321i, 2001 Heater doesn't blow hot air - only cold air - greatly appreciate help

[tkaustin]

Hi all, First, I sincerely appreciate ANY help on this. My kids are freezing in the car so I owe it to them to get this fixed if I am able to do it.

My car is:
325i
Year: 2001
4dr wagon (family car)

What works:
All controls seem to work
Blower seems to work fine (blows air the same)
All settings (feet, body, defrost, etc) all work

What doesn't work:
Even at 91degrees, it's freezing. No hot air at all.


Details:
The odd thing is, every so often, for whatever reason, the heat will kick on, but it's rare. Maybe every 4th or 5th time I drive it. I'm so cold I am literally just fidding with options, thinking that if I turn something else on maybe it will trip it on or something. This morning it was 29 degrees and I froze with the kids in the car.


If you could:
I am capable of going to Autozone, buying some parts, etc but I'm not the most mechanical person in the world. I know there are resistors under the dash so I know how to replace those if you could be specific as to what to change, if possible. I know "newbies" like me can be frustrating but I am happy to answer any questions, try things, etc. I did some searches but I only found 1 person who had this issue and no one answered his question so thought I would post mine. Here is his: Attention BMW Techs 2001 325I Heater/ Blower problems - Bimmerforums - The Ultimate BMW Forum


Again, thank you in advance for your time helping me to troubleshoot. I really appreciate it.
Terry

[marti5]

Could be the thermostat not opening, to test this when the car is at normal temp if the top radiator hose is hot and the bottom one is cold its the stat...

[tkaustin]

Could be the thermostat not opening, to test this when the car is at normal temp if the top radiator hose is hot and the bottom one is cold its the stat...

Hi Marti - thanks.
So are you saying that I should get car to normal temperature first, then see if the radiator hose is hot? Also, are you saying if the bottom radiator hose is cold then it's likely caused by "stat"? (Edit: Oh, you mean't "thermostat"... sorry, see, lingo threw me)
[2nd Edit: How do I test the thermostat exactly? - thanks all!]
Sorry if I am not following correctly.

Terry

[marti5]

Get the car to normal temp as in needle reading 12oClock on the gauge,leave it running (be careful of the fan) then if the top hose is hot to the touch and the bottom one cold its the stat thats the problem.

[tkaustin]

gotcha!

So if it's hot, then how do I fix the thermostat?

If it's not hot, then does that mean I have a problem with the radiator?


Thanks again Marti!

[marti5]

Hang on....if they are both hot (Top & bottom) then the stats fine, if the bottom one is cold then the stats dead.

The radiator is fine or the car would overheat, as for a stat change do the test first to see if it is the stat.

[tkaustin]

So I did start it, let it run, got it to 50% on engine temp. I felt the hoses and couldn't really make heads or tails as to any temp difference, although it is like 30-40degrees outside. The large hose, from the radiator seemed warm enough but I didn't see a "bottom" hose, but again, I'm not overly mechanical so maybe you meant under the car or bottom of the engine. I can crawl down there np but just really don't know what to look for.

1. How much is a thermostat and is it something I could replace? If it's under $40 I'd be willing to do it to see if it fixes this.

2. If it's not the 'stat', any ideas on what I should do?


Thanks again for any assistance.
Terry

[marti5]

You must have a bottom hose......as for the cost of a stat ?? im in the UK, diy? sure is..

Yep you have a bottom hose, the one on the right is top the left bottom:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...00&hg=11&fg=35

[tkaustin]

Well, sorry to frustrate you. I just don't see it is all. As I mentioned when I started, I'm not mechanical. Just because I don't know my hoses doesn't mean I'm not trying or that I cannot eventually figure it out. My reaching out to folks on the bmw forum is my way of "diy"ing. I could easily just take it to a shop. Mechanics is a learning process. My father was a mechanic his whole life and knew more than anyone I've met but he himself was always learning. I wish I had learned from him. So I am sorry if I couldn't figure this out, I have no excuses other than I haven't been able to and do not wish to irritate or bother anyone by asking what I am sure to 99% of people reading is a dumb question. For me, it's not but that's how most of life is I guess.

[marti5]

You can ask me a 1000 questions no problem, but your bottom hose is definatly there as you can see from the diagram, it comes up to the middle of the top of the engine as seen, so you have one each side of the waterpump left is the one that will be cold if the stats not working....