AC died

[KevinC]

Always pleasant to walk out of a store at 5pm in late July in metro Phoenix, temp a slightly-above-normal 111f, get into your ZHP, turn the key, and the AC fails to do anything. I can hear the compressor engage, but I've got no fan action whatsoever. For a couple of days leading up to this, the fan had a slightly different pitch to it - didn't sound bad, just.. different. I figure this must be related. What is the likely culprit - failed blower motor? If that's it, what kind of horrendous repair cost am I looking at?

[Hermes]

At least 10hrs labor for dash removal/install... you might want to pin the issue down first before dumping money into this

[Avetiso]

Dash removal isn't too bad, but definitely time consuming. Not a fan of doing it. :rofl

Good luck figuring it out.

[Hermes]

Dario, I agree... but I'm talking shop hours. They will charge a min of 10hrs for dash

[NorCalZman]

wait wait, so your BLOWER FAN will not run? A/C or no A/C? Will the fan kick on if you turn it all the way up or any of the other speeds?

The blower fan is independent of the A/C. Maybe check a fuse. Maybe its the FSR (final stage resistor). Maybe its the blower motor. None of these is super expensive. Can you describe the sound any further?

fuse = easy fix
FSR =not too expensive and its kind of behind the dash/glove box. I haven't changed mine yet but it doesn't seem too hard. When these start to fail they cause erratic fan function. Also, they can burn the car down.
blower motor = not too expensive if you replace it with the X3 fan. Its located behind the cabin filter in the engine bay. Theres a DIY on e46fanatics. Its not too hard to change. Just hard on your lower back. Odd fan sounds make me think this might be a good culprit. Mine never failed fully, but it developed a super annoying chirping sound so I eventually changed it out.

[KevinC]

wait wait, so your BLOWER FAN will not run? A/C or no A/C? Will the fan kick on if you turn it all the way up or any of the other speeds?

No fan action whatsoever, at any speed, whether or not AC is on. When I do switch it on, I can hear the compressor engage, so no issue there. Could be a fuse or maybe the resistor, but I'm betting it's the blower motor, because of the fact that fan sounded slightly wonky for a few days. A little more "whir" to the sound than normal. Also, in recent months, I was thinking that the air volume coming from the vents wasn't quite what it should be, relative to fan speed. Seems to me that both point to the blower motor. Oh, and add the fact that the car has resided in Phoenix the past 2 years, where the AC gets very heavy usage, and was in Miami the rest of its life prior to that, and that blower has a lot of "miles" on it.

I just priced the thing. OEM part is anywhere from $300 to $550, mfr is Behr. There's an aftermarket brand called ACM that I found on Amazon for about $170. I ordered one but won't open it until if/when the motor is determined to be the culprit. My indy mechanic doesn't mind me bringing my own parts, so I'll save a nice chunk of change. And it's definitely not disassemble-the-dash job to get at the thing, it comes out from the other side and looks relatively simple.

I'll post back the results once it's all sorted. Thanks for the replies.

[NorCalZman]

can you cancel the order? The X3 blower motor works fine (you just have to reuse the "cradle" plastic piece from the old fan that it sits on) and is 1/4th the price of the 3 series motor for no reason. Its OEM from BMW (2 year warranty, etc) and only 100 dollars on bmwmercedesparts.com. look up part number 64113453729

[ELCID86]

I've heard the same about the x3 motor. It's accessed from the engine side, not dash side, right?

[NorCalZman]

I have the X3 blower motor in my car right now.

Yes you have to take off the cabin filter assembly in the engine bay and it comes out through there. Not difficult at all and I am a very shade tree DIY (nothing too complicated).

[KevinC]

Just canceled the motor I'd ordered. I'll let my indy order the X3 OEM part. He probably already knows it's a suitable replacement.. he's quite savvy. Thanks again guys - very helpful!

[KevinC]

Update: I leave for work this morning, and the sucker fires up fine. No odd sounds from the fan either. WTH? Doesn't seem like I should trust it, and I don't want to get stranded someplace with the current temps around here.

[NorCalZman]

If I was in your shoes I would be putting in a new blower motor AND a FSR just because I would be scared of the heat or the car burning down. Haha. But I am paranoid like that. Goodluck!

[KevinC]

Yeah I'm thinking along the same lines. I'll tend to it next week. Thanks for everyone's input, especially about the X3 part. Will update thread once all is righted.