Air Conditioning/Air System Flakey

Hello,

My 323is has issues with the entire air system. The whole control panel and system seems to turn on and off. The whole control panel lights and controls go dark, then suddenly come back to life at different times. I replaced the air conditioning fuses but I guess its alot more than just the A/C susyem. Something larger in the electronic scheme of things ... any ideas of what I can check next?

Thank you ... !

I have the same problem. Just got a 328i (97). Sometimes the display comes on ok, sometimes not at all and sometimes dim but locked up. Quite annoying a need to get it fixed cause the front and rear window heating is also on this panel .... be very grateful for any clues.

What your describing is a poor electrical connection it maybe time to reseat connectors. Sometimes it's just that simple.

Being the newbie I am I havn't got a clue where to reseat stuff - can you be kinda specific? Thanks so much.

The problem seems to be the blue seimans plug on the back of the unit. I found it easier to get the unit out by first removing the stereo. The unit is held in by 2 sprung clips and you got to get your fingers behind it and give it quite a pull but it will come out. The unit is sealed so you can'y get at the solder connections to the socket (but I suspect it's the plug thats faulty) I "messed" with the plug and got it into a position that the unit would work and then ... here's the crude bit.... wedged a piece of plastic inbetween the unit and the plug then secured with tape. Not very professional but has worked for a few weeks now.

While I had the unit out I removed the for screws holding the facia plate on and cleaned out the air intake port. Be careful as the is a temp probe (well I think thats what it is) at the front of the port. Mine was covered in dust and fluff and could not be seen. Used the hoover and a cotton bud to clean.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the tips, my Ninja Mechanic father and I are gonna try and fix tommorrow.

I've got the exact same prob on mine, will try to check the connectors...

Have checked all A/C plugs in center console. All was clean and secure. Have cleaned inside control module, micro-fan, temp probe. Give it a try and same happening again!! I'm suspecting the "Hot in RUN and START" wire, as the control module seems to die (display off) sometimes during cranking.
Still working on it...

if your computer display is diming or blanking out maybe your battery is weak. My e30 had some a/c problems recently i had mine fixed by a service center ( i know someone there) . But i do know that the levers for where the air goes (dash,windshield,feet) will turn the air off i think it was the middle lever when i firsts moved the lever i thought my a/c died again. but when i repositioned the lever the blue a/c light came back on.

I'll take a look in my e36 bentely manual and get back to you i sounds like a loose connection or maybe a problem with you ignition switch.

this is a very common problem with the digital climate control. i have fixed 3 of these units using the procedure here. cost is 30 cents.


http://www.macadamizer.com/bmwfix.html


this FIX works....

Thanx so much you saved my life!
Have changed the capacitor 2 days ago, now runs like a dream!
Great to be cool in summer!

you welcome....

I sent my climate control unit to the guy selling the repair service on ebay. His ebay name is ccobsinc. This guy repaired it and it works mint now. Send your unit to him!

Just change the capacitor like listed above. They charge $40.00 on ebay when you can do it yourself for literatly under a dollar. Yeah you need some soldering skills but thats nothing. If you don't have time or compentance send it to someone. I'm sure they will take your money. Now that I know how to do this procedure I should charge half price of what he does.

There is another item that will cause trouble on these cars, had to replace it on my son's 96 318i. We had the control unit repaired but it still did not work right. Fan ran intermitent. The item I replaced was the final stage unit, which is under the dash. On 95 or older you would replace the blower motor resistor, on 96+ models it is the final stage unit. Both the control unit (capacitor) and the final stage unit were bad on his. If your controls work OK but fan runs when it wants to you will have to replace this as well. Cost to buy it was $113. Installed failry quickly. The capacitor is the first thing to try since it is the biggest problem on these cars but if you still have problems look at this item.