I have a 525i, 2001, and it just turned 100,000 miles today, 12/20/08. Even though I turned off the car this evening after I got home, I can hear a fan running and air is coming out of the area where the defroster would be (on the dashboard). No matter what buttons I push, the fan keeps running. The fan seems to be in the back of the engine, closer to beneath the dashboard. I don’t know what to day, since I am sure it will cause the battery to run down over night. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you!
Pull the fan fuse. This will stop the fan and keep the battery from going dead until you can have someone look at the car.
Where is the fan fuse located? And if there are several, which one would it be? Thank you!
Check the owner’s manual. It should be able to point to the fuse that protects the circuit with the fan on it.
Thanks Mcparadise and BustedKnuckles. Unfortunately, it was late last night when I posted this post. It’s now morning, and as I suspected, the car battery is dead. Can the battery be re-charged by getting it jumped, or will I need a new battery – before I get someone to look at it.
Any ideas on why the fan kept running? Is this a big ($$$) fix? Thanks, everyone.
Jumping the battery should enable you to get started, but you should be aware that, if the battery is the original one, it was already past its design life and was destined for failure very soon anyway. This incident would be enough to mandate a new battery if this is the original.
On the other hand, if the battery is less than 3 years old and has not previously been totally discharged, it can likely recover from this incident. It would need to be recharged, and your mechanic can do this with his equipment.
As to why the fan kept running, the failure of an electrical/electronic component is the cause, but only someone who can get “hands-on” with the car can determine exactly which component failed.
Thanks, VDCdriver. I’m getting a jump tomorrow and hopefully that will get me to the mechanic. I’m hoping the jump will take. The battery is probably about 2-3 years old and hopefully will hold the charge. In the last 6 weeks, this is the 3rd problem I’ve had with this car. First a bunch of belts and ball bearing assemblies ($$$), then 2 oil filters assemblies were leaking and had to be replaced, now this. I realize stuff happens at this mileage, but this is getting ridiculous. Plus my mechanic is not nearby (25 miles). UGH! My dad would be saying he told me so about BMWs and their maintenance! Thanks again.