E39 Climate Control Problems & Solution

[JJM]

I have had my E39 528i SE since November last year and so far it has not missed a beat.

However, whilst driving on Friday night the climate control went crazy, firstly sticking on full power then refusing to turn on, and finally deciding that it wanted to carry on once I had turned the engine off and taken the keys out. Luckily starting the car agian then letting it run for a few minutes then turning it off seemed to stop it.

This was quite worrying as initally I had visions of a huge bill to get it fixed... So after a short searching on the web it turns out this is a very common issue (as I expect so of you know), and it down to a faulty "final stage unit resistor".

http://www.bimmerwerkz.com/forum/5-series-e12-e28-...

http://www.540i6.com/finalstagereplacement.html

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=...

So on saturday I phoned around and found that the part is about £75 from my local BMW dealer, however after a quick google search I found these guys:

http://www.motormec.co.uk/

and the same part was only £45 and they were really helpful. I asked the guy if it was a common problem and he told me that in Jan they had sold 39 of these resistors!

So anyway it should arrive tomorrow and I will fit over the weekend.

Out of interest has anyone else had this problem and how was fitting the part?


Cheers,

J

[miniman]

Yep, it's an easy job. You just remove the small carpeted trim panel on the transmission tunnel (roughly where your left leg rests) and then the hedgehog pulls out from inside the climate unit. It's a touch fiddly, perhaps, but no more than a ten minute job.

However you can get them cheaper... http://is.gd/7tJwG

Edited by miniman on Monday 1st February 14:37