Internal heater fan not working.

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Mike G - 23 May 2008 18:31 GMT

'97 528i E39.
Fan working this morning. Failed to come on when car was
restarted this afternoon after standing for about 4 hours.
Any ideas of where to look for the fault appreciated.
I'm not too clued up when it comes to electrics.
TIA.
Mike.

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Dave Plowman (News) - 23 May 2008 18:51 GMT

> Fan working this morning. Failed to come on when car was
> restarted this afternoon after standing for about 4 hours.
> Any ideas of where to look for the fault appreciated.
> I'm not too clued up when it comes to electrics.

99.9% the final stage resistor. Which is rather more than just a resistor.

It's situated between the heater and the bulkhead in the cool airstream.
You need to remove the cover above the steering column (RHD) and then the
carpet trim down the side of the gearbox tunnel to access it. It's a bit
of a fiddle to get at if you've got carrots for fingers and a
stiff back. ;-) There's a clip which needs to be pressed before it comes
out - all you can see at first is the plug.

Costs approx 70 quid from a dealer - but try Eurocarparts etc first.

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Mike G - 23 May 2008 19:37 GMT

>> Fan working this morning. Failed to come on when car was
>> restarted this afternoon after standing for about 4 hours.
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> Costs approx 70 quid from a dealer - but try Eurocarparts etc
> first.

Cheers Dave. But I'll try GSF first, as they have a branch about
20 miles away. Near enough for me to pick up if they have one in
stock.
They don't list it on their website, but I've bought unlisted
parts from them in the past, so I'll give them a ring in the
morning.

I assume I've found the right part on the Eurocarparts site.
£49.50 plus VAT and postage.

Also sounds like my big hands with fingers like sausages might be
a disadvantage. :-(

Sods law I suppose that it decides to pack on the friday
afternoon of a bank holiday weekend. Too late to buy the part and
fix it for this weekend, unless GSF have one in stock.
Mike.

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Jeff Strickland - 24 May 2008 01:56 GMT

My guess is the resistor pack.

As I recall, you get to it from the passenger side foot well. It has eithe
one or two screws to hold it in place.

Buy a new one, and look for the old one.

> '97 528i E39.
> Fan working this morning. Failed to come on when car was restarted this
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> TIA.
> Mike.

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Jeff Strickland - 24 May 2008 01:59 GMT

"Passenger Side" foot well is relative, I assumed a USA car. Sorry. I'm
still on the resistor pack, but I don't know if it changes sides in a metric
car.

> My guess is the resistor pack.
>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>> TIA.
>> Mike.

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Mike G - 24 May 2008 02:43 GMT

> "Passenger Side" foot well is relative, I assumed a USA car.
> Sorry. I'm still on the resistor pack, but I don't know if it
> changes sides in a metric car.

It's a UK car, so I've no doubt Daves info is accurate. Sounds
like he's done the job on his own 528i. Which is only a year or
so younger than mine.
Mike.

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Dave Plowman (News) - 24 May 2008 08:31 GMT

> "Passenger Side" foot well is relative, I assumed a USA car. Sorry. I'm
> still on the resistor pack, but I don't know if it changes sides in a
> metric car.

'Metric'? The 'home' of metric tends to be Europe and all of Europe except
the UK is LHD.

And why do you even think such a thing would change sides with RHD?

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Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
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Mike G - 24 May 2008 12:14 GMT

>> "Passenger Side" foot well is relative, I assumed a USA car.
>> Sorry. I'm
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> Europe except
> the UK is LHD.

I've never heard the term 'metric car' before.
AFAIC, metric is a measuring system based on the metre.
Mike.

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Jeff Strickland - 24 May 2008 15:59 GMT

>> "Passenger Side" foot well is relative, I assumed a USA car. Sorry. I'm
>> still on the resistor pack, but I don't know if it changes sides in a
>> metric car.
>
> 'Metric'? The 'home' of metric tends to be Europe and all of Europe except
> the UK is LHD.

That's Colony Humor, Dave.

Technically, the "home" of metric is pretty much anyplace that is not the
USA. America is not unique in its refusal to go metric, but there are far
more places that are metric than use fractions.

I can't imagine the location of the resistor pack would change, but I have
no actual knowledge that it does not change, so the OP has to adjust what I
had told him to suit his reality.

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Dave Plowman (News) - 24 May 2008 18:00 GMT

> >> "Passenger Side" foot well is relative, I assumed a USA car. Sorry.
> >> I'm still on the resistor pack, but I don't know if it changes sides
> >> in a metric car.
> >
> > 'Metric'? The 'home' of metric tends to be Europe and all of Europe
> > except the UK is LHD.

> That's Colony Humor, Dave.

Right. It near always needs explaining. Although it might work rather
better about a car that didn't originate as LHD -
and is totally metric. ;-)

> Technically, the "home" of metric is pretty much anyplace that is not
> the USA. America is not unique in its refusal to go metric, but there
> are far more places that are metric than use fractions.

The UK is officially metric, but we still use miles per gallon when
talking fuel consumption and feet and inches when describing someone's
height. Even although imperial hasn't been taught in schools for many a
year.

> I can't imagine the location of the resistor pack would change, but I
> have no actual knowledge that it does not change, so the OP has to
> adjust what I had told him to suit his reality.

It's actually more awkward on a RHD car because the steering column is in
the way - and the cover above it is much more difficult to remove than the
one above the passenger well.

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Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
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Jeff Strickland - 24 May 2008 18:48 GMT

>> >> "Passenger Side" foot well is relative, I assumed a USA car. Sorry.
>> >> I'm still on the resistor pack, but I don't know if it changes sides
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> height. Even although imperial hasn't been taught in schools for many a
> year.

Really! I thought you used 100Km/L, or whatever. I didn't know you used MPG.
I also did not know you used ft/in to describe the stature of a person, I
expected CM.

>> I can't imagine the location of the resistor pack would change, but I
>> have no actual knowledge that it does not change, so the OP has to
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> the way - and the cover above it is much more difficult to remove than the
> one above the passenger well.

Yeah, that makes sense.

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Yvan - 24 May 2008 20:33 GMT

Nedavno Jeff Strickland napisa:

> Really! I thought you used 100Km/L, or whatever. I didn't know you
> used MPG.

It's liters per 100 kilometer [lit/100km]. I believe that US and
Imperial gallons are not the same (someone will correct me if I am
wrong):

10 lit/100km = 28.25 mpg (Imperial) = 23.52 mpg (US)

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Jeff Strickland - 24 May 2008 21:42 GMT

> Nedavno Jeff Strickland napisa:
>
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
> 10 lit/100km = 28.25 mpg (Imperial) = 23.52 mpg (US)

You are correct, a US gallon and an Imperial gallon are not the same.

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hsg@h-gee.co.uk - 25 May 2008 09:37 GMT

>Nedavno Jeff Strickland napisa:
>
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
>10 lit/100km = 28.25 mpg (Imperial) = 23.52 mpg (US)

5 imperial gallons = 6 US gallons (close enough)

The difference was brought about by taxation of "George?" who realised if you
called the measure the same name but made the standard smaller you - the people
- would have to buy more "gallons" to get the same quantity as before.

So where you were buying say 5 gallons of imperial liquid measure for say $5 now
you would have to buy 6 gallons to get the same amount costing you $6. As duty
or tax increased per gallon so the gov' got about 20% more. Hence the
Independence Day 6/4/1776.

Funnily enough we quote MPG (imp) but buy fuel in Litres. Our currency is
decimal. Road distance is signposted in miles my Sat Nav give me distances in
Miles. My Speedo is in Miles but it has to have KPH shown by law yet Euro cars
do not have to have MPH shown.

Speed limits are posted in MPH and the Highway Code (driving manual for rules of
the road for all road users) gives braking distances in Feet and inches/yards +
metres and other measurements are duplicated.

Tape measures have feet and inches + metres and centimeters etc yet I go to
Spain and can only get metric measures.

I will stick my neck out and say that I recon 100% of all vehicles built within
the last 10 years (or maybe 20) have metric fastenings( nuts, bolts etc).

Hugh

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Mike G - 24 May 2008 21:52 GMT

>>> >> "Passenger Side" foot well is relative, I assumed a USA
>>> >> car. Sorry.
[quoted text clipped - 30 lines]
> you used MPG. I also did not know you used ft/in to describe
> the stature of a person, I expected CM.

Both are commonly used. Academics almost invariably quote
distances or a persons hight in metres. Ie, 1.828 metres for
someone 6ft tall, whereas Joe Public still uses feet and inches.

It's a similar story when it comes to someones weight. Academics
tend to use Kg, most of the rest of us still use stones and
pounds.

Containers of milk come in multiples of pints, but it's sold in
litres.
Like a 2.272 litre container, telling you it's 4 pints on the
label.

We're supposed to have converted to metric, but we haven't
really. We just have two systems in use now instead of one. :-)
Mike.

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hsg@h-gee.co.uk - 24 May 2008 18:17 GMT

>>> "Passenger Side" foot well is relative, I assumed a USA car. Sorry. I'm
>>> still on the resistor pack, but I don't know if it changes sides in a
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>no actual knowledge that it does not change, so the OP has to adjust what I
>had told him to suit his reality.

You mean that there really is an alternative reality as in Stargate SG-1?

Actually it has been known for manufacturers to mirror image dash construction
for LHD/RHD vehicles and even transfer the foot brake arrangements to LHD/RHD by
fitting a dammed great twisting tube from the right side brake pedal to the left
side fitted hydraulics.

One time the Olds Toronardo FWD juggernaut was changed to RHD by fitting a chain
drive to the LHD steering shaft that was cut off as it went into the bulkhead
and the wheel assembly was fitted on brackets on the right hand side - brakes
were modified as before.

Never really caught on here in the UK and other marques that drive on the left
still regard the US cars etc as authentic with LHD.

Rudd Speed did a RHD Mustang conversion using a UK Ford Zephyr steering box and
modified drop linkage but I believe RHD versions were made in a Canadian factory
as I had a six pot '66 Mustang Conv' that was all factory.

Many of the LHD Fords were converted in Australia and built there and several
companies imported the Aussie parts to convert US cars for the UK market.

Just my 2p worth.

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