fixed my a/c (sort of) but still one issue.

[uisim]

SO last year my a/c was blowing warmer air on the drivers side. Recently I Had the system evacuated and then I vacuumed/ refilled it. The vacuum held 28 bar for hours and never fell so i'm assuming if there is a leak,it would be so small that it wouldn't affect my new problem. The a/c blows ALMOST equally cold on both sides now, the farthest vent on the drivers is a tad warmer but not by much. The in car temperatures are at least very tolerable now but it does not get its coldest till i'm over 2k rpm. If I drive spiritedly it'll get to the coldness level of my honda within seconds and stay this cold until I sit in traffic for another 10-15 mins. In longer traffic it gets warmer and as soon as i step on the gas .... perfect coldest air again in an instant.

I know on older cars that's a classic sign of a bad condenser fan but we dont have on on this car do we? I dont see any fan other than the radiator and blower motor?

ANy ideas? dont get me wrong the a/c is not super warm. It just gets to a perfect level as soon as I step on the gas and the rest of the time its just "Fine I suppose..."

LOL some people say their a/c is fantastic and others say on the M3 theirs is s@itty. This is in 85-90 degree temps outside btw. almost debating just changing the compressor

PS. uv found no leaks from whats visible without tearing the car apart and vacuum test passed

would it help any willing person if i hooked up a set of gauges to the car and went through the rpm band. Not sure how I can determine if the compressor is bad.

Edit: now that I notice any rpm over idle and it's ice. Cold

[rcracin]

M3 ac sucks. I feel like you'll be blowing money and never find an acceptable solution with the m3.

[WingZeroX5]

In my experience, I find the ac coldest when the engine is above 2k RPM

Sitting in NYC traffic, it's noticeably warmer

[Jobe.]

I would recommend hooking up a manifold gauge set to verify pressures.

Hook up the gauge set and check static pressures first. (Vehicle off-valves open). This should be close to ambient temp.

The start the vehicle and run the A/C. Report back with pressures.

I would not replace the compressor at this time.

Also a side note. The fan does pull air through the condenser and radiator.

[uisim]

Will do. I did fill it to 38 low when it was 70 degrees out. Maybe it was too much . It was ice cold then no matter what but then again it wasn't hot out either. Now in 90 degrees temps it's back to much warmer air again. I'm gonna run a test Wednesday and post videos of the gauges as I run through some steps. I know this cAr has a more sophisticated hvac system(as in more components in between) if anyone is familiar or ever looked at the schematics....but the main components are not too different from other cars. The a/c is great driving but stop and go traffic for 10 mins and it falls apart. Lol tHe fact that some ppl say it's horrible and others have no problem just baffles me. Either the traffic is non existent or their idea of cold differs or we have some flaw many cars suffer from. From my experience with a situation where it's great above a certain rpm or driving about and it works, it's almost always a fan (Which mine works. turn on the a/c the fan comes on when it should) . Then a bad condenser or a bad compressor. Not sure if an expansion valve can cause this or a evaporator maybe but I couldn't find a leak with the vacuum pump

[gfisher99]

When my evaporator was replaced last week, the initial tests with the bad evap were 20 low and 120 high. After replacement, they noted the pressures at 30 low and 160 high. This may help you in getting the right pressures.

Before the replacement mine sucked when it was 85+ outside and the car had been sitting out in the heat. Took forever to cool down. Now its cold no matter if idling in stop and go or driving on the highway at 80mph+.

[uisim]

Man so now I've been driving for a good hour and then sat in my car for 40mins in a parking lot in the sun and it stayed cold. Can it be that it just takes 15 mins to cool down if the car sits in the sun all day. I think I gotta test this theory another time to see if maybe this is just one of those "it is what it is" scenarios.

[gfisher99]

90+ here in Austin this weekend and mine cools off within just a few mins after being in the heat for a bit. It definitely blows ice cold after 30 seconds or so. I set my controls at 68F and use auto setting. Never really use max.

[uisim]

Originally Posted by gfisher99

When my evaporator was replaced last week, the initial tests with the bad evap were 20 low and 120 high. After replacement, they noted the pressures at 30 low and 160 high. This may help you in getting the right pressures.

Well no because the pressures were always on point. My vacuum test held the 28 bar indefinitely so if there is a leak it's so small that it wouldn't affect the air. You were very low on gas. At least low enough for it to not work. My pressures were low. In 90 degree weather if ur cR sat all day in the sun did it take 10 15 mins to blow as cold as you would want it too or is it just super cold within a couple mins

[Todd0131]

Y drivers side was blowing hot and passenger was cold. Ended up being a blend door or something. I will check paperwork and let you know

[uisim]

Originally Posted by Todd0131

Y drivers side was blowing hot and passenger was cold. Ended up being a blend door or something. I will check paperwork and let you know

Thanks from what I know the whole dash does not have to be removed to change the stepper motors aka blend doors but I can be mistaken if you can tell me your bill amount if it's an m3 i can estimate the labor involved at least. Since there's 8 I can see a few of them being hard to get to. However with my experience it's usually warm air coming out all the time. Mines just noticibly warmer and the issue is fixed at speed/rpm. I got a lot of changing info here. If my car sits all day in 90 degree weather, on a cold start it blows cold right away almost. It gets warmer if I drive the car and it's fully warmed up AND then I park it for a couple hours. As if it's due to it being heat soaked or something. So on a cold start for the most part all is well now. Just takes 10 15 mins to cool once the car sits after it fully warmed up. Tests still to come. Maybe someone will get a hint after the gauges are hooked up. Also I think the blend doors are working because I can feel the change in air and temp once I activate them with my scan tool. I did learn that a signal gets sent to the stepper motors aka blend doors via a condensation sensor via the roof module(the sunroof/ dome/map light panel). I do have a code for the fzd and I thought it was because my dome light turns off after 5 mins of driving. If there's a master tech reading this... is it possible that the signal to the stepper motors is causing them to move incorrectly and that makes the air warmer till I drive faster and the speed makes up for it? Lol Im prolly over thinking these diagrams.

[Todd0131]

Yeah I believe they just removed the part under the steering wheel. I am honestly not sure of the cost, my warranty covered it.

[gfisher99]

Originally Posted by uisim

Well no because the pressures were always on point. My vacuum test held the 28 bar indefinitely so if there is a leak it's so small that it wouldn't affect the air. You were very low on gas. At least low enough for it to not work. My pressures were low. In 90 degree weather if ur cR sat all day in the sun did it take 10 15 mins to blow as cold as you would want it too or is it just super cold within a couple mins

Right - before the evap replacement, it would take 10-15 mins to start blowing cool, because as you said before mine was really low. Sounds like you may have figured out your problem though (stepper motors).

[uisim]

Originally Posted by gfisher99

Right - before the evap replacement, it would take 10-15 mins to start blowing cool, because as you said before mine was really low. Sounds like you may have figured out your problem though (stepper motors).

Unfortunately no I don't think the stepper motors would cause the air to cool at high Rpm. I can see it being the evaporator but then again I couldn't find a leak nor was I ever low on r134. Might have to resort to a Indy shop to do the diagnosing if I cant fix it by the end of the week. I feel like it's the compressor

[Rajmun340]

I have the same problem, the ac just doesn't blow that ICE cool air, even after minutes it's cold but never ice cold like my Honda. Complained once to the stealer about it and they came with an 'inconclusive' diagnostic but said sth in the line that they measured air coming out and was satisfactory, so they only refilled it. Gonna have to go back there again before my warranty expires very soon.

"the fact that some ppl say it's horrible and others have no problem just baffles me. "

I've noticed the same and it's not just the AC. i think bmw went cheap on picking subcontractors and passed along garbage parts in between good parts and I think they know it and don't want to step up to fix it.

[uisim]

Originally Posted by JoeM3SSII

I have the same problem, the ac just doesn't blow that ICE cool air, even after minutes it's cold but never ice cold like my Honda. Complained once to the stealer about it and they came with an 'inconclusive' diagnostic but said sth in the line that they measured air coming out and was satisfactory, so they only refilled it. Gonna have to go back there again before my warranty expires very soon.

"the fact that some ppl say it's horrible and others have no problem just baffles me. "

I've noticed the same and it's not just the AC. i think bmw went cheap on picking subcontractors and passed along garbage parts in between good parts and I think they know it and don't want to step up to fix it.

Same here..... I think I narrowed it down to condenser or compressor maybe an expansion valve. Gonna hook up gauges today and evac vacuum and refill. I ordered a compressor and expansion valve just in case . Might do the condenser too so I'll report back if one of those fixes the issue.. I don't know what else this can be. Oh and an orifice tube too. It's gota be a fault in these systems somewhere no way is this normal. I got a 335i and it's ice cold so this isn't a normal BMW thing... no way....

[uisim]

ill post a video soon with a diy on whatever I swap out but this is a snapshot in 110 degree heat in my hot garage. AC on high I believe, air coming from OUTSIDE of the car, temps at center vents never went under 53*F

[M.Hagen]

I too have a "not as good as my other cars" AC.

Last summer, my AC started blowing warm on drivers side and cooler (still warm) passenger side. Had the system leak tested and recharged by an indy shop. No leaks found. AC returned to 'sure this is OK' cold.

We had our first week in the 90's last week, and I noticed the driver's side is slightly warmer than the passenger side. Still 'cold-ish', but not ice cold like my other cars.

I'm going to have the system leak-tested and recharged once again.

I have a suspicion that a minority of E9X M3's have a very slow leak, judging from the number of complaints on the forum and frequency of recharges just to achieve a 'cold-ish' AC performance. Maybe the leak is only under certain circumstances, and in a static test is not present... maybe it is just a poorly designed system. I'm not going to spend thousands dissecting the system to find out.

As long as there is no smoking gun, it could just be that one of the compromises on this car is a high-recharge frequency and mediocre AC performance. I'm not thrilled about that prospect, but it isn't a deal breaker.

If there is anything out of the ordinary during my leak-test I'll be sure to reply back.

[tdott]

Originally Posted by M.Hagen

If there is anything out of the ordinary during my leak-test I'll be sure to reply back.

Make sure to have them try to test around the evap area as it's not an area someone who is unfamiliar with e9x problem areas would look for.

[Rajmun340]

Since this thread is picking momentum, I dug up the invoice note from my bmw dealer :
" Unable to find any problem with operation of system.
17492 Normal refrigerant loss per BMW specification. Performed a vehicle test and connected a charger. Ran KLIMA A/C diagnosis test plan which was inconclusive - diagnosis feedback sent. Evacuated and recharged A/C system. was 0.22 lbs low. Leak test passed. Performed an A/C performance test and vehicle cools at 38F. No further action taken."

This looked thorough work to me except when i measured the air coming out directly at the vent it is nowhere close to 38F more like 60F and not ice cold like every other car I had (and other M3's) including my 14 year old Honda that never needed a single recharge. It seems that bmw has a dishonnest tactic in place whereby their 'spec number' is disingeneously low (poor) not reflecting their target for the majority of cars they produce at normal satisfactory standards. That low spec is intended only for the dealer to use whenever a customer has a bad part and complains. They are instructed to push that unrealistically low spec number at you that short of being near dead all parts will pass. This seems to be the case in the evaporator issue, bmw 'equips' the dealer with plenty of substandard test margin to refuse a repair. At the end for those of us under warranty we have to hope for an understanding dealer that will not go by bmw warranty repair denying tricks and replace the part because everybody knows it should blow ice cold air. But there are very few such dealers, even i am the original owner and bought new from that dealer. Needless to say bmw will never get my money for a car again, i will be looking at other brands.

[uisim]

Originally Posted by JoeM3SSII

Since this thread is picking momentum, I dug up the invoice note from my bmw dealer :
" Unable to find any problem with operation of system.
17492 Normal refrigerant loss per BMW specification. Performed a vehicle test and connected a charger. Ran KLIMA A/C diagnosis test plan which was inconclusive - diagnosis feedback sent. Evacuated and recharged A/C system. was 0.22 lbs low. Leak test passed. Performed an A/C performance test and vehicle cools at 38F. No further action taken."

This looked thorough work to me except when i measured the air coming out directly at the vent it is nowhere close to 38F more like 60F and not ice cold like every other car I had (and other M3's) including my 14 year old Honda that never needed a single recharge. It seems that bmw has a dishonnest tactic in place whereby their 'spec number' is disingeneously low (poor) not reflecting their target for the majority of cars they produce at normal satisfactory standards. That low spec is intended only for the dealer to use whenever a customer has a bad part and complains. They are instructed to push that unrealistically low spec number at you that short of being near dead all parts will pass. This seems to be the case in the evaporator issue, bmw 'equips' the dealer with plenty of substandard test margin to refuse a repair. At the end for those of us under warranty we have to hope for an understanding dealer that will not go by bmw warranty repair denying tricks and replace the part because everybody knows it should blow ice cold air. But there are very few such dealers, even i am the original owner and bought new from that dealer. Needless to say bmw will never get my money for a car again, i will be looking at other brands.

No loss is normal/natural. It's natural to expect loss when o rings get old and leak but that's not normal. I measured 49 Fahrenheit on a Chrysler 300 with a wonky system at that.( the guy accidentally overfilled it). And 44 o a brand new jeep Cherokee I have. And 42 on a 2002 Dodge Durango that has a leak so big it's charged every year...... My M3 is 55 Fahrenheit at best and usually stays 55-60 on a warn start after a hour or two test period after it's been fully warmed up. On a first cold start the a/c keeps up but the rest of the time I start it it's too warm.

[Rajmun340]

Originally Posted by uisim

No loss is normal/natural. It's natural to expect loss when o rings get old and leak but that's not normal. I measured 49 Fahrenheit on a Chrysler 300 with a wonky system at that.( the guy accidentally overfilled it). And 44 o a brand new jeep Cherokee I have. And 42 on a 2002 Dodge Durango that has a leak so big it's charged every year...... My M3 is 55 Fahrenheit at best and usually stays 55-60 on a warn start after a hour or two test period after it's been fully warmed up. On a first cold start the a/c keeps up but the rest of the time I start it it's too warm.

yep, it looks like we have the same issue, so I'll suscribe to your thread. But I am pretty sure my AC was mediocre from the factory or not long after because on the first summer i remember cranking up the AC fan and still not feeling any comfortable enough ice cool air no matter how long it ran. I'll stick with my theory of inferior quality control parts for the M3 AC. It's not aged, it's just shit from the start on some M3's and not on others, shame to BMW twice, first for passing bad parts to customers and second for denying repairs under warranty.