Crazy Heater/Air-con

[chrisben40]

I have been trying to solve a coolant smell issue with big thanks for the help from some of the forum members. ( http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4060957#post4060957 ). I have found out that my heater/ cooling system is doing the weirdest things.

The air-con only works on the drivers side (RHD). The vents on the passenger side put out warm air, even if the controls (analogue) are set to full cold. I can cool the drivers side but the heat isn't very good.This is only true for the defroster and footwell settings. If I use the face level vents both sides cool perfectly or put out ambient temp air. The don't heat.

So, unless I am using the face level vents, the left hand side of the car is good for heating and the right hand side is good for cooling. Should I move the steering wheel around for different seasons or is there an explanation for this? Other than a psycho, schizophrenic control unit, I can only guess that this has something to do with the flap motors but I thought they did the same job for the heater or the air-con.:loco:

[Pirate_copy]

On my 328i i could not have hot air from the vents, only the windscreen

The dial that changes the direction of the air had a little blue bar next to the cabin vet icon meaning only cold air would come out

ever worked out why BMW did that

[chrisben40]

G'day Pirate

Yeah, I thought it might be normal for it to only send cold air through the vents. You probably wouldn't need hot air unless you were trying to dry your hair. Mind you, I've done that before now, when I was running late for a date. Very useful feature, especially if you just got out of another girl's shower! I've never had a better car but I have had a lot of cars with better air-con/heaters. At least, less confusing.

The problem is the left side of the climate control I think. When I first got the car I had it checked by a BMW authorised place and they pulled a code for a flap motor that wouldn't go away. The problem is I don't know which one, I don't know if the flap itself is the problem and, if it was, could it be fixed without half dismantling the car? If the motors are all the same I suppose I could buy one and move it around to try and eliminate the problem. The seem to just clip on and plug in.