jehovden

Hello!

Once again (unfortunately) I have to bother you guys with a problem on my car...

Yesterday we finally had one hot day here in Norrway. I got into the car after it had been parked in the sun all day long. With my black leather seats you can imagine it was nice and hot. Too hot, so time to cool down!

Using the max cool button, the blowers immediatly started their hurricane winds. But the air never got colder! I gave it more than 5 minutes before I gave up and opened the windows and panoramic roof...

It seemed like after driving for a few minutes it started cooling, but not really that cold. Under normal circumstances this car should be able to produce freezing cold air...

After reading a little in this forum I have checked the iDrive settings. These are on the cold/blue setting now. Did't make a difference.
Checked the fuses and these are OK.

Two other guys with the same symptoms ended up with replacing the compressor... I am praying to God.. as I live in Norway the compressor alone is about 2000 USDollars, and then comes the labour... I would probably look at something like 3-4000 usdollars in total.

Now, before I take this to the dealer, are there other things I could look for? On the compressor itself? Level of refrigerant? Can low level produce such symptoms?

One post said that the aux. fan behind the radiator should run when the AC is on. Mine does not...

Any suggestions, hints and tips would be HIGHLY appreciated!!

Thanks in advance :-)

Howitzer

Since you checked iDrive setting I can't think of what else it could be. Maybe you need a recharge.

Ricracing

Since the fan works fine, it must be the AC compressor.

I have had three problems with the fan in two of my E60's
and one in my E39. All for a sensor.

But never with the compressor.

jehovden

Hello, and thank you for your replies!

Ricracing, maybe you got me wrong with regards to the fan. In fact mine is NOT running while the AC is on. Should this run under AC operation? If this is not running, could that cause such symptoms I am experiencing?

Again, thanks for all feedback!

higher

If your vent air is not cold enough, re-gassing the air con is cheapest thing to fix first. If you turned off AC over winter, then sometimes when you switch on for the first time during summer the gas has settled in the system and it does not run cold so needs re-gassing, the cost for this is 20-30 Euro.

'Ricracing' you mentioned 2-3 fan problems in the your E60,s. the fan on my E61 pulses slightly which is a bit annoying can you outline your 3 problems and the solution ?

xyzbird

Whilst there is generally no routine aircon service in car manuals, it is advisable to have an evacuation & regas every 2 years or so. All car aircons leak slightly from compressor input shaft seal especially if not used often (although I think the E60/61 series have a continuously rotating input shaft and there is a bypass solenoid valve that controls refrigerant flow instead of the drive pulley solenoid clutch). There are usualy two safety devices that prevent aircon running - low ambient temperature and low gas pressure. It could be that a stone has penetrated the condensor element (the front facing radiator) thereby letting refrigerant gas leak out. The way I see it there is only one course of action - evacuation & regas. Usualy in addition to the gas, a small amount of lubricant and a fluorescent dye is added. With the aid of an ultra violet lamp leaks can be found. If the condenser has gone then it will have to be replaced etc.

You may be lucky and an evacuation and regas is all that is needed. When it is running OK, there is a slight incease in engine idling speed and the blower runs faster until the target temperature is reached. The radiator fan runs to get rid of excess heat. Hardly anything happens if the ambient is equal to the target temperature.

Not really a DIY as the important thing is the evacuation and recovery of old fluids. The 'greenies' don't like you letting the refrigerant out and the pressure could be dangerous. I have tried aircon recovery aerosols and have had very bad experiences like compressor seizure no doubt caused by excessive pressure. Definitely not recommended, there is really no substitute for a proper job.
Plenty of aircon 'specialists' out there - watch out for cowboys.

Bimmer4life23

I had the same problem and it was my AC compressor. Member higher suggested on re-gassing the air con is cheapest thing to fix first. hopefully that takes care of the problem. You can check this site out i found if you need the part. http://getbmwparts.com/

Martin.T

Its a problem that is quite common in cold weather countries.
The AC automaticly switches of at about 5 degrees C. Different in different cars...
And if the car is parked outside all year round and the temp doesn't reach over 5 degrees C. Then this might happen.

I think a refilling will do, if there isn't any hole in the condensor.

Try refilling it first. Drive over to Sweden, a quickcheck for leaks and refill is about 1000SEK.

jehovden

Thanks everybody for your answers.

Since we have had the longest winter ever here at the west coast (for 3-4 consecutive months we did not see temperatures much above 0 degr) and the car is parked outside all year long (unfortunately) it can make sence what you Martin is mentioning

So from the above advices I will get the system evacuated and regassed, cross my fingers and hope this does the trick.

Martin, I would love to go to Sweden to refill, but it will just be a too long drive since I live quite a bit from the boarder. Also driving by swedish car dealers make me kind of angry since the prices for cars in sweden is almost ridiculous low compared to Norway..!! (Or actually it is the Norwegian prices that are ridiculous high compared to anywhere else in the world).

As soon as I have got the system refilled I will post the result.

Once again thanks for your help!

Redneck

My AC went out yesterday. The belt was broken, a cheap fix, but a PITA to get to. Always start with the simplest things first.