I'm wondering what possible culprits in A/C may be?- -Had opportunity to travel in 90-100 degreee heat this weekend. 1994 E320 Coupe Starmark @ 81K miles sat in sun all day. I placed A/C on max (click with wheel) &/ "Auto" fan button depressed, drove about 10 blocks in 5mph stop and go traffic and observed that air through ducts was barely cold (all windows & sunroof closed, recirc. air button not depressed) . I got through traffic in about 20 minutes and proceeded to freeway speed. Once up to 35-40mph+ speed, I observed air through the vents got chilly cold. Any ideas on possible culprits? I also observed that the engine temp stayed at the 100 degree level in stop and go traffic without the aux fans coming on. Is this abnormal also? Thanks in advance for your insights.

-fad
94 E320 Coupe

I drive a '95 E320 in heat of south Ga. The things that you described sound about normal. In the stop and go traffic with the A/C on how high did the coolant temp get. If it stayed below 100 C then it sounds ok.

engatwork

I encountered the same problem in my 92 400E. I took my car in for its 90k service and my mechaninc found that I had a blown fuse for my front engine fans and was approx. 1/2lb low on refrigerant. Both of the items were fixed and my car is blowing cold now, whether I am standing still or going 90 mph. Believe me, it made the difference in the Maryland heat and humidity.

Brian

[This message has been edited by mcelroyb (edited 08-14-2000).]

I had to read your post again to pick up on something that I missed the 1st time. Do this, after driving the car to warm it up park it, turn the A/C on high and see if the aux. fans run. If they do not run check the 15A fuse on top of the aux fan relay. There is a black plastic box behind the underhood fuse box. Remove the 6 phillips screws and remove the black plastic box then you will find two relays. See if the fuse in one of them is blown. Replace it with a 20A fuse and you should be good to go.
good luck
engatwork.

Thanks for your replys-

The temp stayed at 100 degrees steady in stop and go 5mph traffic till I reached about 40mph+ on the freeway. Once on the freeway the temp proceeded downward till just a tad above the 80 mark (normal). The a/c at 40mph+ also started acting normal. Your replys have me thinking that this is not normal so....

I'll check the fuse and have the dealer check the system (Starmark) at the end of the month- - since it was the first appt. available.

Thanks again for your replys.
-fad
94 E320 Coupe
had:
72 280 SE 4.5 (mint)
69-70 250SE 4-speed manual (mint)
88 BMW 325is (mint)
80 BMW 320is (x2 mint)
86 Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio
79 Tri Spitfire
etc.

fad, do the aux. fan test this evening - that will tell you immediately whether it is the fuse or not.

I'll do the aux fan test this evening-

After driving and warming up, should I keep car engine running while placing the a/c on high?

tks-fad

yes, the engine will have to be running

problem resolved:

factory authorized service replaced sensor.

which sensor?

I believe that it is the temperature sensor that kicks fan on at approximately 90-100 degrees (not sure on the exact temperature figure).

It appeared to be an easy diagnosis/ common wear item?, a very quick job to replace (received the vehicle back same day), and the part was quite inexpensive (covered by my extended warranty).

Hope this helps.
-fad