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

Nobody who have done this with a 530i -05?

Completed with ease and solved all of my AC problems. Thank you.

I found the plug hard to remove, and not enought room to "wiggle it back and forth", so I just used a small flat blade screwdriver inserted into the joint between the plug and jack, and twisted it, it came right out. It's difficult as you can't see in there and be in there at the same time, but in my X5 it wan't too diffucult.

I have a 02 325i and found this on YouTube. I also had a few more screws to remove

Brilliant post, thanks.

The difference in size between old and new part is shocking. Your instructions were great.

Placing the new one back in was a little troublesome. Noticed a little tab on the left of the FSU clip, which could be pressed down to move the clip down easier, positioning the FSU into place.

Took longer than 15 minutes, but well worth it

Note for the beginners like me.. When removing the cover under the pedals, do so gently being careful not to attempt to yank the cover. There are two clips further towards the footwell which need to be unclipped.
Thank you.

BMW 530D Sport
www.juswanted.com

thanks for the post. my story is this... i was getting battery drainage the last day or so and thought it may be the alternator but there were no dim lights or anything so i started reading this forum. my cars blower wasnt going on when i turned the car off and nothing seemed unusual when i turned the car off, it just barely started when i tried to start it. i went down to the dealership and bought the fsu. i put it in and turned the key on and all of the sudden my gas light was on and my guage said empty when i knew there was half a tank, my outside temp guage said -43 degrees, my stereo clock was reset and my a/c blew hot air. i sat there and thought a bit then decided to disconnect and reconnect my positive battery cable. after i did that it all went back to normal. im still not sure if it fixed it, i guess i will find out when i try to start my car tomorrow. if the battery is dead im going to be pissed.

well when i started the car it did start but acted like the battery was low again so i dont know what to do now. gonna go buy a battery/voltge tester and do some diagnostics. anyone have any advice?

This instructions worked perfectly for my X5 2003 3.0I is a E53
exactly as in the diagram and i completed it in about 15 minutes!!!

Tnx

Excellent info. Thank you for saving me big bucks for such a fast and simple fix. The only challenge I faced was the lack of space, light, and need for a small pair of hands. Replacement: 2 hours of time + $55 off ebay for the part.

Thanks again!

Just replaced the FSU on my 02 530D; part cost £64.50 inc. VAT from Woods (main dealer). Took me about 1 hour (included logging in here reading threads, realising the FSU wasn't under the glove box but under steering wheel -UK right-had drive car DOH!!!)

To get the cover above pedals off: There are 3 hex-head brass screws; 2 x torx screws; 2 x plastic twist-out tabs (at rhe rear), then the whole thing slips out with a bit of encouragement.

The FSU is then top-right going into transmission tunnel as it were and a real pain to access. I couldn't wiggle the connector off, so tried pliers to hold tabe; broke one but then the other clipped off easily! There's a long plastic tab at the bottom of the FSU holding it in so you need to hold this down (with a screw driver) and pull the FSU out. It's very tricky but will come out; there are no screws holding it in. Putting the new one in is far easier as it's smaller. As someone mentioned above, the new one seems to have a small plastic tab inside to help retain it, so youneed to ensure you hear this "click" whn pushing the new FSU home. Then just put everything back as you found it! (Even with 1 clip broken the plug on the FSU is pretty tight so I'm not too concerned.
Thanks for all the advice on this excellent thred.

Good luck to whoever's next :-)

Regards
Simon (UK)

Thank you! Took the part out on Friday, ordered online and it arrived Monday. Fixed! You saved me at least $200 from dealer.

Hello everyone. I have a 2002 BMW M3. It started like 6 months ago. I would turn the a/c on and it would work perfectly fine. Then while I am driving it would just turn off. Sometimes I would start the car and the a/c or heater just wont blow air out. Sometimes it would and sometimes it would not. It basically did its own thing and only blew air out whenever it felt like doing so. I already had to replace the OEM battery because it just started dying on me for some weird reason. There was never any battery light on the dash that showed that there was a battery problem. My battery just randomly died for some reason. Recently it completely stopped blowing air out anymore. Is the problem definitely the FSU (Blower Motor Resistor)? Because I want to be sure before purchasing a new FSU. Thanks.

Hi everyone,

What a phenominal thread elvis!!! I have a 2001 325I with a blower running ALL the time (key on or off). I need to pull the 40A #50 fuse to preserve the battery when parked. The fan was acting possesed for a time, now it just runs. I replaced the AC/Heater module with a working unit and no change. The FSR is probably what I need???... Seems as though the Stepper motor is probably in the way on my model and that is a little worrisome but, I am going to give it a shot.... Ordered the new part (64 11 6 923 204) on E-Bay $54 total with shipping.

Going to give it a shot with my laptop next to me..... Great stuff everybody THANKS!!!!!!

Elvis 530i,
You are awesome! I had this problem for awhile and was stressing on the cost of getting this issue repaired. Thanks to your post it saved $$$ for any BMW owner. Kudos to you, thanks!!

Trying to replace the FSR on a 1999 323i Convertible, Ive taken out the the air duct vent cover above the glove box, also nobody mentioned that there is a 10 mm bolt under the light in the gove box, and finally removed the panel above where your feet would be, and after all this I did not see this Elusive FSR, is there somthing different about a 1999 323i Covertible?? Any help would be greatly appreciated

Well, after putting the right side of the dash back together, looking at all the replies, and then pulling the same side apart again today I again found nothing on the right side, so with that I decided to take the drivers side apart and behold, there it was the FSR, took about 20 minutes to complete the Job, Well, if anyone has a 1999 323I, the FSR is on the drivers side, very easy DIY.

I'm new to this website and i'm not the most savoy person when it comes to repairing/fixing things with a car.

It seems that my 2002 325xi is having the symptoms that other people have had recently with their AC/Heater not blowing. The dealership told me i would have to replace my blower motor and it would cost $$$. I've been reading a lot of posts on here with replacing the FSU unit (Blower Resistor Motor), but it seems like most of the problems have been with models before 2002. I'm wondering if replacing the FSU unit (Blower Resistor Motor) will resolve the situation on my 2002 325xi?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Originally Posted by James2008

This fixed my blower fan problem as well. Thanks for the great post.

Thank you and ALL the other responses for posting your information, diagrams AND PHOTO'S of the Final Stage Resistor issue on the X5. YOU and All the others have just saved me from that DREADED trip to the dealer or trying to find a trust worthy mechanic who knows his buisness.
For any other person needing this part, check out Bimmerspecialist.com for $59.99 delivered and also at RMeuropean.com for $54 + S&H to your location.
Best to all.

FSR repair:
Sitll connected, When I pressend the brown/black silicone hard against the aluminium heat sink, the blower would start to work.
I removed the FSR like its mentioned here.
Furthermore I removed the hard silicone around the connector. Its a very hard task, must be patient cutting it carefully with a knife or better carefully with a soldering iron. Be careful to avoid breaking electronic components or circuit board tracks. It might take you more then 4 hours.
One transistor was not well soldered, I retouched the solder of some components and it started working oki doki. To protect from oxidation you may use hot glue (isolation to portect the board again or you can leave it without).

So while I await anxiously for FSU to be shipped and then to see hopefully it fixes my 10 months old battery drainage issue. I did a dry run to see if I can remove the carpet, piece under the glove compartment, etc to access FSU. Everything was going well until I started to unplug the FSU. I just could not pinch the two sides hard enough to unplug the connector from FSU and as for the FSU, that slid out easily but still cannot unplug the darn thing.

Will do another run when the part arrives. In the meantime, was there any trick to it unplugging the thing? I tried pushing back the FSU all the way to snap back in place, and it wasn't snapping back. Figured once in place, I can wiggle it back 'n forth.... but still no luck

I replaced the Blower Resistor Motor on my 325xi friday and everything works now!! I'm so glad i decided to check out this post before i spend $$$$ on something that i didn't need to replace. Great Post, Thanks!!

Awesome DIY post! You saved my day!

Please note that on the Right hand drive models, the FSU is still on the righ hand side (under the steering wheel side), its a bit more difficault to get to!

Ran into this E39 "Auxiliary Fan" writeup and this E39 "Blower Fan Fuse Location" thread which may help others in cross reference.

Great Great post dude, it saved me lots of time and money. I googled the problem and your post came up... did exactly you posted and it worked. Thanks a bunch. now I am the fan and the member of bimmerfest.