[SMOKE EM IF U GOT EM!!]

!!! I ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANYTHING YOU CHOOSE TO DO UPON READING THIS DIY FOR REPLACING THE FSR ON YOUR OWN CAR, ATTEMPT AT YOUR OWN RISK !!!

So here's and easy and cheap fix for the fluctuatig fan speed problem many of us have been facing. This was plaguing me w random fans speeds, and hardly any output on any speed except for defrost. Ive heard that people's fans would remain on even if the car was off and parked, and would return to a toasted battery. Luckily asside from my batt being 6 years old and it regularly takes a shit on me, I didnt have that problem. Ive been noticing for the last year that the fan wasnt acting right, but it was kinda one of those "if i dont think about it maybe it will go away" deals. But it didnt. And now as the weathers changing, and the hot weather will be here soon, I decided enuff was enuff!
I had been researching this problem on the web and from various different forums, came to the conclusion that it wa the FSR unit. It may also go by a different name such as blower motor relay. Thats the name that was printed on the invoice from the dealer. I get parts discounts from the local dealer, so I wasnt too worried about shopping the part around. I'm sure it could be found from many of the vendors on the forum. I have the part number that was required for my 06 E90 330 shown in the pics. I forgot to ask if it correlates to the rest of the 3 series body styles, but as of most parts Im sure its the same. Although not certain so dont quote me on that one.
Now getting into replacing the part itself. I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILTY IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG! You will be working under the glove box. It is minimal work, but unless you practice the Kama Sutra on the regular like me, lol you might have a difficult time getting to the screw on the rear of the FSR unit that is hidden by some of the harness. But if you contort yourself enough you can get to it. I found it easier to look from the side and you can get a view of the screw from there. I also did not disconnect the battery. I would recommend THAT YOU DO THAT AT YOUR OWN RISK. I left the pics jagunda so you could see what we were dealing w. Not the clearest pics but you get the point. But holy giant pics batman!

Here are the steps....

STEP 1 LOCATE THE PANEL UNDER THE GLOVE BOX ON THE PASSENGER SIDE.
REMOVE THE 2 #20 TORX SCREWS THAT RETAIN THE APPEARNCE COVER THAT THE FOOTWELL LIGHT IS ATTATCHED TO. ONE ON THE RIGHT AND LEFT

STEP 2 BEHIND THE CONTROL BOX W THE BLUE PLUG AND BLACK PLUG HARNESSES, YOU WILL SEE THE BOTTOM SIDE OF THE FSR W TWO WIRE HARNESS PLUGS CONNECTED. ITS LOCATED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BLOWER MOTOR HOUSING. CAREFULLY REMOVE THE TWO PLUGS THAT GO TO THE FSR.

STEP 3 IS TO REMOVE THE FSR UNIT RETAINED W 2 #15 TORX SCREWS. MATCH UP TO NEW UNIT AND MAKE SURE THEY ARE BOTH THE SAME. I READ ON A COUPLE OTHER FORUMS THAT THERE WERE SUPER-CEDED PARTS DUE TO NEWER VERSIONS BEING MORE EFFECIENT. MINE MATCHED UP.

STEP 4 AFTER CONFIRMATION THAT THE PARTS ARE THE SAME, CAREFULY REINSERT THE NEW FSR UNIT USING THE #15 TORX SCREWS. TAKE NOTE THE DIRECTION IT WAS REMOVED AS THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO REPLACE. LIKE I SAID EARLIER, ITS LIKE TRYING TO PUT TEN POUNDS OF SHIT IN A FIVE POUND BAG TO SEE UNDER THERE. ALSO BECAREFUL NOT TO DAMAGE THE GREEN SEAL ON THE BLOWER HOUSING THAT SEALS THE FSR

STEP 5 IS TO RECONNECT THE TWO POWER HARNESS PLUGS. AGAIN CAREFUL NOT TO DAMAGE THEM, THERE ARE VERY THIN RETAINERS ON THE PLUGS.

STEP 6 IS TO RECONNECT THE FOOTWELL LAMP AND REINSTALL THE APPEARANCE COVER UNDER THE GLOVE BOX W THE #25 TORX SCREWS.

STEP 7 START THE CAR. ENJOY THAT YOU HAVE SUCCESFULLY EXCORSISED THE DEMONS OUT OF YOUR HVAC SYSTEM. AND REVEL IN THE PIECE OF MIND KNOWING YOU DIDNT GET BENT OVER AND ANALY RAPED W NO LUBE FROM THE DEALER FOR REPLACING THE YADA YADA, AND THE BLAH BLAH BLAH BEING YOUR CURRENTLY OUT OF WARRANTY SIR!

STEP 8 OUT A HALF BOTTLE OF GOOSE AND ENJOY THE REST OF THE DAY. JOB ONLY TOOK ME 8 MINS, SO IF YOU GO SLOW AND TAKE YOUR TIME, YOU HAVE ALOT OF FREE TIME TO GET DRUNK


Hope this helps you guys out that were experiencing the same issue

[JPGOR]

Hi Guys

I just want to say a big thanks for your post on changing the FSR. I ordered the part (FSR) and replaced it in five minutes. I now have my heater going again (better than ever). A few people told me that the resistor may not solve the problem as my fan stopped working immediately and not over a period of time. However it did thanks again for your help. You guys saved me a fortune.

Regards

JP

[fasfrank]

Hi there smokem I'm having the same trouble on my 2006 330i and thanks to your post will be ordering this fsr from dealer do you recall what they charged you for it.
Thank you.
fasfrank

[SMOKE EM IF U GOT EM!!]

Hey fasfrank. I don't recall exactly how much as I get a discount on the parts but I don't think the list price was more than 150.00. Don't quote me though. I have the paper in the glove box but won't be near the car until
the weekend. I'll post back this weekend w the exact price if you need it.

[Surly73]

I've done this procedure on a couple of E39s. While not necessarily identical, I thought that I would share that the E39 design has part of the FSR casing always "hot" with +12VDC even when the ignition is off. If you do not disconnect the battery, you can cause a short if the FSR brushes against nearby grounded objects.

Unless there's good information to the contrary, I would be inclined to disconnect the negative terminal of the battery before doing this repair in case the design is similar.

[fasfrank]

Thanks again but I already ordered (weather is getting very hot & can't handle no HVAC) both the fan and resistor (FSR) and will be doing the work sometime next week.
Really appreciate this forum and the people who post on it.
Cheers!!!

[Neill222]

I think I need that part. Can I order it from someone on here? Thanks

[numis33]

Thank you for your sane DIY. The a-holes I got the part from have a DIY telling me to pull the glove box side trim etc.

[cookï3m0nster]

Hi and thank you for the amazing post. I'm facing this issue, but not sure if I should be replacing just the blower motor, FSR or both. When I check voltage on the connector that connects to the blower, I get 14v, but when I check the cable from FSR to blower, I only get 2v and with test probe, light is very dim.

Thanks again