A/C - Condenser Refrigerant Leakage
GROUP 64Heating and Air Conditioning
Bulletin Number
64 07 96
Woodcliff Lake, NJ
August 1997
Product Engineering
This Service Information bulletin supersedes S.I. 64 07 96 dated March 1997 which should be removed and discarded from your S.I. binder.
This issue clarifies some repair hints and we are eliminating the need for a receiver drier replacement under all circumstances; the maximum sublet allowance is reduced assuming a fully functioning system. Pre-existing leaks are to be claimed separately following Warranty Procedures and Policies.
PERFORM THE PROCEDURE OUTLINED IN THIS SERVICE INFORMATION ON ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES THE NEXT TIME THEY ARE IN THE SHOP FOR MAINTENANCE OR REPAIRS.
SUBJECT:
Air Conditioning Condenser E38
MODEL:
7 Series (E38)
Situation:
Condenser on affected vehicles may develop a leak due to contact corrosion (pilling) between the plate and the flat tubes.
Vehicles Affected:
This Service Action involves all E38 from start of production to December 31, 1994.
In order to determine if a specific vehicle is affected by this Service Action, it will be necessary to utilize the "Service Menu" of the DCS (Dealer Communication System). Based on the response of the system, either proceed with the corrective action or take no further action.
The Chassis Number Ranges listed below are only for informational purposes and are not to be considered as the only deciding factor
Correction:
Condensers have been modified as of vehicle production date 1/1/95.
Vehicles which have received a replacement condenser, P/N 64 53 8 373 924, under warranty are excluded from this service action and the respective VINs have been removed from DCS inquiry; this part number was introduced in 4/96 and all of those condensers are certain to have been modified.
All affected vehicles which have not had prior repairs as explained above need a modified condenser installed.
Procedure:
Remove and replace the condenser per repair manual section 64 53 550. It may not be necessary to drain the cooling system. After installing the condenser, evacuate and refill the air conditioning system per repair manual section 64 50 009.
Hints:
When first evacuating the system prior to replacing the condenser, measure the amount of refrigerant oil drawn from the system. When recharging the system add that same amount of refrigerant oil plus 10 cc (10 cc = 10 ml).
In case a vehicle subject to this Service Action has a refrigerant system leak and comes into the workshop without any refrigerant in the system replace the receiver dyer (see Repair instructions 64 53 510, to be claimed separately). If the system is empty, refrigerant PAG oil has also escaped, which means that an additional 10 cc (for a total of 20 cc) of PAG oil must be added when refilling the system (to be claimed separately).
In case a vehicle subject to this service action has a major refrigerant leak, for example due to an accident, more refrigerant oil has escaped and the compressor needs to be removed, drained of refrigerant oil, and the proper amounts of oil need to be added per S.I. 64 11 93 (to be claimed separately or customer pay in case of an accident).
Additional Procedure:
Only valid for vehicles procedure up to August 15, 1994.
The fan shroud is equipped with nine air vent flaps. The opening angle of these flaps needs to be limited to prevent damage to the condenser at high vehicle (air flow) speeds.
Attach one retaining clip (item 2 in illustration), P/N 64 54 4 378 726. to each of the upper seven air flaps as shown in the illustration (item 1). Attach two retaining clips to each of the bottom two wider air flaps.
Vehicles produced after 8/15/94 have the retaining clips installed in production.
Additional Hint:
If the original condenser is equipped with cross bars these bars do not need to be transferred to the new condenser.
Service Action Label Instructions:
This Service Action has been assigned code number 185 After the vehicle has been checked, and corrected if necessary, obtain a label (SD 92-085) and:
a) emboss your BMW dealer warranty number in the middle of the label (1);
(b) punch out code number 185 printed on the label and,
c) affix the label to the B pillar as shown:
If the vehicle already has a label from a previous Service Action/Recall Campaign, affix the new label next to the old one. Do not affix one label on top of another one because a number from an underlying label could appear in the punched-out hole of the new label.
Warranty Information:
Covered under the terms of the BMW new car limited warranty. Reimbursement for this Service Action will be provided through Campaign Entry.