[ctbear]

Originally Posted by Mr Podman

I had the original condition described at the beginning of this thread on my E46.

I called it a growling noise coming from the AC vents in the dashboard that was throttle related.

A BMW tech told me he thought it was the air conditioning system. Of course they wanted to replace the compressor.

I told them to simply charge the system with refrigerant. When they did that, the noise went away. Cost was about $150 or so.

After that, about every two years, the sound would come back. I used that sound as an indicator that my refrigerant in the AC system was getting low again (obviously due to some tiny leak).

So every two years or so I bought a $5.00 can of refrigerant at Walmart and charged the system.

I owned that car for 15 years and the AC was working perfectly the day I sold it.




podman

Well I guess if you accept that band aid fix as being sufficient...but refrigerant should not be leaking, which is the underlying problem. It's a closed system after all.

[Wgosma]

Originally Posted by ctbear

Well I guess if you accept that band aid fix as being sufficient...but refrigerant should not be leaking, which is the underlying problem. It's a closed system after all.

In theory yes it's a closed/sealed system and should never leak-in reality with auto a/c systems it's not uncommon to lose Freon from leakage over several years time- compressor shaft seal can leak, fittings can even be a leak point, car is not static environment, there can be averse effects due to vibration, elevated under hood temps, etc.

[penak]

Subscribed to this one

[Mr Podman]

Originally Posted by ctbear

Well I guess if you accept that band aid fix as being sufficient...but refrigerant should not be leaking, which is the underlying problem. It's a closed system after all.

The alternative was to have some toothless idiot at the stealership replace a compressor that was working fine for about $1,500.00.

Seemed like a no-brainer to me.





podman

[F30320DED]

Hey!
Was this the noise?


YouTube video

[gfalcaor]

Originally Posted by maverick83

5) Noisy air-con - oscillating humming whirring noise that accompanies the revs.

Sorry for bringing an old thread back, but my BMW is driving me crazy with a noise that is similar to the one you had.

I did find an youtube video that reproduces the noise really well:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/joB8OjshUTA

Was the noise you described similar to the one reported on the video above?
It also gets related to the revs as well.

Best regards

[gfalcaor]

Just came back from a mechanic specialized on AC, to chech the freon gas level, and we confirmed that it's not related to the compressor itself, as the noise disappears when the AC is on, And it is also not related to the freon's level, as it was normal / regular.



We are suspecting that it's related to the AC Pulley / AC Bearings.

I will take the car to another garage on wednesday, one that is focused on Belt and Pulleys repair.