# I just fixed my 96 328i's blower motor final stage resistor



## erguy63 (Sep 12, 2004)

My bimmer's blower finally dead 1 month ago. Before that, the AC blower worked on and off. and only worked in highest speed setting at very slow speed :rofl: it is no way to get cool off in the summer, so I looked like a hot guy driving a hot car  with my 4 windows down and sun roof open. After I did some web research, it seems BMW's blower problem has a lots to do with the final stage resistor. Actually the this resistor is a serials of resistors to control the blower fan's speed. The higher the blower's speed is, the lowerst the resistor is. And the slowest blower's speed, the highest resistor is, so it generats a lots heat and eventually the resistor overheated and fail.

The cost of the final stage resistor is about $110. ( depends on which dealer). For my car, (US model) it is located on driver side, right behind the automatic climate control and radio. To gain access, you have to remove the panel below the steering wheel.(3 screws) and disconnet the 2 cables attached to that panel. The remove the protection board with 10mm socket. Now if you were a big guy, you may wish you have started your diet program much earlier :rofl: since the space is quite tight. You need a good lighting to see behind the AC control, the final stage resistor is fixed with 2 hexal head screws in the airduct. It is not too easy to remove them, but I did with some effort and 2 days neck pain. There are a cable connector with 5 wires to attach to it. disconnect the connector, then remove those 2 screws, it is easy to remove the final stage resistor. It is quite big with a lots metal fingers. (something you see in the Sci-Fi movies a lot). In my case, a few fingers showed the sign of over heating ( burned fingers) and a multimeter check showed a pretty large reading in resists. 

It took me about 2 hours to fix the problem. Now my AC working again. I do have picture of the final stage resistor, I can email you if you need one.

By the way, where can I find a copy of owner's manual on internet??? or who would kindly to send me a copy ( I will pay the copy cost and postage). My information computer always tells me Outside Temp is -34 F (minus 34 F) :dunno: ever outside temp is 104 F. How can I reset the outside temp???? Please help. Thanks


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