[PhYrE]

E92 M3 HVAC blower stopped working.

- Control lights up and pretends like it's working (you can hear the actuators in the airbox moving around)
- Fuse has continuity (didn't blow)

Yet check out the attached pictures. It appears to have melted the connector from the car to the FSU, as well as added some copper oxide (green stuff) on the wire itself where it looks to have burned off the insulation of the wire.

Getting a new motor or FSU that surged all that power is easy enough. Anyone know the part of that connector? I can't seem to find it on RealOEM.

Any tips or suggestions here? I've heard many reports of the motor failing, but none of it melting the connector in the process.

-M

[RandomHero]

Rather than make a new thread, I wanted to bump this one as I'm experiencing the same problem.

I already have the motor and FSU out of the car. That was ridiculously easy which took about 2 minutes to do.

However, I have the same problem with the melted connector and wiring.

The FSU, connector and pins were ordered from Tischer and are on a UPS truck to be delivered today.

With that in mind, does anyone have any best practices for cutting out the 3-4" of bad wiring, crimping new pins on them, and plugging them into the new connector housing?

I'd greatly appreciate it.

Again, my question is specifically about replacing the end of the FSU wiring (2 large wires and 1 small). I already know how to remove the motor/FSU (thanks to the 10+ DIY guides).

-Mark

[PhYrE]

Originally Posted by RandomHero

With that in mind, does anyone have any best practices for cutting out the 3-4" of bad wiring, crimping new pins on them, and plugging them into the new connector housing?

Again, my question is specifically about replacing the end of the FSU wiring (2 large wires and 1 small). I already know how to remove the motor/FSU (thanks to the 10+ DIY guides).

My issue was finding the right connector, as it was mislabeled on RealOEM at the time. Ultimately, it was found.

This is a classic case of the right tool for the right job. There is really not a lot of slack on there. If you take off 3-4" of bad wiring, you need to extend the wires. Your proper tool is a die crimper that will properly fit those connectors and crimp them cleanly the first time. Get an extra terminal or two and practice it when not on the car. The ratcheting crimper with a full set of dies was reasonable at PrincessAuto (a place that has general hand tools but is a bit more specialized than your typical hardware store). A link is here to one that fits: http://www.princessauto.com/pal/en/E...-Kit/8355331.p. It is a "F-Crimp" type connector or "open barrel" connector. You can see some guides on crimping them here including required length of exposed wire, that the insullation should be crimped by the tail, etc http://www.digikey.com/Web%20Export/...f?redirected=1 and page 28 of http://www.e38.org/breakoutboxesandconenctors.pdf

A good wire stripper, particularly one that works in small space (a single action stripper that wil pull the insullation off the wire in one squeeze), will help you.

Basically, take out the glovebox and kick panel, remove the motor, cut off as close as you can to the connector, and crimp those puppies on with a properly sized die.

If your insullation is burnt but wire isn't oxidized, strip the insullation off and put some heatshrink to replace it (or just use the heatshrink on top of it)- the length is appreciated.

If your wires are badly damaged and you won't make it back to the FSU with the wire you have after cutting off the oxidized part, you need to extend them. Get matching sized/gauge/type wire, split the end of the car wire and your new piece wire into two pigtails each and twist together for a single straight-through wire with lots of metal contact. Colour of insullation doesn't matter. Flow solder through it (don't cold solder) and heatshrink for a solid connector that will handle tons of current going through it. Then cut the wire to the appropriate length. As a hint, it's probably easier to put the connector on the other end outside of the car, so do that first and then join that to the existing wire.

If you don't use the proper die, you will be unlikely to get a clean solid connection. Any loseness in there will result in heat being generated which will just create the problem again.

-M

[RandomHero]

I sincerely appreciate the time you took to write that and the depth of your explanation. That was extremely helpful.

Let's hope everything goes as planned.

[chitownkev]

Originally Posted by PhYrE

E92 M3 HVAC blower stopped working.

- Control lights up and pretends like it's working (you can hear the actuators in the airbox moving around)
- Fuse has continuity (didn't blow)

Yet check out the attached pictures. It appears to have melted the connector from the car to the FSU, as well as added some copper oxide (green stuff) on the wire itself where it looks to have burned off the insulation of the wire.

Getting a new motor or FSU that surged all that power is easy enough. Anyone know the part of that connector? I can't seem to find it on RealOEM.

Any tips or suggestions here? I've heard many reports of the motor failing, but none of it melting the connector in the process.

-M

I've encountered an issue almost identical to yours on my '07 E90. Blower motor was working intermittently and unpredictably for a few days, then just stopped working entirely. After reading some posts here, I was confident I could tackle the process of simply removing and replacing the blower motor, but after removing the panel under the glove box (my panel had the exact same marking and evidence of moisture that yours had), I found that the wires connecting to the wiring harness were brittle and frayed, and if I pushed on the wires a little bit, there were sparks, so that's when I decided it was beyond my expertise and I called up the local indy shop.

Unfortunately, I'm on vacation 1,200 miles from home with my car so I'm kinda in a rough spot and need to get it fixed today before heading home tomorrow, and the indy is going to charge me about $1,200 for the blower motor, resistor, and labor to splice and re-connect the wires and wiring harness. It seems a little ridiculous, but I don't even want to think about what it would cost to replace the wires entirely back to the other end or what a dealer would charge for even the shortcut workaround solution of splicing the wires. Has anyone had this work done at a dealer or indy? Any input on whether or not this price they're charging me is reasonable? It has to get done at some point, and I doubt it will be cheap no matter who I take it to, but anything over $1,000 for a random job like this, I feel the need to make sure I'm not getting hosed.

Thanks.

[Joey911]

Originally Posted by PhYrE

E92 M3 HVAC blower stopped working.

- Control lights up and pretends like it's working (you can hear the actuators in the airbox moving around)
- Fuse has continuity (didn't blow)

Yet check out the attached pictures. It appears to have melted the connector from the car to the FSU, as well as added some copper oxide (green stuff) on the wire itself where it looks to have burned off the insulation of the wire.

Getting a new motor or FSU that surged all that power is easy enough. Anyone know the part of that connector? I can't seem to find it on RealOEM.

Any tips or suggestions here? I've heard many reports of the motor failing, but none of it melting the connector in the process.

-M

Same thing happened to mine.. but they melted all together and I have to crack the case.

Wonder where did you buy the connector? I need to buy one too, please let me know

Thanks

[vapore0n]

Seeing as how the insulation started to burn, I would recommend some fire retardant sleeve for those cables. In case the ever burn off again.
Google the term to see options.

If splicing in 3-4" of cable, make sure the cable gauge (copper thickness) is about the same as the current cable. Else it might cause current surges, cables to heat up, fuses to go, dogs and cats living together... you know what i mean

[E92Stock335i]

So I've got the exact same problem as several other forum members- no AC blowing out which caused me to investigate the blower motor which discovered the fried plug into the FSU and exact same sized water stain on the insulation on the inside of the bottom panel.

My question is how can I find out what's causing the leak into the cabin air filter that's spilling into the blower motor? I've read the theory that the cabin filter housing could be installed incorrectly(and I did just replace it about a few months ago and had a few days of heavy rain afterwards) but I just don't see how you could do it wrong? It only goes on one way and you can only tighten the screws when the cover is flush to the cowl underneath.

To rule out the lower windshield trim leaking, I tried pouring a bunch of water over the windshield to see if any water got in and then checked the inside of the cabin air intake and it was bone dry. Is it possible that amount of fluid that caused that stain was due to condensation? I just don't want to spend the money to replace all this stuff to have it happen again. Luckily I'm in southern California where it doesn't rain much but still need to get it fixed. Any thought or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

[simon]

I had the exact same problem. The wires and connector were completely torched. I cut the damaged part of wires and connector off, bought a new socket (part no. 61-13-6-925-196), contacts (part no. 61-13-8-377-732) and wire from a stereo shop. Then just made a new connector and soldered it in.

torched connector:


2 new wires in contacts:


new connector:


soldered in:


final product:


been going strong for over a year!

[Matt335is]

Originally Posted by simon

I had the exact same problem. The wires and connector were completely torched. I cut the damaged part of wires and connector off, bought a new socket (part no. 61-13-6-925-196), contacts (part no. 61-13-8-377-732) and wire from a stereo shop. Then just made a new connector and soldered it in.

torched connector:


2 new wires in contacts:


new connector:


soldered in:


final product:


been going strong for over a year!

Did you have to disconnect your battery? I am afraid of it resetting when I disconnect mine.

[AWDBooSTIn90]

Yes you have to disconnect the battery to do something like this. You wont have any issues after reconnecting the battery.

[PhYrE]

It may be worth noting that your dealer may consider doing this under a recall at this point. You may wish to explore that before fixing yourself as it will save you time and a new blower part.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2017/RCLRPT-17V676-9625.PDF

-M

[PhYrE]

Originally Posted by Matt335is

Did you have to disconnect your battery? I am afraid of it resetting when I disconnect mine.

It’s probably a good idea but when the car is off there is no power there. Pull the fuse to be safe. You don’t -need- to, but if you’re not sure of what you’re doing, it’s a good idea.

As another note, I used pliers on the wire that goes to the car to act as a heat sink and limit the heat going back to the car.

-M

[2002]

I've seen that this is now a recall item:

October 25, 2017 | Recall Campaign No. 17V-676
BLOWER MOTOR WIRING
Last Updated: November 6, 2017
DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM
This recall involves the wiring for the system, known as the blower-motor, that controls air flow for the heating and air conditioning system. Over time, the connection between the wiring and this system could deteriorate and, in rare cases, could lead to overheating.
SAFETY RISK
If overheating occurs, this could further lead to a short circuit or melting at the connection. In extremely rare cases, this could lead to a fire.
DESCRIPTION OF REPAIR
The remedy is not available yet. The wiring will be inspected and a new part will be installed. Additional components will be replaced, if necessary, as determined at the time of repair.
For additional information or assistance, please contact Customer Relations and Services at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com or at 1-800-525-7417.

[JSP///M4C]

FYI. I experienced my blower motor go out this weekend, and have a suspicion that it has something to do with the wiring harness and recall.

I called BMW relations today and was advised that they do not see where part will be available until LATE summer 2018.

I was advise to just take my car in and have it looked at. And that some dealerships "might" be able to special order the updated harness.

Anyone else feel like BMW is dropping ball on this recall?