picture.

 

[YK9]

Jarance,

When all the 3 light buttons are pressed (meaning the arrows Up, Horizontal, Down), the air only come out from the "Up" and "Down" vents.

No problem at all with the Display as it shows the temperature and strength/power of the air as per normal.

 

[Strider74]

YK9,
If you press the Auto button, does air come out from the vents?

 

[YK9]

Strider74,
Even if the Auto button is pressed, the air only come out from the top and bottom vents but not the horizontal vent.

 

[jarance]

Jarance,

When all the 3 light buttons are pressed (meaning the arrows Up, Horizontal, Down), the air only come out from the "Up" and "Down" vents.

No problem at all with the Display as it shows the temperature and strength/power of the air as per normal.

Put the Ac on low speed (to reduce the fan noise)

1. Press the top button, listen for some sound (like vane moving) and check air is at the window vent.

2. Press the top button to off and press the middle button, listen for some sound (like vane moving) and check air is at the middle vent.

3. Press the middle button to off and press the bottom button, listen for some sound (like vane moving) and check air is at the footwell vent.

There should be some sound when you on/off the middle button. If there is no sound, then the actuator for the vane is broken or have loose connection.
You will have to remove the front dashboard to replace this actuator. recommend that you get a ac specialist to do this work.

 

[jarance]

here is some picture of the air vent for an E46.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2001-BMW-32...Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item19d686fed8

 

[YK9]

Thanks Jarance. Appreciate the advice and will try doing that.

 

[eau-rouge]

vents motor is dead

 

[YK9]

Tried the steps above and found nothing. Decided to visit Naidu yesterday and it was the motor indeed. He did a repair job to the motor (unfortunately I wasn't there to witness what he did as the process lasted from 930 am to 430pm and I needed to be in somewhere else). The dismantling of dashboard and putting it back took majority of the time.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[jarance]

Care to share the cost of the repair?

Part and labour cost would be appreciated.

 

[YK9]

It costs RM350 (labour and the repair work). No parts have been changed.

 

[soma]

I had my AC on this morning driving to the store to get milk and the fan stopped suddenly as if it lost power. A second later it came on again blowing cold air. by the time I got my milk the fan had lost complete power. AC and fan lights are all full functional but the fan has simply stopped working. Could this be a blown fuse? Any advice would be appreciated. Also if someone could provide the contact details for Naidu who removed the dash in this thread that woupd be very helpful. cheers Soma

 

[soma]

Ok... got it...i think the fan not blowing is caused by the recurrent failure of the Final Stage Resistor. It appears to be a multi-pronged electric conductor that is fairly easy to replace. According to several websites an OEM replacement part is vastly superior to any after market part and because of the difficulty in gaining access to the part itselft it is best to go oem. I will contact bmw dealer to see how much this part costs but in the meantime I leave u with a link to a website with detailed fotos and description of how to do this job ur self... thanks Soma
http://www.e46fanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=794644

 

[rwd]

i got AC problem with my newly bought E46 too..
symptom of problem: the wind blow out from the vertical vents very very weak..
when first started the car...everything fine..the AC work excellently....but the mentioned problem will happen after some distance...
When the problem happen..don't see any problem on the AC controller cluster, fan speed, vent setting, temperature....everything seems good (manual setting)..can hear the "sound" of the fan quite strong too...but just the problem like something is blocking the wind to blow from the vents..
I bought a FSR resistor from Bavarian Auto and DIY the replacement already...still the same problem...
Appreciate if any sifu can enlighten what could be the root cause...is suffer to sit in a Car with AC problem in Malaysia

 

[jarance]

FSR is contolling the fan speed. if the fan can change speed, you do not need to change it.

have you change the microfilter yet? See item#1

Also check the AHU radiator cooling fins. It could also be chocked as well. Need to chemical cleaned it just like you house aircon.

Microfilter/activated carbon container - BMW parts catalog

i got AC problem with my newly bought E46 too..
symptom of problem: the wind blow out from the vertical vents very very weak..
when first started the car...everything fine..the AC work excellently....but the mentioned problem will happen after some distance...
When the problem happen..don't see any problem on the AC controller cluster, fan speed, vent setting, temperature....everything seems good (manual setting)..can hear the "sound" of the fan quite strong too...but just the problem like something is blocking the wind to blow from the vents..
I bought a FSR resistor from Bavarian Auto and DIY the replacement already...still the same problem...
Appreciate if any sifu can enlighten what could be the root cause...is suffer to sit in a Car with AC problem in Malaysia

 

[rwd]

Thanks sifu Jarance for advise...will check on these items..

 

[tweiboon]

It costs RM350 (labour and the repair work). No parts have been changed.

No parts change meaning something jammed.

 

[Strider74]

i got AC problem with my newly bought E46 too..
symptom of problem: the wind blow out from the vertical vents very very weak..
when first started the car...everything fine..the AC work excellently....but the mentioned problem will happen after some distance...
When the problem happen..don't see any problem on the AC controller cluster, fan speed, vent setting, temperature....everything seems good (manual setting)..can hear the "sound" of the fan quite strong too...but just the problem like something is blocking the wind to blow from the vents..
I bought a FSR resistor from Bavarian Auto and DIY the replacement already...still the same problem...
Appreciate if any sifu can enlighten what could be the root cause...is suffer to sit in a Car with AC problem in Malaysia

Bro it looks something like this.