Introduction/AC issues

[abc97740i]

Hi everyone. I'm the proud owner of a 97 740i that I recently purchased. The vehicle was in great shape and only had 45000 miles. Being new to the BMW family, I'm having to get used to the finer things in life.

Here is my recent challenge. I have this strange noise coming from my central control unit area after I turn the ignition off. It's very low and sounds like an AC vent motor or something, but I have not been able to locate it. The odd thing is that I spoke with my local BMW service center and they said that once I turned the ignition off, all power to control unit is off. The sound goes away as sound as I start the car and returns after I turn the ignition off and remove the key.

Any takers?????

[libertylover]

Welcome to the world of BMW! A '97 740i with only 45,000 miles has a long, long life ahead if it's well maintained.

Sort of a wild hunch but you might check the auxiliary fan in FRONT of the radiator. It's supposed to run anytime the A/C is on (and perhaps at other times as well depending on the coolant temperator). Get out of the car and walk to the front, bend down and look inside to see if the aux. fan is the source of the noise. If so, I wouldn't worry about it.

This is a good forum for help. Another good one is at www.roadfly.org.

[abc97740i]

Thanks for the input. One of the things that I failed to make clear is that the sound is in the interior of the car, behind the A/C control unit.

[libertylover]

My hearing isn't so great and it's hard for me to tell from where sounds originate. That's why I said it was a wild hunch.

Anyway, the most authoritative place that I know of for the A/C and heater systems on these cars is here: http://bmwe32.student.utwente.nl/ It's called IHKA.

[abc97740i]

Thanks