Air Con/Blower Problem with Fan

[Cats_fender]

Hi,
I am writing in sheer desperation to see if anyone can help me. I have had no air con/ blowers for about 2 months or more now. As its the summer it is horrible, but im more worried bout when the winter comes.. A few weeks ago, my boyfriend decided to see why the fan was not blowing. The Climate control unit seemed to be working fine, but just the fan was not turning at all. Well we came to the conclusion that the fan motor was broken. So we tried to take it out. Being that the apperture it comes out from was about half an inch too small, we broke the fans and motor out. We then wired the motor to the car battery, and hey presto, the fans turned, much to our annoyance. I.E. the fan was NOT broken to start with. We have searched around and some people saying the resistor pack might be the problem. So i bought a new one for £50, fitted it and the motor is now being powered up. However we are now stuck with the problem of not being able to fit a new motor and fans into the 'too small' hole. Is there an actual way of fitting the motor and fan or do i have to live without my fans forever?
The haynes manual seems to think it gets fitted from the bonnet of the car, but the hole is just to small... the engine is in the way! Also my car is a P reg 97' and the haynes manual for my car is the 98 version so it dosent always describe what my car has perfectly. Please help. I dont want to have to take it to BMW to get charged a rediculous amount of money, but its looking like im gonna have to!
Any ideas????

Cat
1997 BMW 318i

Help

 

[epj3]

Wow, you broke the (expensive) fan when all you probably need is a final stage resistor. I dont think I have ever heard of a blower motor going bad (at least, it's EXTREMELY rare).

http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e36m3/7802432-1.html (advice is good for your car, too)

 

[jrt67ss350]

Wow, you broke the (expensive) fan when all you probably need is a final stage resistor. I dont think I have ever heard of a blower motor going bad (at least, it's EXTREMELY rare).

My blower motor went bad last summer. But then my car has 300k miles on it....

 

[jazfe]

Hi Cat,
This info is from the Bentley's manual, hope it helps.
1. Disconnect negative(-)cable from battery.
2. Open hood. Unclip engine bulkhead plenum grille at base of windshield and remove grill ( three plastic screws).
3. Remove wiring harness retainging clip at bulkhead. Remove screws retaining wiring harness cover and pull cover forward.
4. On passenger side, (left hand drive) push aside wiring harness and remove two screws retaining plenum housing
5. On drivers side, push aside wiring harness and remove screw retaining plenum. Pull plenum up and remove from engine bay.
6. Unclip blower motor housing cover, disconnect control cable, and turn center retainer 1/4 turn to remover cover from engine bay.
7. Disconnect electrical connectors from blower motor.
8. Remove left upper section of blower housing by detaching spring clips at edge of housing.
9. Release blower motor retaining strap and remove blower motor and fans from cowl opening.
NOTE: Twist and rotate blower motor assembly to facilitate removal from opening, If the blower motor is to be reinstalled, use care not to damage fan wheels during removal. If the blower motor is to be replaced, cut off fan wheels at center to aid in removal.
10. Installation is reverse of removal, When installing a replacement blower motor, install motor into cowl area before installing fan wheels.

Blower motor resistor pack, replacing
The blower resistor pack is clipped into the upper left side of the heater box.
1. Remove the lower left dash trim panel.
2. Working under left side of dash, unclip and pull out resistor pack from side of heater box. Remove harness connector from resistor pack
3. Installation is reverse of removal.

I hope this has been some help for you. I suggest burning the haynes book and purchasing a Bentleys. Four times the price but it has useful information that is priceless when needed, especially if you want to do you own work and save on repairs.