air conditioning problem on E36

[sam1741]

hi all...
need to ask sifu here..
is there any parts that needs to be change

my air cond on my E36
is normal manual dial aircond (not the digital aircond)

the problem is
the compressor is always ON

even if i press off the small button (suppose to switch off the compressor)
but its still ON

so its very cold inside,
its on all the time,
(normally its on until the desire temperature, than the thermostat will turn it off.. than when its not cold , will on again.. right?)

its so cold that, if i off the blower n on again, there are fog coming out

even if i turn on the dial to left most (coolest)
or turn until the right most (suppose to be warm air)
its still very cold....

s0 now,
its either, off, or very cold...



so i dono what to check.. sigh


hope someone here with similar experience can help me....

thanks

 

[iScoupe]

Re: air conditioning problem on E36

haha i having the same situation very long liao... in fact is ok with me,
at nite just turn the vent away from me when cold, during the hot day the temperature just nice.
if not got to change the thermostat control lor or convert to digital panel (Propel have).
For 1992 E36 does not have heater hence always on & cold

for more technical u can PM E36 experts collin or jawsg or bison.

 

[joegoi]

Re: air conditioning problem on E36

For this problem it could be due to the 2 sensor that is probe into the cooling coil at the blower. You will need to change that.
Also if your water pipe (expansion valve) that goes into another heater coil is blocked then your temperature inside cannot be adjusted anymore.

 

[sam1741]

Re: air conditioning problem on E36

hi iScoupe and joegoi ,

thx...
so it could be problem of ..
- thermostat
- 2 sensors (is it located behind the knobe when i open up the panel?)
- water pipe ... where is it located.

later i try to check it myself

 

[futron.sim]

Re: air conditioning problem on E36

Hoho. I am having the same problem as you. I was told by a mechanic that the car uses hot water to regulate aircon temp and it is extremely inefficient. The aircon continues to run and hot water is channeled into the heater core to heat up the air.

If its too cold you are better off turning off the aircon to conserve fuel rather than using the thermostat.

 

[tonylyt]

Re: air conditioning problem on E36

hmm... sound familiar for my E30 1990. Had this problem of air-con being too cold and was told to on & off the switch manually to control the temperature. Alternatively was to drive with the air-circulation off. The trouble was that the temperature control was by the water pipes running, behind the dashboard, from the engine radiator. In my case, the pipe was leaking and was sealed off by the previous user. So change the pipes and it works. Cost me a bomb though as a lot of works involved in dismantling the dashboard to access the pipe;

 

[sam1741]

Re: air conditioning problem on E36

oooh.. so another thing that will cost a lot to repair..
sigh.. this car i getting ... going to cost me alot just to repair it

 

[tonylyt]

Re: air conditioning problem on E36

aiyah, old car is like that one lah... is the power of yr car ok? If yes, this aircon thing is just a small buggeration that comes with COE car. Enjoy yr ride lah... Leave it until u need to change the cooling coil also, then do it together. If recall correctly, takes abt a week, as dismantling the dashboard is a major job, unlike japanese car. Cost me abt $1200.

 

[ttee]

Re: air conditioning problem on E36

............

 

[jonoUK]

Re: air conditioning problem on E36

Take the fuse out and open the windows - no $ and fuel saving to boot

 

[jiraiye]

Re: air conditioning problem on E36

Ttee, any graphics to make it easier for people to follow and DIY? I am trying to get it done too

 

[ken007]

Re: air conditioning problem on E36

I remember get my previous E36 air-con repair in jb workshop near the famous ta ma market. Repalce a leaking cooling coil plus labour cost less then Reggit$$500 plus 1 year warranty for the new coil. I think for coe car get it repair in jb is much more cheaper. This workshop repair all type of continent car air-con.

 

[cu2039]

Re: air conditioning problem on E36

hi everyone, where you going to servicing your BMW?

 

[steong]

Re: air conditioning problem on E36

I have this strange symptom/ fault on my E36 320i year 1991 with regards to Aircon mal-function.
Fault
Aircon blower is turned-on - there is no (green) light on the Snowflake, Re-circulation push-button and also no light on Rear screen Heater push button. There is lesser airflow than normal.
No cold air coming from vents ie compressor is not engaged.

The problem is intermitant – sometimes (50% of start-up) it works fine.
The fault normally occurs in the morning, but after a short drive of about 30 to 45 mins – I switched the ignition OFF and ON again – the fault just disappear and both green lights on the push-button are lit. In subsequent re-Start – it is all back to normal ie the aircon is functioning with green lights turned-On on both push button.
In the evening (ie after the car is left in the hot) – the air-con works fine upon starting.

I have ruled out the following:-
• Low Gas level – this can’t be the root-cause, since the problem is intermittent. There are occasion when there is green light on the push –button, there is cold air coming out from vents.
• Relays – I have replaced the Compressor relay and the Aux Fan Relay
The fault remains.
• A workshop recommended me to change all the fuses on Aircon in the Fuse Box. After changing the fuses – the problem remains.
For those who have accounted the same fault/ symptoms – kindly provide your advice you have had the same experience.

 

[Mockngbrd]

Re: air conditioning problem on E36

get ur aircon circuit board checked. sounds like the exact same thing that happened to mine. fans work but nothing else works, all the lights not coming on.
Was systematically (and extremely patiently) traced down by Rodney@R2D to a capacitor on the circuit board.

 

[bimmerjoe]

Re: air conditioning problem on E36

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[steong]

Re: air conditioning problem on E36

Mockngbrd, Bimmerjoe

Thanks for the valuable feedback. The trace tends to direct towards the climate control unit or even the capacitor, the evaporator temp sensor might be faulty giving too early signal to the climate control unit or there could be a control setting which need to be reset.

I really tresure this bimmer machine although just got it within a few months - it has got a powerful engine n smooth, no other problems, other than the one described above.

Appreciate other feedback from other bimmer owners, if there is one.