97 318i Heater Blower :(

[polarbear66]

Hey yall,

i have a 1997 BMW 318i, and the heater blower has gone out :(
i've been lookin around the forums for heater-issues and have checked fuses, but i'm not entirley sure what else it could be.

Though the issue is a lil intermitten... As in, it'll blow sometimes, but most the time, not at all. I know how to operate the lil red/blue dial :P so it's not that. But winter is fast approaching! and i need help! please don't let a gal suffer!

thanks guys

[Bmwcat]

Probably the blower resistor is toast. An easy fix, not a lot of $$$. :bigpimp:

[polarbear66]

Radical,

which resistor would that be??

Rather, can you walk me through it?

Thanks again!

[Bmwcat]

Polarbear: do a search of the DIY section of this website. If you arent mechanically inclined let a shop do it for you. I'll check back tomorrow. :D

[polarbear66]

awesome, so i know what to do now, but can you help me find a Final Stage Unit for a good price? i could only find it for $100 :(

[rockafellow]

lol im sorry dude its not your resister if it turns on sometimes and sometimes doesnt then it is definetly not a resister sorry to say the brushes on the blower unit are toast and they cant be replaced if its the bosch model and takeing out the blower is the biggest head ach job on a bimmer possible your gonna have to replace the whole unit and its better to pay someone to do it because i quarantee if you try to do it yourself your gonna crack this little box its housed in and once you ccrack that have your completly screwed so have fun

[polarbear66]

lol im sorry dude its not your resister if it turns on sometimes and sometimes doesnt then it is definetly not a resister sorry to say the brushes on the blower unit are toast and they cant be replaced if its the bosch model and takeing out the blower is the biggest head ach job on a bimmer possible your gonna have to replace the whole unit and its better to pay someone to do it because i quarantee if you try to do it yourself your gonna crack this little box its housed in and once you ccrack that have your completly screwed so have fun


wow, you're ... confusing.

My heater blower works intermittenly, and you're saying the brushes on the blower are toast?

My only guess is that you're talking about the fins of the fan ("brushes"), in which case, wouldn't they NOT work ALL the time?

isn't this the item i need? - Final Stage Unit (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E36-A-C-Blower-Final-Stage-Unit-318-323-325-328-M3_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33546QQitemZ80133659 33QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW)

[rockafellow]

no the brushes areant the fan blades brushes are like 2 magnet things that are on the bloer motor that wear out because their is constent friction on them due to the turning of the motor and the plastic fins are what cycle air into your car you could break those and the plastic caseing is what you dont want to break that caseing houses the blower and fans and it had 2 little wind tunnel things molded into in to that what you dont want to break or no air will get into your cars cab

[rockafellow]

no sorry thats not what you need if its a resister your blower would stop completly but as you said it works when it wants too thats a 100 percent your blower brushes

[rockafellow]

its a big pain in the ass had to change mine last year on a 325is

[Bmwcat]

Just sent you a PM Polarbear. :D

[Brashland]

I'm tagging on to this thread as it's probably related.

Sunday AC was working fine, Monday no air flow of any kind.
I can hear the compressor come on, can hear the doors that direct air flow, but no matter what buttons I push there is zero air flow (auto setting, manual setting, front or rear defrost, nothing).

Replaced 4 listed fuses, no effect.



Next step is to clean the resistor?

[thomasda]

I Had the exact same problem. Blower would work intermittently It was the FSU Final Stage Unit aka Blower Resistor. Easy fix under driver kick pannel.

[Speed1010]

There is talk of cracking the blower motor housing trying to replace it. I have the old one out and am looking for advice on how to fit the new one in. There is no "Installation is the reverse of removal" with this as I see it.

[thomasda]

As it turns out for me...it was the thermostat. Replaced it (easy bolt on) and wala back to really good heat.