[hidden moose]

so today my a/c just stopped blowing air. no cold air, hot air, etc.. just fans stopped working. i did some searching and found that the blower motor is a common issue and it might be that, but i also read that a low battery could cause the fans to stop working. fuses are fine. i removed to cabin air filter and sprayed wd40 on the blower motor in case it was rusted but that didnt work either. i tried using the defroster to see if that came on since that would be a symptom of a low battery, which it did come on, but just very very slightly, then eventually died out and now i have no fans blowing air again. i was getting a low battery warning months ago but only like twice and it went away and hasn't been back since. how can i for sure find out what's causing the a/c to stop working?

thanks!!

edit: i should include that i also drive very short distances constantly. i live less than 2 miles from work. my angel eyes and tail lights come on when i unlock the car, but they used to not do that for a while. if i test the battery, what should the voltage be? how do i know i should replace it?

[hidden moose]

well i changed the battery this morning and that was not the issue. is there anything else this could be besides the blower motor?

[BKV122]

It'll probably be the blower motor.
Same thing happened to me a week ago, I figured to test the connections at the blower motor and relay with my voltmeter. I had power and I unplugged and plugged back in it decided to work again.

[orteeze]

Just ran into this myself. Looks like some water got down near the connection; common issue that we all seem to accept. I unplugged and connected the blower motor connector and viola! We have forced air induction inside the cabin again. We'll see how long the blower motor lasts. If it happens again I'll be replacing the blower motor.

[chad.trent]

Apologies for bumping an old thread, but I'm having the same issue. However mine is intermittent. Most of the time my AC works as it should. However a couple times recently I've gotten in the car and nothing. Controls work, but no air movement. However if I turn the car off and on a few times it seems to fix itself. First time it happened it was on the way to work when it quit working. Thought I'd call the service department later, but when I went to lunch it worked fine. Worked for about a week straight and then stopped again. But same thing - a little while later was working normally. I'm afraid if I take it to get serviced they won't find anything wrong. Ideally I'd take it when it wasn't working, but I can't anticipate it and can't plan my schedule around it if it suddenly stops.

It has never stopped while the car was running. It's always when the car is started up. Doesn't seem to matter if the engine is cold or hot or anything.

Anyone have any suggestions as to what I should check?

[orteeze]

The cable harness that connects to the blower might be worth looking at. Unplug, clean with an electrical cleaner spray and use like a dialectric grease.

[chad.trent]

Thanks for the quick response. Where would I access it? I'm new to the world of BMW. Not new to cars, just new to these cars.

[orteeze]

Remove the panel behind the glove compartment on the passenger side. Disconnect connector going to the blower motor and inspect it. Remember, stop the source of your issues. The cowl seal leaks allowing water to make it way into the blower motor area

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by chad.trent

Apologies for bumping an old thread, but I'm having the same issue. However mine is intermittent. Most of the time my AC works as it should. However a couple times recently I've gotten in the car and nothing. Controls work, but no air movement. However if I turn the car off and on a few times it seems to fix itself. First time it happened it was on the way to work when it quit working. Thought I'd call the service department later, but when I went to lunch it worked fine. Worked for about a week straight and then stopped again. But same thing - a little while later was working normally. I'm afraid if I take it to get serviced they won't find anything wrong. Ideally I'd take it when it wasn't working, but I can't anticipate it and can't plan my schedule around it if it suddenly stops.

It has never stopped while the car was running. It's always when the car is started up. Doesn't seem to matter if the engine is cold or hot or anything.

Anyone have any suggestions as to what I should check?

I wrote the original DIY for this. Here's what happens, the blower motor is mounted in the HVAC box (behind the glovebox) that orients the motor shaft in a vertical position. The HVAC system draws in a lot of air obviously, the air has water vapor in it. Over time, the moisture (from the condensed water vapor) makes its way down the motor shaft into the shaft bearings and motor itself. Eventually the motor shaft bearings corrode and can seize up, making the motor hard to start (i.e. when its been off while the car is parked). You can remove the cabin airfilter and see the blower motor. The tip of the shaft will be rusted. You can lube the top bearing by taking an open coat hanger and drip oil onto the shaft so the oil works it's way into the top shaft bearing. You can lube the bottom bearing by removing the housing at the bottom of the motor from inside the passenger footwell.

Eventually you'll have to replace the blower motor. It's a 15 minute job and the motor with a new resistor pack can be found on line for just over $100.