Air Conditioner dead

2011 Z4 35i ...
Air Conditioner was working fine. I drove for sometime and had to wait for 15mnts to pick up my kid. So I opened the windows and turned off the car. When I restarted, air conditioner didn't start. I checked all the settings. This happened sometime back when I picked up the car from the dealer after service. They said they reset the control unit. Can I do it myself ? Appreciate any help.

Originally Posted by cuddapah

2011 Z4 35i ...
Air Conditioner was working fine. I drove for sometime and had to wait for 15mnts to pick up my kid. So I opened the windows and turned off the car. When I restarted, air conditioner didn't start. I checked all the settings. This happened sometime back when I picked up the car from the dealer after service. They said they reset the control unit. Can I do it myself ? Appreciate any help.

is everything working 100% except the 4 big dials in the car that handle heating, blowers and A/c?

Originally Posted by Glen E

is everything working 100% except the 4 big dials in the car that handle heating, blowers and A/c?

Yes. Everything is working fine. I even noticed the air conditioner indicator blink when I start the car. Wonder if it is a loose connection somewhere. Would like to know if there is any thing I can check instead of driving to the dealer.

It is a software hangup. As a former general manager of a BMW dealership, I can tell you with 90% probability that the car just needs a master reset. We've been doing this since the early 7's....It is simply done by taking the battery cables off the battery and touching the cables together. THIS WILL NOT HURT A THING. It is simply draining all the electricity out of the car like you are pulling the plug out of the wall on your computer. Turn everything off, ignition off and do it. Then wait 10 min and hook the cables back up. It will not spark or exhibit nay problems. You will lose you time and date setting, nothing else. We have been doing it for years this way in service when the diagnostics show no fault found. In fact, most techs have a wire with two alligator clips in their tool box for this task. Sometimes the car just gets confused and this solves it. This came straight from a BMW factory master tech from Germany. It is like a Ctrl-Alt- Del on a PC.

My new Z4 did the exact same thing the 2nd day I had it - no a/c or anything, opened the trunk and did this and it's worked perfectly ever since.

Originally Posted by Glen E

It is a software hangup. As a former general manager of a BMW dealership, I can tell you with 90% probability that the car just needs a master reset. We've been doing this since the early 7's....It is simply done by taking the battery cables off the battery and touching the cables together. THIS WILL NOT HURT A THING. It is simply draining all the electricity out of the car like you are pulling the plug out of the wall on your computer. Turn everything off, ignition off and do it. Then wait 10 min and hook the cables back up. It will not spark or exhibit nay problems. You will lose you time and date setting, nothing else. We have been doing it for years this way in service when the diagnostics show no fault found. In fact, most techs have a wire with two alligator clips in their tool box for this task. Sometimes the car just gets confused and this solves it. This came straight from a BMW factory master tech from Germany. It is like a Ctrl-Alt- Del on a PC.

My new Z4 did the exact same thing the 2nd day I had it - no a/c or anything, opened the trunk and did this and it's worked perfectly ever since.

Strangely it started working again all by itself. I am new to the engine and battery. From the picture can you tell me which wires to unplug to disconnect ?

The cables that hook to battery lugs and power the car...
But if you don't know what this means, I caution you not to do it....

Originally Posted by cuddapah

2011 Z4 35i ...
Air Conditioner was working fine. I drove for sometime and had to wait for 15mnts to pick up my kid. So I opened the windows and turned off the car. When I restarted, air conditioner didn't start. I checked all the settings. This happened sometime back when I picked up the car from the dealer after service. They said they reset the control unit. Can I do it myself ? Appreciate any help.

Exactly the same problem I have (had) with mine 2010.
Problem started after the 2 year service. Dealer upgraded the car and I have had all kind of problems after that. Car has been at the shop for more than 3 weeks last 2 months.

Finally they fixed all the problems by changing some major parts and recodec the car. But........

Today, 3 days after getting the car back the A/C fails again!!!!! Never had any issue before the 2 year service...............

cuddapah, have they solved the issue for you?

Originally Posted by shadow4

cuddapah, have they solved the issue for you?

Shadow4 - I am in FL. This was happening very frequently. This may sound very weird. I noticed that iPhone Snap-In adapter is getting very hot and thought it be doing something to the AC. So I replaced it last month. I didn't have any issues with AC after that.

Are you using Snap-In or connected any kind of electronic extras ?

Originally Posted by cuddapah

Shadow4 - I am in FL. This was happening very frequently. This may sound very weird. I noticed that iPhone Snap-In adapter is getting very hot and thought it be doing something to the AC. So I replaced it last month. I didn't have any issues with AC after that.

Are you using Snap-In or connected any kind of electronic extras ?

Hi cuddapah, thanks for answering.

Noope, nothing I haven't used before the 2 year service. I don't have a snap-in adapter and only have a USB stick with music there.

I know it is hard to belive but BMW flashed my car with the wrong software at the service.

I noticed this after the AC would not start by getting some funny options on the control display. (for ex. "Spirit of ecstasy" up, down or auto, Rolls Royce stuff)

Hybrid drive... with graphics !! Guess 750 and some 6-series have that........... B&O sound settings..... I have the DSP pro sound system and this made the sound lousy.

Bmw tried to reprogramme the car twice..........with no luck. Then the replaced the CIC and all was fine except the sound. So the replaced the amplifier and that fixed the sound also.

Thought all was ok until the AC failed again.........so now I expect them to replace the whole climate control! Car is useless without at least a functioning ventilation fan in cold rainy Sweden.

Glad to hear your solved the issue, and to tell you, I do not think anything is wierd anymore with all this "digital" stuff they put in the cars nowadays.

Why did I sell my 67 Camaro?

It started again .. AC stopped working twice last week. I didn't have to do anything. Later in the day when I started the car it started working. Funny thing I noticed this time is, even when the engine is not turned on, I can still open and close the side view mirrors. But when the AC is not going to work, the side view mirrors won't open/close until I start the car.

Originally Posted by cuddapah

It started again .. AC stopped working twice last week. I didn't have to do anything. Later in the day when I started the car it started working. Funny thing I noticed this time is, even when the engine is not turned on, I can still open and close the side view mirrors. But when the AC is not going to work, the side view mirrors won't open/close until I start the car.

This has nearly always been a power problem, especially as you say the side mirrors do not work......this fault is a process of elimination , next time you have it go round the switches and see what works and what doesn't , build a picture because there is guaranteed to be a common denominator. Sadly we don't have wiring diagrams for this model on line, the E89 is the new generation were BMW have put everything online, so it seems no more discs, a real pain now.
If you know anything about wiring diagrams you could look up the E85 model, actually wiring diagrams on some features don't change that much so you may get an indication..... hope this helps???

It started again .. I drove for 5hrs ... stopped the car for 3hrs and later when I started the car, AC is dead .. side mirrors are working fine .. the AC indicator blinks once when I start the car .. thatz it .. later after a 15mnt stop, when I started the car, the AC started working again