BMW Blog

Ok last week my '99's climate control started to act up, classic syptom of blower fan having a mind of its own. So I researched it and went ahead and replaced the .47uf Capacitor on the board and that did not work. So back to the net and I find out about the Final stage blower motor resistor, so I pull it out. My question is does anyone have a valid diagnostic check for this resistor before I spend 100 bucks on one and hope it fixes the problem. I hate to just throw parts at a car before I really determine whats wrong, especially if they are costly. Also any way to really tell if the Climate Control is faulty? Also is there a newer version of this resistor other than p/n 64.11-8 376 174?

I also checked for loose solder connections at the 26 pin connector and did not see any evidence of them being loose. My blue connector has torx screws holding it to the board, is this a later model fix for the loose solder joints that plague these boards?

I don't know the answers to any fo your question, but when my fan was acting up (same symptoms), the final stage resistor fixed it for me. I got mine for about $70 (gotta love the BMWCCA discount).

what are your symptoms? Maybe i'm wrong, but I thought the capacitor fix was if the entire climate control went out (buttons don't work, no display, fan stops), and the resistor was if the fan stopped but you still had power/buttons.

Well all my buttons do work, even the A/C tries to come on, at least the fan does but not the compressor(I can trick it with a paperclip in the relay). So if the signs of the resistor failure are no fan then maybe I have it solved.

When my car's final stage unit went bad, I couldn't increase the fan speed beyond about 40%, even if the display said the fan was blowing at 100%. A new final stage unit solved that problem - just in time for summer.

I have a final stage unit that I will sell you. I was hoping that it may be my problem but somehow my blower motor went. I bought it from the dealer for $112 but I'll sell it to you for $80. Let me know if you want it. PM me.