heat issues, need help asap!

[chappys4life]

I have a 87 e30 I have owned for probably 2 months. It is getting cooler now and I have been needing to use the heat but I am having problems.

If I slide the bottom 2 sliders to the far right I get heat but no matter if the fan setting is 1-4 is comes out at one speed and its very slow. Its like the temperature is there but comes out real slow. If I but my hand near the vents its warm but not really moving out.

So far I have done a timing belt, water pump, new plugs, cap, and rotor. The temp needle on the gauge sits right in the middle sometimes a hair under. It runs good so I am confused.

[Huff]

It sounds like your blower motor isn't working... Or at least the resistor is dead. Will the fan turn on when switched to the highest setting (4 I believe)?

[Zinno_e30]

Same with me, bump

[bmwm42]

its either the blower motor or the resistor id say more towards motor when the resistor takes a shit it seems to only wanna work in postion 4

[bmwguy325is]

Blower motor. Check the fuses too.

[chappys4life]

Okay sounds like I will be replacing the blower motor. From what people have seen should I replace it with a new one or used? 300 for a new one seems steep.

[E30Gus]

When my blower took a dump, it was the brushes that were worn. I found some new brushes that were similar size and put them in there with a little bit stiffer spring for a better contact. That lasted a couple years before the motor bearings went bad. Then I got a used one and put that in. I wouldn't buy a new one...then again I'm cheap. If it is the brushes then it may be worth taking a look.

[artoo93]

I have a similar problem in that I only get heat when the car is in motion. I can jumper the blower motor to a power source and it will run on full speed but I get nothing from the controls in the cabin. This doesn't sound like bad brushes unless I am missing something. I have swapped blower motors and resistors to no avail. I have tried various switches to no avail and also tried swapping whatever relays I could get to/find. Also, the AC nor the recirculate buttons do nothing either.

[mr.vang]

you can get pass winter with the help of a 12 volt heater fan.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-rubberized-heater-with-fan-96144.html

[Huff]

Key Ripes People... The blower motor in e30's is a joke to work on and fix.

If you're fan only works on the number 4 setting (high), then your resistor is dead.

If you're fan doesn't work at all, but is getting power, the motor is dead.

If you're fan doesn't work at all, and isn't getting power, then you have a dead fuse.


It's really not a hard component to trouble shoot and an easy one to replace. There can be a problem getting the motor in and out, but once you do it a few times. It's peanuts. No need to rig some crap up... DO WORK!!!

[chappys4life]

Oh I am not rigging anything I will be replacing it with a oem motor

[artoo93]

Did some more digging into my problem and it is NOT the blower motor!!! I found that I have lost connectivity from the load reduction relay (K5) to the fuses that control the heat/ac and my mirrors. (Both of these work in correlation with each other). I was able to jumper from the relay to the fuses and now all is working as should be. I checked everything from the aux fuses block before installing the jumper until I can dig into it further. At least I now have heat and defrosters without having to be moving. And yes, the blower motor works in all speeds!! Maybe this will help some others as well. I will update if and when I find more.