BMW Automatic air conditioning

Enjoy a comfortable temperature and a pleasant environment in your BMW's cabin with automatic air conditioning. Thanks to its intuitive usability and individually adjustable settings for you and your passenger, you're assured of a pleasant atmosphere at all times.

When activated, the automatic climate control system channels fresh air from outside the vehicle, cools it, reduces its humidity and, depending on the temperature setting, warmed again. Air temperature, air volume and air quality can be precisely controlled, whether the system is operating in manual or automatic mode. In automatic mode, the distribution of air flows and air volume is controlled automatically, and the temperature is held steadily at your selected temperature.
The CFC-free automatic air conditioning system also offers a range of additional features. Both driver and passenger can set individual preferences for air temperature. There are separate air channels for front and rear seats, plus an outlet in the B columns. The central console offers a temperature-controlled stowage space. The "maximum cooling" setting quickly cools the cabin on a sunny day. And even when the engine is not running, the automatic air conditioning system can be used to keep the cabin comfortable.
All control elements for the automatic air conditioning are positioned centrally, in easy reach of both driver and passenger. Depending on the model of your BMW, the iDrive and Control Display can also be used to change settings. The Car Memory feature saves your preferred settings and returns the system to these settings next time your drive your BMW.

Models that use this technology:

1 Series (5-door) 1 Series (3-door) 3 Series Sedan 3 Series Coupé 3 Series Convertible 3 Series Touring 5 Series Sedan 5 Series Touring 6 Series Coupé 6 Series Convertible 7 Series Sedan

X5 Z4 Coupé Z4 Roadster Z4 M Coupé Z4 M Roadster M3 Coupé M3 Convertible M5 Sedan M5 Touring M6 Coupé M6 Convertible

BMW A/C Condensers

BMW has always been a brand of performance. “The Ultimate Driving Machine”—that has always been the name by which each and every vehicle that the company produces is marketed. For this reason, avid customers of BMW wouldn’t expect anything less than a performance vehicle from the company; and so far, the company hasn’t failed their expectations.

BMW vehicles, however, are not only about performance, although no one can deny the exhilaration that can be brought by the performance of every BMW to its owner. BMW vehicles are also about comfort, with a wide array of features that can make every powerful ride enjoyable. And how else can one best describe comfort inside a BMW vehicle than by describing its excellent air conditioning system, composed of only high quality A/C parts like the BMW A/C condenser.

The A/C condenser is that part of your vehicle’s air conditioning system responsible for radiating all the heat the A/C system has absorbed. The refrigerant enters the vehicle’s A/C condenser as a hot gas after absorbing much of the heat inside the vehicle’s cabin. With the aid of the engine fan, and other auxiliary fans that may be installed under the vehicle’s hood, the condenser cools the refrigerant and condenses it into a cooler, high-pressure liquid. Once cooled and liquefied, it is then pumped back into the other parts of the air conditioning system.

You can easily locate your BMW’s A/C condenser inside the engine compartment of your car. It is usually located in front of the radiator, unless otherwise there has been a modification made with your car and the A/C condenser was moved into another location for aerodynamic purposes. Nonetheless, it is still easily identifiable for it looks like the radiator, although only smaller. For front-wheel drive cars, the A/C condenser is cooled by one or more auxiliary fans instead of the engine fan.

BMW AC Compressor

When we are driving, we usually want to experience the same level of comfort that we are used to at home and at our workplace. Thanks to the introduction of the automobile air conditioning system, many things have changed especially when it comes to comfort and luxuriousness offered by the vehicle’s interior. The vehicle’s air conditioning system is the one responsible for blowing cool air to the passenger cabin. Basically, there are three different types of air conditioning system found in the vehicles today. Though they have differences the concept and design of these ac systems are very similar to one another.

The most common components that can be seen in the automobile’s ac system are condenser, compressor, evaporator, thermal expansion bulb, orifice tube, receiver-drier and accumulator. If your vehicle possesses an orifice tube, it will not come with a thermal expansion valve because these two components have similar function. Likewise, a vehicle can have either an accumulator or a receiver-dryer but not both.

Your BMW ac compressor is considered as the heart of the car’s air conditioning system. It is a mechanical pump driven by a belt that’s attached to an engine. BMW AC compressor pumps the refrigerant to make it flow in a closed loop throughout the air conditioning system. The performance of the AC system is greatly affected by the performance of the ac compressor. When the engine starts to move, the BMW AC compressor would also start doing its job which is to take in the refrigerant from the low pressure side of air conditioning system. While inside the BMW AC compressor, the refrigerant is compressed into a high pressure and high temperature gas. And the compressed refrigerant will be passed on to the condenser, the system’s high pressure side.

The BMW ac compressor is really vital in your BMW ac system. Without it the ac system will surely not function. So if ever your BMW AC compressor got damaged have it replaced immediately or else the interior comfort of your car will be compromised. Finding a replacement BMW ac compressor isn’t that hard these days because they are available in most auto-part store in the automotive market.

A/C System Overview

There are three primary components in a vehicle’s air conditioning system including the compressor, condenser, and evaporator. These parts are connected by tubes and hoses to form a continuous path with two distinct sections: a high-pressure side and a low-pressure side. In order to transfer heat from the vehicle’s interior to the outside air, a chemical refrigerant is circulated throughout the system. In theory, the A/C system accomplishes the same task as the engine’s cooling system, in that both absorb the heat from one area and release it to another (heat transfer). While coolant remains a liquid during the heat transfer process however, refrigerant repeatedly alternates between a liquid and a gas as it circulates throughout the air conditioning system.

Orifice tube air conditioning systems regulate refrigerant flow to the evaporator using a fixed metering device (orifice tube).	In an expansion valve air conditioning system, refrigerant flow to the evaporator varies according to the pressure in the suction line (evaporator outlet). This is detected by a sensing bulb mounted on the line, and relayed to the expansion valve via a capillary tube

The Refrigerant Cycle

The refrigerant cycle involves a three-step process that includes pressurization, condensation, and vaporization. Starting at the compressor, let’s identify these steps as we trace the flow of refrigerant through the system. The refrigerant enters the compressor through the suction port as a low-pressure vapor. After squeezing this vapor into a confined area (pressurization), it is released through the compressor’s discharge port. By pressurizing the refrigerant, the compressor causes the refrigerant vapor to become much hotter than the outside air. This ensures that it will change to a liquid as the cycle enters the next phase.

Once pressurized, the compressor pumps the high-pressure refrigerant vapor to the condenser, which is located directly behind the grille in front of the radiator. As outside air is drawn over the condenser by the engine fan, or forced past it by the ram-air effect, the incoming air absorbs the heat contained in the high-pressure vapor. This causes the vapor to condense into a high-pressure liquid, completing the second phase of the process (condensation).

As the refrigerant leaves the condenser, it makes its way toward the evaporator, which is located within the air hadling case along with the blower. Before entering the evaporator, the refrigerant flows through a metering device. This results in a significant drop in pressure, allowing the refrigerant to vaporize at a lower temperature. This ensures that the refrigerant will absorb the maximum amount of heat as the blower forces warm air over the evaporator. At this point, the vaporization phase is complete, and the heat-laden vapor is drawn back into the compressor so the cycle can be repeated.

Since heat is removed from the air during the vaporization phase, the air exits the panel vents at a much lower temperature. This not only results in cool air, but dehumidified air as well. Remember, warm air has high moisture content. Consequently, when the warm air comes in contact with the cold evaporator, the moisture condenses on the evaporator surface and eventually drains onto the ground. This is why a puddle of water forms under the car after it has been shut off with the air conditioner on.

Evaporator

Located inside the vehicle, the evaporator serves as the heat absorption component. The evaporator provides several functions. Its primary duty is to remove heat from the inside of your vehicle. A secondary benefit is dehumidification. As warmer air travels through the aluminum fins of the cooler evaporator coil, the moisture contained in the air condenses on its surface. Dust and pollen passing through stick to its wet surfaces and drain off to the outside. On humid days you may have seen this as water dripping from the bottom of your vehicle. Rest assured this is perfectly normal.

The ideal temperature of the evaporator is 32° Fahrenheit or 0° Celsius. Refrigerant enters the bottom of the evaporator as a low pressure liquid. The warm air passing through the evaporator fins causes the refrigerant to boil (refrigerants have very low boiling points). As the refrigerant begins to boil, it can absorb large amounts of heat. This heat is then carried off with the refrigerant to the outside of the vehicle. Several other components work in conjunction with the evaporator. As mentioned above, the ideal temperature for an evaporator coil is 32° F. Temperature and pressure regulating devices must be used to control its temperature. While there are many variations of devices used, their main functions are the same; keeping pressure in the evaporator low and keeping the evaporator from freezing; A frozen evaporator coil will not absorb as much heat.

Condenser

This is the area in which heat dissipation occurs. The condenser, in many cases, will have much the same appearance as the radiator in you car as the two have very similar functions. The condenser is designed to radiate heat. Its location is usually in front of the radiator, but in some cases, due to aerodynamic improvements to the body of a vehicle, its location may differ. Condensers must have good air flow anytime the system is in operation. On rear wheel drive vehicles, this is usually accomplished by taking advantage of your existing engine's cooling fan. On front wheel drive vehicles, condenser air flow is supplemented with one or more electric cooling fan(s).

As hot compressed gasses are introduced into the top of the condenser, they are cooled off. As the gas cools, it condenses and exits the bottom of the condenser as a high pressure liquid.

Compressor

Commonly referred to as the heart of the system, the compressor is a belt driven pump that is fastened to the engine. It is responsible for compressing and transferring refrigerant gas.

The A/C system is split into two sides, a high pressure side and a low pressure side; defined as discharge and suction. Since the compressor is basically a pump, it must have an intake side and a discharge side. The intake, or suction side, draws in refrigerant gas from the outlet of the evaporator. In some cases it does this via the accumulator.

Once the refrigerant is drawn into the suction side, it is compressed and sent to the condenser, where it can then transfer the heat that is absorbed from the inside of the vehicle.