a/c question

[nadz325i]

hi guys,

got a question about a/c on e30.

how does the re-circ button work? when i press the button it lights up and turns the fan on speed 1? even if the fan switch is off? but i dont hear no motor movement noises? any ideas?

also on fan speed one, the air vent going toward the windscreen is rubbish, its very low and to me seems wrong.

also there seems to be alot of moisture build in the car, and very hard to remove unless i turn on the a/c? if its raining/cold and i have warm air then moisture/steam build in seconds and hard to remove.

any ideas? how can i check for a filter? if it has one?

thanks for reading,

[Brianmoooore]

No filter.
Is your fan actually turning on position 1? The resistor could have failed, or the blower motor might be partially seized. This is quite common - the motor bearings benefit from a couple of drops of light oil every ten years or so.
Remove the panel at the rear of the engine bay to access the motor.

[HartgeH27]

Nice one Brian !!!

[Martinaston]

If the re-circulation button is pressed there's two small motors that adjust some additional vents, these close off the outside air and cause the fan to draw in air from above the front foot wells.
There should be a wiring plug above the pipes for the heater matrix that may be worth a look if you can't hear them working.
You should at least hear the two servo's turning when first turned on, if you can hear them working then the problem may be the join between the pushrod and the flap that it controls. If its adjusted too short then it pulls the little ball and socket join clean off the panel so it doesn't move anymore, which may explain the excess moistier because the panel is stuck open.
If you pull the access panel out that Brian mentioned you should be able to see if the fan intakes move.

Parts 4 & 5, you should have one each side.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do ... g=64&fg=55

[Martinaston]

Another thing to check is the heater matrix, are you sure your not loosing collant into the passenger footwell ?
Are you loosing water from the header tank ?
If the pipes are leaking it would cause the steamy windows you mentioned and may be nothing to do with the A/C.

[nadz325i]

very very helpful guys, appreciete the replies.

No filter.
Is your fan actually turning on position 1? The resistor could have failed, or the blower motor might be partially seized. This is quite common - the motor bearings benefit from a couple of drops of light oil every ten years or so.
Remove the panel at the rear of the engine bay to access the motor.

the resister did fail month ago, blower motor was only working on posistion one, pulled it out cleaned it throughly, wd40 and some scrubbing, plugged it in and fan fully working.

position 1 towards the top vent is weak, compared to other vents there is less air.
got a sneaky feeling the re-circ is stuck in middle.

thanks again.

[nadz325i]

If the re-circulation button is pressed there's two small motors that adjust some additional vents, these close off the outside air and cause the fan to draw in air from above the front foot wells.
There should be a wiring plug above the pipes for the heater matrix that may be worth a look if you can't hear them working.
You should at least hear the two servo's turning when first turned on, if you can hear them working then the problem may be the join between the pushrod and the flap that it controls. If its adjusted too short then it pulls the little ball and socket join clean off the panel so it doesn't move anymore, which may explain the excess moistier because the panel is stuck open.
If you pull the access panel out that Brian mentioned you should be able to see if the fan intakes move.

Parts 4 & 5, you should have one each side.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do ... g=64&fg=55

cool, very informative, thanks.

when i press the re-circ button the fan turns on but in return there is no servo/whirring (sp?) noise heard from the vent area. cant hear the servo's working?

parts 4 & 5 im sure i have seen, its on both sides with bosch part number on it?

where is wiring plug located? which pipes?

thanks again, much appreciated.

[Martinaston]

Yeah 4 is the Bosch one.
If you look up under the glovebox you should see the pipes running into the heater, above that there should be a white plug with about ten connectors in it.
It may be easier to get to by dropping the glovebox and removing the right hand panel.