92 Climate Control Problem

[andrewzpsu]

Hey guys, I need some help here in diagnosing my problem.

I've got a 92 325i and I seem to be getting a similar problem that the 96+ guys get.

When the rpms rise, my climate control system pretty much shuts off. The defogger, Recirculate, and Airconditioner will all shut off, regardless of combination. It is like the black screen, all the buttons go black.

Other things I've noticed is that the air direction controller gets really tight at the defogger area, as if it can't move to that opening. The center air vent's knobs don't seem to work and the center air vent is mostly closed.

It only happens when I'm moving or give it some rpms.

There is an aftermarket stereo in the car, and I think who put it in may have messed things up a little. Maybe wires in the wrong place. The drivers side front speakers do not work... so maybe wires frayed.

All fuses seem to be in tact, but I've got a few other issues right now with this guy that I'm trying to figure out and I'll post other threads for them, but cruise control doesn't work and it doesn't spray windshield wiper fluid. Not sure if they could all be related.

[andrewzpsu]

So I ripped most of the car apart trying to figure this out and I may have... not sure yet but now I can't replicate the problem so thats good.

Changed out climate control to no resolution. Problem still persisted.

I traded out the black box thing that is under the empty space under the computer. Seemed to have made a major improvement as it shut off roughly once for about 3 seconds then turned back on. At 70 mph it would stay on too.


Since I wasn't completely satisfied I gutted the car a little more. I found an odd green wire than ran from the steering column to under the arm rest area. It was hooked up to a purple wire under the steering column. In addition to that I found some wiring issues with the stereo output and input, and a bunch of extra stuff that never belonged there.

After removing the extra stuff, and replacing everything in the front, I could not reproduce the issue at all. Air blows cold when asked, blows hot when asked. I tried overloading the system any way I could to get it to "crash" again and I couldn't.

We'll see how tomorrow goes, but this seems promising.

Now to figure out what this other wiring is... Seats and carpet come out tomorrow.