whining air conditioning

C

clarker63

Senior member
 Devon
Hi guys, anyone know if the whine suggests a regas or a physical fault with the air con unit?

the whine is engine speed dependent so I assume is the compressor thats making the noise.

I do have warranty but if its just a regas it will be much cheaper at the indy garage (I'm assuming).

Thanks
 
if it whines and still blows nice and cold its probably the compressor or the drive belt/tensioner (if one fitted).
If it whines but does not blow cold then its probably lost gas, this means that the lubricant in the coolant will not be circulating.

Either way don't use it till you find out.
 
mcbutler said:
if it whines and still blows nice and cold its probably the compressor or the drive belt/tensioner (if one fitted).
If it whines but does not blow cold then its probably lost gas, this means that the lubricant in the coolant will not be circulating.

Either way don't use it till you find out.
Click to expand...
Ok. Ta. Now I've got to decide if I take it to the main dealer...and then hope it's covered under warranty.
 
clarker63 said:
mcbutler said:
if it whines and still blows nice and cold its probably the compressor or the drive belt/tensioner (if one fitted).
If it whines but does not blow cold then its probably lost gas, this means that the lubricant in the coolant will not be circulating.

Either way don't use it till you find out.
Click to expand...
Ok. Ta. Now I've got to decide if I take it to the main dealer...and then hope it's covered under warranty.
Click to expand...
Don't pay more than £35 max to the pressure checked and if needed the system charged. Of course you will also need to find the leak if it has lost all the refrigerant. But, pressure check is defo your first step....

Keep us all updated...
 
booked in for the recall and to check the air conditioning on the 25th June... (earliest they can do with a courtesy car). I'll post the result after.
 
Went in to the dealer yesterday, they said it was whining because it was low on gas. they've topped it up and it is much quieter now. :D

They said they couldn't do the recall because BMW didn't have the parts and didn't expect it until around October... :o
 
clarker63 said:
Went in to the dealer yesterday, they said it was whining because it was low on gas. they've topped it up and it is much quieter now. :D

They said they couldn't do the recall because BMW didn't have the parts and didn't expect it until around October... :o
Click to expand...
Having said that, in the hot weather today it seems to be just as noisy. considering they charged me £75 for a topup, I'm not overly sure they are telling the truth!

I get an additional whine from the engine when the airconditioning is on. on other cars I've had, you know its on because the engine note is different at idle, but I don't notice any other noise when accelerating.

Do other peoples air conditioning make a noticeable noise when driving?
 
clarker63 said:
clarker63 said:
Went in to the dealer yesterday, they said it was whining because it was low on gas. they've topped it up and it is much quieter now. :D

They said they couldn't do the recall because BMW didn't have the parts and didn't expect it until around October... :o
Click to expand...
Having said that, in the hot weather today it seems to be just as noisy. considering they charged me £75 for a topup, I'm not overly sure they are telling the truth!

I get an additional whine from the engine when the airconditioning is on. on other cars I've had, you know its on because the engine note is different at idle, but I don't notice any other noise when accelerating.

Do other peoples air conditioning make a noticeable noise when driving?
Click to expand...
On the N20 engine version (20i)I have no noise from air con save a 'ppppfffffffffhhhhh' as it blows cool air out!
 
clarker63 said:
yes I get that noise too, but the whiring from under the bonet is a bit annoying...
Click to expand...

Well all our three cars (Volvo XC70, E89 Z4, F56 Mini) have climate control and AFAIK non make any whines from the compressor or related parts..
 
Pbondar said:
clarker63 said:
clarker63 said:
Went in to the dealer yesterday, they said it was whining because it was low on gas. they've topped it up and it is much quieter now. :D

They said they couldn't do the recall because BMW didn't have the parts and didn't expect it until around October... :o
Click to expand...
Having said that, in the hot weather today it seems to be just as noisy. considering they charged me £75 for a topup, I'm not overly sure they are telling the truth!

I get an additional whine from the engine when the airconditioning is on. on other cars I've had, you know its on because the engine note is different at idle, but I don't notice any other noise when accelerating.

Do other peoples air conditioning make a noticeable noise when driving?
Click to expand...
On the N20 engine version (20i)I have no noise from air con save a 'ppppfffffffffhhhhh' as it blows cool air out!
Click to expand...

The reason it was £75 is because the price of refrigerant has gone through the roof.. Last year I was paying £3.50/kg for R134a.. Last week I had to pay £309+vat for 12kg of the stuff.. Mind you Y123545 is currently £325+vat FOR 5kg!!

Mike
 
I've noticed a slight whining noise in my 2011 23i recently I've only had it about 2 months so don't have much experience with the car to know what's normal and what's not. I'm not sure if it's just started or if it's just I've noticed it now so can't stop hearing it. It's very difficult to place the source of the noise. It sounds like it's sometimes the centre of the car but other times it's like it is behind me. I have turned the air con off and would say it doesn't make much difference the sound is still there. I had a look at the engine while it was running but the noise of the engine drowned out everything else so couldn't tell very much. Next time I'm at a garage I'll see if they can think of anything.
 
so its back with BMW today... took me ages to try and demonstrate the noise to the mechanic when he was sat beside me (typical!). However eventually it played ball when stationary and revving it for a bit... on the move it didn't want to make that noise today, which might be air temperature dependant as its much cooler today than the last month or so.

The mechanic said after hearing it the most likely problem was the compressor (which as I have warranty, I'm ok with!).

They've now told me its a pipe damper... ordered in for tomorrow. Not sure I can believe that considering the noise it makes. Can't see anything like that on realoem.. I wonder if they're trying to fob me off because the compressor is $1174 ...
 
I now have it back. Its better (no loud whiring noises when accelerating), but its still quite noticeable as a separate noise when the air con is on... For example if I rev the car at 3000 RPM when stationary and then swtich the aircon on, you can easily identify an additional noise.

Probably I'm now being super critical, but having been charged £74 for a regas "it had to have that sir anyway" , and then £100 for the excess to put on the A/C damper (whatever that is), I'm feeling a little annoyed with them...so I'll give it a few days to see if I can live with it...

They have said they will call me in a week to see if I am ok with it... time will tell!
 
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