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Final Stage Resistor

I have a 2001 525i with a dead fan motor. Went to the dealer for repair. I know the service manager and he told me my problem is the Final Stage Resistor. He told me it's a shade tree mechanic fix. He said it's located just under the gove box and the part is $119 bucks. Will me knowing you can't return electronical parts after the sale maybe it would be a good idea to take the old one out first. Make sure I have an EXACT match. Can somebody assist me, I'm on my back lying on the floor board just removed the panel under the glove box. I'm getting a cramp so what does it look like? How do I pull it out. Is there a rubics cube combination or some kind of secret hand shake I need to be aware of before everything just pops out in front of me from pulling on everything in front of me. HELP! Does anybody know what I'm doing, and I can't get up! I'm serious is there a diagram on the net or somebody who can explain what I'm looking for, I know it's a Final Stage Resister but I have no clue as to what it looks like. My service manager friend would help me but his boss is standing over him like flies on a roast, if you know what I mean? I love my Beemer but I had no idea how much repair would be. I tried the ol' "it's under my certified pre-owned 100k warrantee, but just my luck, that ran out last month. Sucker never gets an even break, you know what I mean? If anybody can assist me it would be great. Thanks guys

Reply to
rlking
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Did you ask your buddy to show you the new one? MZ

Reply to
MZ

Drill down on your car's VIN to something like "heater & air conditioning/electrical parts" at

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for a diagram of the component parts. The part you're looking for is probably called the "final stage unit."

Reply to
Dean Dark

The Life Support System ducting is located over the transmission hump. In the passenger side foot well (assuming a USA spec vehicle), there is a connector that plugs into the side of the ducting. This connector goes to the object of your desire, and my recollection is that it has two or three screws that hold it in. When you get the part out, it will be a resistor pack with a huge heat sink stuck to it. (It is actually a huge heat sink with the resistor pack mounted to it via a wad of epoxy resin.)

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

"rlking" HELP! Does anybody

Here are the DIY instructions:

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As simple as it looks, pulling that sucker out is a PITA due to its location and limited space. The main difficulty I had was with disconnecting the harness that goes into the FSU.

You can get the part on line from pelicanparts.com for example for $73. FYI, the updated part 64-11-6-923-204-M58 (the new ones aren't supposed to fail as frequently as the old ones) looks slightly different:

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(old part on the left)

Good luck, Pete

Reply to
Pete

My E39 is right hand drive so slightly more complicated. But you have to remove the carpet trim down the side of the transmission tunnel - it's behind that tight to the bulkhead. It actually fits in the airstream into the heater, so all that shows is the plug. You need two hands to get it out - one to release the clip. It's really a job for a supple teenager with small hands. ;-)

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

A dead fan motor is a tricky problem. My son's '99 M3 had the same symptom and I also thought it was the final stage (being a high-failure item) but it turn out to be a faulty fan motor, even more expensive than the final stage, of course. -HR

Reply to
hector

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