AC cooling fan

[John_B]

Howdo

Izzy is at my local BMW specialist at the moment, I asked them to inspect and service the air-con system.

They have come back and said I need a new "AC fan" at a not-insignificant £528.61 (excl. the service and re-gas). I've not spoken to them yet to establish what the problem is with the existing one, I'm expecting a call back.

I'm not sure I can justify £600 to get the aircon working again - on a roadster

What do people think, is that about right for an AC fan? or is a lot of that going to be labour for a job I could do myself?

Cheers all!

 

[mwpe]

Simple enough to replace of you can find a good used one. I am sure there are plenty out there.

 

[Pond]

Presumably you are talking of the electric cooling fan in front of the radiator?
If so, £500 ish is a lot of money for a plastic blade and a small motor. You should be able to find one a LOT cheaper on ebay or Autodoc etc.
Secondly, I would want to know what the problem is with the old fan.
I have never come across a car mechanic who knows much about A/C at all. They usually just 'work' the big machine which does everything for them on the pressure testing, vaccing and charging side.

 

[John_B]

Presumably you are talking of the electric cooling fan in front of the radiator?
If so, £500 ish is a lot of money for a plastic blade and a small motor. You should be able to find one a LOT cheaper on ebay or Autodoc etc.
Secondly, I would want to know what the problem is with the old fan.
I have never come across a car mechanic who knows much about A/C at all. They usually just 'work' the big machine which does everything for them on the pressure testing, vaccing and charging side.

Yeah, I presume it is the front fan, although haven't had the callback yet to chat. I watched a quick YT video where a guy took a faulty one apart and it was just a brush in the motor that needed a little clean. Also an article on here about how some early models were wired up wrong and never worked from factory

I'm weighing up whether to let them regas the system while they've got it and I'll sort the fan myself at a later date, or to just get the car back and take it back for a regas after I've done the fan. Probably the latter.

They did a vehicle health check and didn't find anything I wasn't already aware of, so that was a nice silver lining.

 

[Pond]

I am not sure with the Z3 (think I'm right); the cooling fan runs all the time the a/c is on and is speed regulated by the high pressure switch. If so, it is not the best idea to use the a/c (charged correctly) without the fan operating. This will cause the refrigerant pressures to run too high and the system 'should' trip on the high pressure safety.
The electric fan should also act as a secondary cooling fan for the radiator, if the viscous can't cope. Again not 100% sure on the Z3, but that is how most work.

 

[AntStark]

Sounds like a ‘we really don’t want to do the work” kinda price.

 

[John_B]

I'm just going to get the car back without them doing any work and will look at the fan myself. I am fairly sure that the front fan spins without the AC running. It's so visible through the kidney grills that I reckon I'd have noticed if it wasn't turning, so I am keen for them to call me back and explain exactly what they think the problem is.

The electric fan should also act as a secondary cooling fan for the radiator, if the viscous can't cope. Again not 100% sure on the Z3, but that is how most work.

Interesting point. This winter I am going to be replacing the thermostat (and water pump) as it's running cool. Another reason I am confident the front fan is working is because there is constantly a loud 'whoosh'/fan-blade noise connected to engine speed that my M44 (viscous-fan only) never made - even before I changed the thermostat on that one, which was also running cool when I bought it . Layman's logic made me wonder whether this 'whooshing' noise was possibly related to the thermostat being stuck open and the engine always thinking it was hot.

 

[John_B]

I've spoken to the garage, they have said the fan is completely seized up and makes an awful noise when they try to move it - so maybe it doesn't spin afterall!! On the plus side they can't find any leaks in the system so are confident the fan is the only problem with the system.

I'll get the car back and see what I can do to repair or replace the fan and then they can have it back for a re-gas at a later date