A/C issue (non-MB)
 

On my BMW, my a/c started acting up SUDDENLY. When I turn it on, it blows warm. After a while it starts cooling and chills the air very well. At first I thought maybe I was low on freon, I had some added and it sat for a week and worked fine until I drove it a lot. Makes me think I have a high side leak. I don't have gauges to check. I am wondering does this sound like an expansion valve issue? It makes me wonder since it seems to be all on or all off. I guess it could be a compressor problem too. When it does start to cool, the car mist be moving and the RPMS must be up. The problem came on suddenly and before that it cooled as soon as I turned it on.

thoughts? How do you test the expansion valve?

thanks
Fred Emmerich

I hope I don't sound rude, but if you don't have gauges, you aren't going to get anywherre. It's like trying to troubleshoot an electrical problem without a multimeter.

Get high and low side pressures, ambient temp and vent temp. Post the information and we can offer a lot more help.

Larry

My 1999 528i does the same thing. I had it checked out and was told that everything is fine on the refrigeration side. I wonder whether it isn't a problem with the climate control. I hate climate control in a car. Give me a button that says "AC," a knob that goes from red to blue, and some buttons to say where the air comes out. Far superior to an automatic system.

Go to www.bimmerforums.com Pretty good site there. Search and post. You should get your answer.

You could do a check to see if the clutch is wearing out and/or is engaging--if its anything like MBs you can supply voltage to engage the clutch. Not the greatest starting point but until you have gauges its going to be pretty tough.