Replacing the final stage unit/blower motor resistor (E39)

Originally Posted by kbuicker

Okay, the black panel pulls straight out, it's got two white snap rails on the back, just tug it.

Man, I've got it done, but you almost have to be a contorsionist at my height to do this! Everyone wants to be tall, but when it come to fitting in tight spots, holy moly! It's done

No kidding. As I said, I found it easier to sit up straight and just do it by feel instead of trying to twist my spine into a pretzel shape.

Elvis,
Your information regarding my 2001 BMW 525i fan problem was right on. I had suspected some problem with the AC/Heater fan. The final problem occurred when I had recurring dead battery problems and noted that the fan motor had a mind of it's own and was turning on without the key in the ignition After researching on the internet and finding your post, I new the FSU was likely the problem. I purchased a new unit, followed your instructions/pics and ----- problem solved Thanks

its funny im chiming to this months later after just seeing this but n my 92 325i i only had the 4 speed working fixed it, then yesterday is just went dead and dont know y

Can some one please tell me the location of the final stage blower resistor located for x5?

Thank you
Tom999

A marvellous thread.

I had this problem a while ago. A informative and helpful post, thank you.

Originally Posted by Elvis530i

Does your A/C-heater blower seem like it's possessed? Does it quit working for no apparent reason, then come on again just as mysteriously? Does it run only at one speed no matter what the controls say? Does it keep running even when the car is off and the key is out of the ignition? Your problem is most likely a faulty final stage unit.
.

this thread only refers to possessed blower, meaning that the a/c still blows some air.
My blower motor doesnt seem to work at all. I switch my a/c on and I can hear the compressor kick in but no air. i continue to turn the fan speed up to max and still no air. Does replacing the FSU fix the blower problem or is my blower out? I wanted to replace the FSU yesterday but i had a feeling it was the fan. I took my car into an independent BMW repair shop and they supposedly tried replacing the FSU and the fan didn't run(is he blowing smoke up my a$$?). anyhow, he quoted me $700 to replace the blower fan motor which costs about $375.

first symptoms, i heard clicking sounds under the dash. I turned off the radio and it was still making that sound so i turned off the a/c. I noticed the sound went away, i than turned on the a/c again and it came back. after turning on and off the a/c the blower decided to crap out. So the blower right now is not working at all. I would like to know what yall think this could be. Thanks for all the advice and help.

Elvis- Great post, very detailed! Keep up the good work.

What a great post! I never could have figured this out on my own. The dealership had no idea what the deal was and would have charged me the cost of the part just to do a diagnostic test that would have yielded nothing other than me being out $100 and without a car for a few days. What a great site! I love my '02 540 and the old style plus its paid for so i'd like to keep it another 3 years. These are great cars but the nagging little problems that this site should be a great help with.

Thanks again for the pics.

Tip - I used a mirror to look up under the space to direct my hands. Fifteen minutes later I was back on the road. I am not "handy" at all so trust me when I tell you how easy it is.

$700 later, my a/c is working but my blower fan sounds like it's about to take off. This loud hum noise is very annoying. I think the independent bmw mechanic used some after market part. I think i'm going to have to go back and have him replace the blower motor.

they showed me where it was located and how hard it was to replace it. They said the location of the blower motor is smaller than the unit itself. anyhow, it's a pain to put in but possible.

the 318i blower motor is located under the hood by the firewall. in order to get to it,you would have to remove the airvent to get to it. the airvent is located behind the engine. i hope this helps. I would be more detail but i don't know what some of these locations are called.

$64.43 and 10 minutes and I am good to go!!!

Thanks!

This may be a stupid question but is my fan supposed to turn on whenever I start my car? Even if I turn it off before I shut the car off it turns on at my next restart??

Rob

Originally Posted by Robw530i

This may be a stupid question but is my fan supposed to turn on whenever I start my car? Even if I turn it off before I shut the car off it turns on at my next restart??

Rob

If you have it set on auto, I think so.

Thanks Elvis, I will check it and see if that's the case.

Rob

Originally Posted by cheweez78

this thread only refers to possessed blower, meaning that the a/c still blows some air.
My blower motor doesnt seem to work at all. I switch my a/c on and I can hear the compressor kick in but no air. i continue to turn the fan speed up to max and still no air. Does replacing the FSU fix the blower problem or is my blower out? I wanted to replace the FSU yesterday but i had a feeling it was the fan. I took my car into an independent BMW repair shop and they supposedly tried replacing the FSU and the fan didn't run(is he blowing smoke up my a$$?). anyhow, he quoted me $700 to replace the blower fan motor which costs about $375.

first symptoms, i heard clicking sounds under the dash. I turned off the radio and it was still making that sound so i turned off the a/c. I noticed the sound went away, i than turned on the a/c again and it came back. after turning on and off the a/c the blower decided to crap out. So the blower right now is not working at all. I would like to know what yall think this could be. Thanks for all the advice and help.

Elvis- Great post, very detailed! Keep up the good work.

Hey there...I have a 90 535i that has a similar problem to cheweez. I can hear my AC compressor kick on, but the blower doesn't blow at all.....well sometimes it will first thing in the morning, but only for a few minutes. I pulled the FSU (My car has the "sword" style) out and looked at it...definitely looks a bit crusty. That's a $200 part for my car. I'm just wondering if I should start with that, or if I do some other diagnostics first? I pulled the fuse out and looked at it, but how can you tell if those box-like fuses are blown? And I doubt it is blown if the blower does kick on every so often.

Basically what I'm trying to get at...do you guys feel pretty strongly that it's the FSU? I'm fine with buying it...hell the dealer was going to charge me $800 to fix it, and they were talking about getting behind the dash to check on all the wiring to find a short in the system.

Originally Posted by bjmitts

Hey there...I have a 90 535i that has a similar problem to cheweez. I can hear my AC compressor kick on, but the blower doesn't blow at all.....well sometimes it will first thing in the morning, but only for a few minutes. I pulled the FSU (My car has the "sword" style) out and looked at it...definitely looks a bit crusty. That's a $200 part for my car. I'm just wondering if I should start with that, or if I do some other diagnostics first? I pulled the fuse out and looked at it, but how can you tell if those box-like fuses are blown? And I doubt it is blown if the blower does kick on every so often.

Basically what I'm trying to get at...do you guys feel pretty strongly that it's the FSU? I'm fine with buying it...hell the dealer was going to charge me $800 to fix it, and they were talking about getting behind the dash to check on all the wiring to find a short in the system.

It certainly sounds like the FSU, but not having any experience with the E34, I'm just guessing. Before I replaced mine, my blower would come on and off from one day to the next without any rhyme or reason.

I have a 2001 330i (approx 60K miles) and have a couple of AC/blower related questions,

1. Just as Robw530i noted, whenever I start the car the blower comes on even if I had
it off before I turned off the car - is this normal ? If not how do I keep the blower from
starting automatically ? I believe its been this way from day one (not a new phenomenon
but pretty annoying) - ideas ?

2. I'm able to turn on/off the blower and AC (it cools) but I can't seem to control the
speed of the blower - it seems to have a mind of its own (low one minute, high
the next, etc). Is this an FSU problem ? If it is any detailed photos with regard to the
330 as it was noted it differs from the 5-series.

Thanks...

Thanks for the pic. I'm glad I've found this thread. Now on to tackling the problem.

Ivan

Originally Posted by Elvis530i

It certainly sounds like the FSU, but not having any experience with the E34, I'm just guessing. Before I replaced mine, my blower would come on and off from one day to the next without any rhyme or reason.

Replaced my FSU today...and sure 'nuff the blower kicked on and I had cool AC blowing through my car! Thank you so much guys!

Just had my Final Stage Unit replaced on my 530i at Munich Motors in Wokingham UK.
Problem was identified accurately.
The part cost £59.50 which seems about right.
Labour charge one hour (not the 10 minutes for DIY) £64.63
Then an additional £58.75 for diagnostic test to reset the computer.
Total £182.88

I was told the diagnostic test and reset had to be done otherwise the fan would continue to malfunction even with the new Final Stage Unit. Is this right?

Originally Posted by ns3270

I was told the diagnostic test and reset had to be done otherwise the fan would continue to malfunction even with the new Final Stage Unit. Is this right?

News to me. Mine worked fine as soon as I started it up.

Thank you for the effort you put into showing us all how to under take this task. Have just carried out this operation on my 530i. It's a bit of a pain to get at but 15 minutes and around US$70 was a lot cheaper than the "stealer's" price plus saved on the labour to.

I remember seeing this thread in the past so when my wife called me from her car yesterday whining that she didn't have any air because the fan wasn't working I knew where to look.

Just replaced the unit in my driveway. Took twenty minutes. The hardest part was trying to hold the clip back while pulling out the old one.

Regardless, it was a very easy DIY. Once again this forum saved me some dough.

Part cost me $98.00 from Budd's in Oakville.

worked marvelously for my 2003 325i....but it is a B*********EOTCH to do on the 3

Thank you very much Elvis ... I've just replaced my FSU today and it just took 20 minutes. But i've found out that previous owner messed with it before and broke the clip that holds the FSU. Do you have any advise? it is not really moving inside. Thank you again...

Thanks for your great help. The part at BMW dealer would cost 115$. They ask for another 200$ labor. I bought the part at AutohausArizona 68$ free shipping.
Replacing the part was not so easy since getting to the part is the most difficult part. Once you are there it takes less than 5 minutes.
Thank you very much for your nice pictures and your great help.
God bless!!

Just ordered the FSU from BavAuto tonight. Will try to install on my 2003 325i when the part arrives. Thanks for the detail in the symptoms and the solution. This is the exact problem I've been having. Kudos!!!