Help with A/C

[mdlv4bb]

Hello,
I have been a long time reader of this forum, but this is my first time posting. My wife is in the Air Force and we are stationed in Germany. We have a 1992 520 with 202K, German specs (really fun on the unlimited Autobahn outside our village). Over the winter I noticed that unless I drove it everyday it would not start the next time and needed jumping. I took it to a mechanic who found a loose wire in the trunk that was draining the battery; he fixed that along with installing a new blower since the old one was shot. When I picked it up, 420 Euro later, nothing on my center console worked i.e. clock, rear defrost, A/C, circulate, along with the lights on my dashboard. He said no problem and would fix it. Needless to say when I picked it up again everything worked except the A/C and circulate buttons on the center console. When I confronted him about this he said it did not work to begin with, which is not true, long story short, the attorneys my wife works for said we would have to hire a German attorney and fight it that way. It would be more trouble than it is worth. Now to my question, is it possible there is a fuse blown or they hit a wire while installing the new blower and is it is something I could fix? My manual is in German and I can't find a translation without trying to go word for word with a dictionary, to find the right fuse. Any suggestions? We are having a baby soon and need an air conditioned car to carry her around instead of rolling the windows down if possible. Thank you for any help.
Matt

[joshua43214]

Check fuses 9, 20, 29 in the front fuse box. Does the rear defoger still work? Pop out the buttons and make sure its pluged in. Hopefuly he didn't muck up the bowden cable doing the blower. Turn the blower down to its lowest possible setting, and see if you can hear the motor operate, they are very quiet, so listen close.

The only thing the recirc and the AC share in common, are the button unit, the ihk module and the fuses. So you problem should be stasring you in the face so to speak, or you have 2 problems. In the US atleast, taking legal action on a shop is usualy a waste of time unless alot of moey is involved or there is a liability issue over an accident.

Make every possible effort to resolve this directly with the shop, the moment you start talking litigation, the shop will back up and sit behind the boiler plate you signed. They know you can't touch them, especialy when it comes to a your word against their word situation.

Your best course if you can't find the problem yourself or resolve it with the shop, is to take it to a certified tech to have it checked and repaired. The best thing would be a ASE master tech, that also has BMW certification, but an ASE master should be sufficient. make sure you are upfront and absolutley clear abut wanting a clear description of the problem and that you will be using it to try to get "justice" from the previouse shop. If you are not clear and up front, you will wind up with a very hostile witness. Trying to find a tech to bear witness against another is almost as hard as finding a lawyer that will sue another. Also, let the tech know you are willing to pay him for his time if he has to write any more reports,talk on the phone, or actualy appear in court, draging a working tech from his shop to testify not only puts his job in jeapardy, but costs him money. I have on several occassions had to check out others botched work, I am always very very conservative about finger pointing, especialy if I know the tech in question is normaly competant. The best you can hope for is a description of the problem that will imply someone at fault, don't expect a report stating that the previouse person that worked on it was a moron and should be tried in a fair court and then shot at dawn.

Shop owners will often co-operate with repair costs if you can provide a clear indication that they where at fault from a reputable tech.

[mdlv4bb]

I will check out the fuses you recommend and yes the rear defrost does work. It did not work along with the other buttons and clock/temp display but when he took it back he fixed everything except the A/C and circulate buttons, that is why I am hoping it is a fuse or loose wire somewhere.

We are not going to take legal action against him, we are poor military folk and can't afford such things as German attorneys. I just wish one time I could find a mechanic who could fix my car the first time and not break something else while doing it. I know they are out there but I seem to always find the other guys no matter how many people I ask and how much good luck they have.

Thank you for your assistance.

[mdlv4bb]

[QUOTE=joshua43214]Check fuses 9, 20, 29 in the front fuse box. Does the rear defoger still work? Pop out the buttons and make sure its pluged in. Hopefuly he didn't muck up the bowden cable doing the blower. Turn the blower down to its lowest possible setting, and see if you can hear the motor operate, they are very quiet, so listen close.

I checked the fuses, they all look good. I did notice when I start the car the light on the circulate flashes on briefly but once the car starts it will not come back on. I also have no idea how to pop out the buttons, do I just use a screwdriver and pry? Thank you for your help.

[joshua43214]

I like to take the cover off and push the buttons out from the back side, its easy to scar the face prying it out with a screwdriver. If i remember right, you just pull all the knobs off and there are small screws behind the temp controls.

Did some of the Euro's have roller wheels instead of knobs? those are a bit different.

[Tiger]

I would start off with checking the refrigerant pressure... maybe you lost pressure which would not allow you to turn it on... auto-destruct safety switch. You can buy simple recharge kit with gauge just to see if you got any pressure in the system.

Another way is to take it to another mechanic to have him check your AC system... diagnostic charge should be very low... I don't know how it work in Germany... but there must be an AC shop there. You know... that only specialize in AC only... They woudl be quickest one to look over the system.

[ohm748]

Hi Matt,

this is also my first posting.

I have just read your post and I think it sounds almost identical to the problem I have. The ac and circulate buttons do not light up (although they used to) but the demist button does. Not long ago the fan was working but now that has stopped too. I checked fuses and all ok. Did you find the problem you had?

thanks

Omar