First test drive, aircon/heater problems

[Hairyarse]

Evening all. In the pursuit of my first Z4, I had my first test drive tonight, a 2.5Si and loved it! However, it wasn’t without a few issues as follows;

1. The left hand heater control knob wouldn’t turn clockwise past the 12 O’clock position. Is this a common issue?
2. Blower fan on max was very weak. Would this likely be a blower resistor/hedgehog problem like on many other Beemers?
3. Aircon didn’t work and the green light on the AC button didn’t come on. Is there a usual cause for this?

The car may not be ‘the one’ but it’s still on my radar. Any tips appreciated please

Thanks in advance
Andy

 

[firebobby]

Hi Andy, on my 2003 Zed, the left hand know turns either way and there is no stop on it, my blower is very strong and not sure about the AC

 

[Mr Tidy]

I'm pretty sure the left hand knob on all of mine would also turn all the way around with no stop.

The lack of a green light when pressing the A/C button would be a worry - if the car was stationary with the bonnet open you ought to be able to hear the A/C engaging when you press the button, but I guess it's too late now!

My only issue with A/C was on my 2nd Coupe. All the controls worked as the should but no cold air came out. Turned out to be a split condensor so there was no refrigerant! The radiator has to come out to replace it so that was a £300 fix. :roll:

Sorting non-working A/C can get expensive quite quickly - that's probably why so many cars get sold when it isn't working with the "just needs a re-gas" comment in the advert! :lol:

 

[Hairyarse]

I did check to hear if the AC was engaging but it wasn’t. It’s odd that the green light isn’t on. Also the limited rotation of the knob is a strange one! It’s a trade sale and he said he’d fix all if I buy the car, so over to him to sort it I guess!

 

[Chris_D]

So if he’s promised to fix everything before sale what’s the issue? Just get him to fix it. :?
Just don’t make any payment on vague promises from him to make any repairs later due to having to wait for parts etc.
Do a full test then buy it.
I would suggest getting clued-up about any other potential problems it has, especially to do with the engine.
Get a suitable OBD scanner and get him to agree to let you scan it for any fault codes. You MUST do this immediately after a run in it yourself as he could easily clear any fault codes prior to your inspection.

If he doesn’t play ball, walk away.

 

[colb]

The knob should spin 360degrees, slow blower very likely to be the hedgehog resistor on its way out. As to Air Con there is obviously a fault in the system, if you had access to a code reader like BMW Scanner 1.4 on a Laptop that would read all modules and show up any fault codes including the aircon. I would hazard a guess there is a leak somewhere and the refrigerent has been lost to atmosphere. the first two problems wold be easily fixed with new parts or used parts by the look of it. The aircon could prove expensive to fix. Personally I would walk away from that one.

 

[Hairyarse]

So if he’s promised to fix everything before sale what’s the issue? Just get him to fix it. :?
Just don’t make any payment on vague promises from him to make any repairs later due to having to wait for parts etc.
Do a full test then buy it.
I would suggest getting clued-up about any other potential problems it has, especially to do with the engine.
Get a suitable OBD scanner and get him to agree to let you scan it for any fault codes. You MUST do this immediately after a run in it yourself as he could easily clear any fault codes prior to your inspection.

If he doesn’t play ball, walk away.

Yes no issue as such if he fixes it, it's more out of curiosity and weighing-up if worth a low-ball offer as is, so looking at the risk. I do have a Carly scanner but cleverly forgot to take it! :lol:

The knob should spin 360degrees, slow blower very likely to be the hedgehog resistor on its way out. As to Air Con there is obviously a fault in the system, if you had access to a code reader like BMW Scanner 1.4 on a Laptop that would read all modules and show up any fault codes including the aircon. I would hazard a guess there is a leak somewhere and the refrigerent has been lost to atmosphere. the first two problems wold be easily fixed with new parts or used parts by the look of it. The aircon could prove expensive to fix. Personally I would walk away from that one.

There's a lot of little things that need sorting, so it's not top of my list at the moment!!

Thanks all

 

[mr wilks]

No green light no aircon could be in transport mode if car has been stood & battery drained down.

 

[Hairyarse]

No green light no aircon could be in transport mode if car has been stood & battery drained down.

Good point. It has been sat a good few months. Any idea how you get it out of transport mode?

 

[mr wilks]

No green light no aircon could be in transport mode if car has been stood & battery drained down.

Good point. It has been sat a good few months. Any idea how you get it out of transport mode?

Usually just a simple coding sorts it for around £30 but needs a high level of gadgetry to do it.
If you got that far the transport mode setting can be deleted so worth doing that at same time.

 

[Hairyarse]

Nice one, thank you