Climate Control / Fan Problems - E90

[XMAX]

Hi All,


So 2 days ago my the Fan stopped working. Was working fine when I stopped and switched off. When I started the car again, there was no fan power. No air from the lowest, to the highest speed. All the lights work.


I have checked the 3 fuses associated with the system, i.e. a 30A fuse for the Fan and two little fuses for the Aircon. All fuses were fine.


It could be the blower fan thats broken, but I find it weird that it would work one minute and not the next. There was no indication of the blower being faulty.


Any assistance with this problem would be helpful.


Regards


Veru

 

[XMAX]

Update: So after lots of reading on numerous forums, I suspect that the Final Stage Resistor is at fault.


I would like to replace this and hopefully it is the source of the problem.



Would anyone here know the cost of a Final Stage Resistor for an E90, and also perhaps the cost of a blower fan for an E90 as well....


your assistance would be appreciated.

 

[S1NGH 001]

Most probably the FSR, from the dealers it should set you back R1500 max :thumbs:

 

[marcus d90]

Mine did the same, remove the pollen filter in the engine bay, make sure that the fan is on to circulate fresh air, this will open the flaps, then reach in and turn the fan with your fingers. In the beginning i removed the fan controller and turned the fan.
Water into the air ducting is the culprit in my opinion, mine stopped about 6 times, last time i sprayed some q20 onto it, didn't stop since.

 

[msm]

Update: So after lots of reading on numerous forums, I suspect that the Final Stage Resistor is at fault.

I thought that the FSR issue was sorted with the E90's. I know it was a big problem on the E46 and other models around the same time.

In any case, keep us posted and hope you sort it out easily. :thumbs:

 

[m0lt3n]

Had the same on my car. Had to get the fan replaced, was roughly r4.5k
Sorry, not good news. I did not try to turn it by hand though, from what i gathered water can fall on the fan causing it to rust and break. Therefore turning by hand makes sense.

I recently had another scare, i started my car after a service at local mechie and no fan, complained, they took it out, connected a spare they had which worked, reconnected mine again which also worked, weird....
No issues since...

 

[XMAX]

Hi All,

Thanks so much for all the comments.

I have not resolved the issue due to me being in durban and the car being in jozi. I will return next week...


However, I always have the aircon running in the car. so the fan is always blowing. I can understand where rust build up would cause a problem if the fan is not used for a while, but don't see how if the fan is constantly used, that rust could set in and cause a problem.


The fan was working perfectly fine when I drove the car. I switched off, and when I returned about 5 hours later, the fan did not blow air into the car any longer.


I assume that the fan would not just give up the ghost, and that there would be some sort of indication by a noise or reduced fan power, but none at all. I could be wrong...



@MSM - I also thought that BMW would have sorted their issues out with the E90... Like the FSR issue..but I guess not...


Will buy the Bemows FSR and install using the various DIY's available on this and other forums.

An update will follow once I have the part.


Thanks for reading...

 

[XMAX]

Update: I called Bemows who did not have a FSR available, so I got on the phone with the guys at MD House in Wynberg... R950 for a used Blower Fan including FSR.. and a 30 Day return policy...


I went over to Wynberg and bought the unit...


Side Note: MD House is an awesome spares dealer specialising in BMW. Decent prices and anything you want, they either have, or will source for you.


After I bought the unit, I bought a set of Torx bits (R50) and went home. Got a little comfortable by moving the seat back as far as possible, then unscrewed two screws holding a panel under the cubbie (Glove box) and popped it off.. (disconnect footwell light plug)

bent over a bit, located the fan. Unplugged the main cable (Pain In the butt for a person with sausage fingers).. be careful as its a very delicate plug... 1 Screw to unscrew on blower fan mounting...


Twisted the entire fan counter clockwise... and it easily popped out...


locate new fan tabs into slots and rotate clockwise to lock into place...

screw in the 1 holding screw...


re-connect footwell light and re-place panel... screw in the two screws and voila... aircon working perfectly... and I now have a replacement blower fan should I ever need it...


And if any of you do decide to replace the FSR only... Note that It will be an easier job than replacing the entire fan (Which is not a difficult job at all)...


Entire Fan replacement took approximately 25 minutes which is excellent as a DIY...



I know that some of you will probably not agree with my idea of buying a used part, but cash is tight (New FSR from BMW is R1500).. and although I know that there is no guarantee that the part wont break at any time.. I am happy that my aircon works well and I am in bliss again whilst in driving heaven...

Hope this helps someone...

 

[Peejay]

This is a common problem on e90s. A friend had his replaced while in motor plan.

 

[Coachsd1]

Hi all, i know this is an older thread, but by 06 320d E90 also has this issue. Im responding to the advice given re: Q20. Could I do the same if I remove the panel at the bottom of the glovebox once I get fan to turn or should it be when fan is off?
A new blower motor will cost be a crapload of money I dont have. Anyone have other cost effective solutions?

 

[Langalakhe]

I also tried the same trick using my fingers it worked several times but this trick stopped working and could not turn at all when i tried on 2006 e90 what might be the problem now or solution?

 

[m0lt3n]

Hi, I see I commented already in the past when fan was replaced. it held for a while then the crap started again. best use of a sunroof I had...getting air into the car with rear window slightly open.

anyhow...if your fan stops working please make this step 1 before you start replacing parts...my fan also got rusted stuck or just stuck. it seems when you had a windscreen replaced the beading will be broken allowing water to drip onto the fan.

so, open the bonnet, take of pollent filter, think its 6 screws there at the base of the windscreen. start the car, run the fan and open the outside vent allowing fresh air into the car. now you can see the fan there in front of the passenger seat....poke it with a stick or wire or whatever, done. refit everything.
if it was stuck it will start spinning immediately after you poked it

Ghetto but saved me R4.5k

 

[ShaunB]

My fan decided to stop this weekend while in the bushveld :hammerhead:

Anybody knows there to buy new except BMW?

 

[XMAX]

I know many would advise against it, but you could look into buying a second hand unit from a decent BMW spares dealer. Theyre usually much cheaper than buying new.

took me 25minutes to replace entire blower fan with FSR. Cost me a total of R1000 (950 for the part and 50 for a set of torx splines).

New parts may cost you alot of money, whilst a second hand part might break at any time.


I will say though. I wrote this post in March 2013. My car is still working fine with the second hand blower unit almost 3 years later, so R950 well spent in my opinion.

 

[m0lt3n]

My fan decided to stop this weekend while in the bushveld :hammerhead:

Anybody knows there to buy new except BMW?

have you had your windscreen replaced in the last two years?

 

[ShaunB]

Removed the unit last night, could not see anything wrong with it, no rust and the fan spun freely. But oiled the shaft and tested it on 12v and it span like a dream, fitted it back and its working 100% again.

 

[deanbenn]

Mine did the same thing...just stopped working...found a blown fuse...after replacing the fuse...still didn't work...was about to go buy a new fan when I removed the pollen filter and turned the fan wit a screwdriver....started the car and it worked!!!....always turn it by hand first before you buy a new one...saved some bucks!

 

[Coachsd1]

Hi all, So I've posted here before with same issue.
I have done the following :

* Removed the fan completely and oiled the mid section/shaft.
* Let it stand and 'soak' a bit and then re-fitted.
* Have to manually move the fan then it works.
* As soon as I switch it off, it doesnt work any longer.

I am thinking it could be FSR, but when I took the fan off, there looked to be a heck of alot of rust.

Short of getting a new or 2nd hand unit, any other options I could try?
Also which fuses are for the fan. My fuse map is MIA.

 

[Paul_Pret]

Had the same happen to my E90 bout a year ago, try this:
open the bonnet, towards the firewall side, on opposite ends are 2 small flap thingies, take them off, clean out the leafs and sticks, put them back and see. I am NOT talking about the pollen filter at all.
Try this, nothing to lose. it worked for me.

 

[Coachsd1]

Hi Paul, are you speaking of those grid looking things that supposed to stop the leaves from getting in there?
I can try, should I use hose pipe to make sure its all cleaned out?