***UPDATE*** 7/22/11 - After a few months this fix became less and less effective. After some research, I found that some compressor clutches have spacers. Sure enough, I pulled off the clutch plate (just as I did to clean it) and found there were four thin spacers on the clutch shaft. They are impossible to see, but I took a small screwdriver, stuck a strong magnet on the side of it, put it in alongside of the clutch shaft & (like magic) the spacers came out one at a time. You may do just as well if you have a good magnetic screwdriver small enough to fit in the space necessary. I removed three of the four spacers and the A/C clutch kicks on without fail ever since.
My AC had started to sporatically stop & start working a couple weeks ago. When it worked, it would blow ice cold. Then it stopped working altogether. The AC button still lights up & the aux fan also comes on, but the compressor doesn't kick on anymore. I jumpered the relay pins & the clutch never engaged. I would think that even if the pressure was low, the compressor should still engage if I jumper the pins at the relay location...correct?? Then, I found this article on another site...
http://www.bmwe36blog.com/forum/a-c-...-fix-t766.html Anybody ever heard of this? Sounds reasonable, I might try it next week. If it's a good tip, many thanks to johnnyjr_1 @ bmwe36blog.com
