We are on a family vacation in central Florida. My car is a '01 540i with 109k miles. All service us up to date, including the radiator that was replaced by my independent BMW shop about 1,000 miles ago and new belts installed about 10,000 miles ago. Very warm in central Florida (90 degrees) and periodic hard rains. Air conditioning was working fine on the 400-mile drive from Atlanta to the Orlando area. Parked for <5 mins with car (and AC) running. Got back in the car and noticed that the AC was no longer blowing cool. I never heard any noise (from the compressor nor the belt coming apart) nor smelled anything (like a belt burning up). Turned off AC and drove for 10 mins. Stopped for gas and checked under the hood. Nothing unusual, although the compressor does not seem to be cycling on when the AC button is pressed inside the car. The fan blows in the cabin, but no cold air. Engine temp was normal. In daylight this morning, I can see that there is no belt on the AC compressor. I can see a few small shreds of belt lying on the belly pan and there is a "strand" of the belt on the crank pulley (but I can't get down there to pull it off). I have no tools with me, but I do have my Peak code reader. The car threw a code of "OF-8D," which is "Engine Cooling Fan Control." (In light of the missing belt, I am guessing that the cooling fan code is a "false positive" code since the AC compressor is not running.) So now I am trying to decide if it is most likely just the belt or if the AC compressor could have seized and took out the belt. Also, I would be curious to know if there is any chance that the crank could have "ingested" any part of the AC belt and dumped bits of belt into the engine that I need to be concerned about during my return trip to Atlanta. Based on the clues provided, I would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions before I have to throw myself at the mercy of the dealer tomorrow morning. Like I said, no fun with no AC on vacation in Florida (and facing a long, hot ride back to Atlanta in another day). I would certainly appreciate any suggestions. Thank you.
I don't think there's any way that you could have gotten pieces of the belt in the crankcase have you tried spinning the compressor by hand? I'm not sure if it's located somewhere that you could do that but that could answer your own question, make sure you spin the center part of it, not the outside
Thank You Thanks for taking the time to reply. The car is at the dealer and they have already called this morning to report that it was just the belt and I am all set. (I am still a bit concerned as to why the OEM belt with <15k miles would fail, but thankful to have AC for the long, hot ride home.) Thank you again for your post. The BMW CCA members are always a great resource for my car.
Odds are good it was improperly installed or damaged during installation, or perhaps during the radiator repair. I wouldn't fret about the quality of the part. It's a multi-ribbed belt and if the tech doesn't slip it ALL the way onto ALL pulleys, it rides with one rib on the pulley edge and chews itself up. I had this happen once, although the belt failed within 1000 miles, not 10,000+.
Thank You Thanks for your comments. I picked up my car a few hours ago and I am back in business. I will be posting a comment when I get back to Atlanta on the great experience I had with the local BMW dealer, Fields BMW South Orlando. They got me repaired and back on the road. I want to make sure any other BMW CCA members are aware of the good job this dealer did for me.
