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  #1  
Old 01-12-2019, 08:18 PM
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Aux Fan not spinning

Aux Fan is not spinning when A/C is turned on. The aux fan is fully functional as it spins full speed when I unplug the high pressure sensor with A/C switched on.

A/C compressor clutch spins and the gas pressures have been tested by a garage. However no ice cold air.

One thing I have noted is there is a loud bang/click when i turn the A/C on? What could this noise be?
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  #2  
Old 01-12-2019, 08:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Loperamide View Post
Aux Fan is not spinning when A/C is turned on. The aux fan is fully functional as it spins full speed when I unplug the high pressure sensor with A/C switched on.

A/C compressor clutch spins and the gas pressures have been tested by a garage. However no ice cold air.

One thing I have noted is there is a loud bang/click when i turn the A/C on? What could this noise be?
If the aux fan makes any difference what so ever in how well the ac cools then the clutch fan is on the way out.

The thing is completely optional in my opinion as long as the clutch fan is working. Doesn't hurt to have it but the clutch fan handles the job fine. I put a new one on the wife's x5 when I first bought it and it died a year later. Ac cools great without it but I did replace the mechanical clutch fan as it wasn't working that great. After replacing the clutch fan the a/c blows snowballs. Electric aux fan is still dead and will stay that way

Now all of that said it IS required to be there and plugged up for the a/c to work at all on some models at least. They fail in one of two states. Either dead (the good way to go) or wide open (the bad/useless way to fail).

When they die via the not coming on you can just forget its there in my opinion and everything works fine.

When they die in the wide open way you have a problem. Because if you unplug the fan to stop it continuously running wide open even with the key off your a/c compressor wont engage. The one on the wife's car I had replaced died that way which was annoying. Luckily I had the original none running fan and removed the blades from the electric motor and plugged it in while leaving the other one mounted. This way the a/c worked. I tucked the motor housing into the fender for now. I will fiddle with it at a later date since it works fine and didn't have time to do anything else when it failed.

Anyways with yours not coming and the a/c working I would test the mechanical fan clutch if its not cooling like it should. Its probably shot but the good news is its cheap to replace and pretty easy to change out.
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Old 01-12-2019, 08:32 PM
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On the click noise that is probably the clutch kicking in on the compressor. But I have never hear it referred to as a bang noise. More of a solid click sound.
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Old 01-12-2019, 08:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Crowz View Post
If the aux fan makes any difference what so ever in how well the ac cools then the clutch fan is on the way out.

The thing is completely optional in my opinion as long as the clutch fan is working. Doesn't hurt to have it but the clutch fan handles the job fine. I put a new one on the wife's x5 when I first bought it and it died a year later. Ac cools great without it but I did replace the mechanical clutch fan as it wasn't working that great. After replacing the clutch fan the a/c blows snowballs. Electric aux fan is still dead and will stay that way

Now all of that said it IS required to be there and plugged up for the a/c to work at all on some models at least. They fail in one of two states. Either dead (the good way to go) or wide open (the bad/useless way to fail).

When they die via the not coming on you can just forget its there in my opinion and everything works fine.

When they die in the wide open way you have a problem. Because if you unplug the fan to stop it continuously running wide open even with the key off your a/c compressor wont engage. The one on the wife's car I had replaced died that way which was annoying. Luckily I had the original none running fan and removed the blades from the electric motor and plugged it in while leaving the other one mounted. This way the a/c worked. I tucked the motor housing into the fender for now. I will fiddle with it at a later date since it works fine and didn't have time to do anything else when it failed.

Anyways with yours not coming and the a/c working I would test the mechanical fan clutch if its not cooling like it should. Its probably shot but the good news is its cheap to replace and pretty easy to change out.
Hi crowz, the clutch fan works fine.
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Old 01-12-2019, 08:53 PM
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Have you tried stopping it while the motor is running?

I usually use a rolled up newspaper or a broom (the end with the bristles not the handle) to stop the fan if it stops easily and especially if it takes a second or so to speed back up when released its toast.

Just watching it spin isn't going to tell you if its working right or not.

A correctly working mechanical fan clutch on bmw's will pull enough air across the condenser to cool it enough to make the a/c work correctly.
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Old 01-12-2019, 09:09 PM
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Electric fan is just backup in case vehicle speed and clutch fan isn't enough to do the job. It's programed to come on when core temp gets hot than normal operating temp. I think the fan turns like 1/4 revolution when the key is turned to on to test it.
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Old 01-12-2019, 09:14 PM
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When my thermostat failed open and it was below freezing out I stuffed a piece of foam into the clutch fan to keep of from moving in addition to cardboard in the grill so the engine coukd get to closed loop and I could get cabin heat.

I think the clutch fan does very little to cool the engine over about 80 kph.
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Old 01-12-2019, 09:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andrewwynn View Post
Electric fan is just backup in case vehicle speed and clutch fan isn't enough to do the job. It's programed to come on when core temp gets hot than normal operating temp. I think the fan turns like 1/4 revolution when the key is turned to on to test it.
Actually, the fan spin up and then power is removed from the fan when a DC motor freewheel, it becomes a generator and the electrical voltage is sent to the DME. The DME uses the electrical signal to verify that the fan is good. No electrical signal would mean a bad fan to the DME and the DME will log a trouble code for the fan.
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Old 01-13-2019, 07:24 AM
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On 2 of my vehicles both of which are M54's the aux fan stopped working. With A/C on and a hot humid summer day the temp gauge would rise when stopped at a traffic light. I was able to source a decent aftermarket fan for the X from FCP euro (name brand) and swap it out. The beauty here is the FCP guarantee for life. On the 330xi the price for the fan was significantly higher so I opted for a well reviewed fan from Amazon. The swap out cured the overheating issue immediately. Of course it is up to you the path you take.
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Old 01-13-2019, 07:26 AM
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Forgot to mention that both cars are automatic with clutch fans that were serviceable.
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