Notes for repair work on air conditioning (M3 base, M3 Competition, M3 Competition M xDrive, M3 CS)

Special tools required:

00 9 030
32 1 270

WARNING: Only persons in possession of a professional certificate of competence for the maintenance and repair of heating and air conditioning systems are authorized to carry out repair work on the refrigerant circuit. It must be available no later than 04 July 2010 (applies only to EU countries; follow country-specific regulations in non-EU countries)
Refrigerant circuit is under high !

If the protective caps on the filling valves are difficult to open, there is a injury hazard from leaking valve inserts

Repair work may only be carried out on a depressurized refrigerant circuit

Before conducting repairs, check the actual pressure drop on the pressure gauge of the A/C service station

Avoid contact with refrigerant and refrigerant oil

Pay attention to the SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS for dealing with coolant
Follow SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS for handling refrigerant

IMPORTANT: Risk of damage!
Only refrigerant. Refer to NOTES FOR REPAIR WORK ON AIR CONDITIONING (M3 BASE, M3 COMPETITION, M3 Competition M xDrive, M3 CS) and refrigerant oil country-specifically approved by BMW may be used
Restart engine only when air conditioning has been correctly filled

Each time air connectors are opened continually new O-Rings are used (see applicable BMW parts catalogue)
They must not be coated

Use special tool 00 9 030 to mount sealing rings without damaging them
Open the refrigerant circuit for as short of a period as possible
Close all components and lines in the refrigerant circuit and return parts immediately following the removals at openings with special tool 32 1 270 to prevent penetration of moisture or foreign objects
If refrigerant circuits are opened with special tool 32 1 270 but left open for more than 24 h, the air conditioning condenser with desiccant insert for air conditioning must be replaced

In a functioning, sealed air conditioning, an air conditioning condenser with desiccant insert need not be changed at regular inspection intervals

However, an air conditioning condenser with desiccant insert must be changed in case of:

the refrigerant being dirty by shavings (e.g. when the air conditioning compressor is clamped)
With depressurized and/or completely drained refrigerant circuit

Vehicle-specific notes:

Only G12 and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle:

To ensure that the refrigerant is almost completely drained from the rear passenger compartment air conditioning or the battery cooling system:

Run the following test module:

Car body service
Heating and air conditioning functions
Drain/fill up refrigerant circuit

Only G12, N74 US version:

An adapter is necessary to fill the air conditioning

In case of the handling the A/C service station observe the following without fail:

IMPORTANT: Risk of damage!
Carefully shift the climate service station!
Comply with the operating instructions and service interval for the A/C service station!
Make sure that the hoses of the A/C service station are drained after the suction or filling procedure!
The climate service station contains highly sensitive components, such as scales. These components will be damaged due to improper handling, such as fast driving over a bump. This will result in a significant reduction of the measuring accuracy when suction and filling

IMPORTANT: During the entire filling procedure the vehicle must stand on the floor
Filling a raised vehicle will result in minimum filling levels

NOTE: In the event of complaints, perform A/C PERFORMANCE TEST !
If the system fails the test, draw off, evacuate and fill the air conditioning in accordance with the operating instructions of the relevant service station

Instructions for suction air conditioning:

To help separation of refrigerant and refrigerant oil, run engine at low speed (800-1200 RPM) and with air conditioning switched on for a few minutes

The limits the entrainment of refrigerant oil while it is drawn off

Drawn-off refrigerant oil must be changed and reintroduced via the A/C service station

During suction, set the blower of the heating and air-conditioning unit to the middle blower speed. This ensures that suction is more effective since the pressure on the low pressure side increases

Courtesy of BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, INC.

Recycling:

Dispose of drawn-off refrigerant oil as hazardous waste

Observe country-specific waste disposal regulations

Note in case of contaminated refrigerant R1234yf:

If the A/C service station for R1234yf refrigerant identifies contaminated refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit of the vehicle before suction process, then a SPECIAL PROCEDURE to draw off and dispose of this refrigerant must be followed

Instructions for evacuating off air conditioning:

Before each filling, evacuate the refrigerant circuit

Observe an suction time of at least 30 minutes

The suction process procedure removes all traces of ambient air, water vapor and any other gases present from the heating and air conditioning system. This enables subsequent system filling with refrigerant

If the vacuum does not remain stable when the system is off, run the procedure for leaks in the refrigerant circuit

During suction process, set the blower of the heating and air-conditioning unit to the middle blower speed. This ensures that suction process is more effective since the pressure on the low pressure side increases

Courtesy of BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, INC.

Notes for filling heating and air conditioning system:

Before filling with refrigerant, replace the refrigerant oil entrained plus losses is to be filled up during suction

Fill up the amount of refrigerant as per nameplate

Courtesy of BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, INC.

Remove the capacity and type of the refrigerant from the nameplate

Refrigerant capacities

Courtesy of BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, INC.