A/C Questions

[Aus323i]

I have recently removed my A/C from my '81 323

I have just a few questions of what to do now.

I read that to keep the heater working you need to rewire something? Can anyone give me more information on this?

Also I'm wanting to keep the fan clutch and also add an auxiliary fan as a pusher where the A/C once sat? Is this overkill or possibly worth doing?
Is it possible to wire the fan from the same wires that the A/C was connected to? When this is done will you be able to turn the A/C switch on and the fan will turn on?

Finally, now that the A/C is removed I have a pipe (the one connected to the starter motor, I think) still remaining. I'm guessing since the car is running fine that this doesn't effect anything. But if I remove them from the starter motor will anything happen? Are there any disadvantages to this?

Thanks for the help in advance,

Max

[Aus323i]

It has been repainted. I was very annoyed when I removed the front bumper to find a half/half mix of the old and new.
Rust is being dealt with

[Jeroen]

What preoblems are you having with your heater then, not heating or heater fan not blowing in any position? The heater fan is the only electrical part in there, in non-ac versions it is located in the windscreen wiper tray. Heating is done through a steel cable operated valve in the engine bay, right next to the firewall.

Aux fan in front of the rad can be a good idea, I believe it can be pretty hot over there so you might want that extra cooling. Think I would just run some new wiring and a relay. A/C is pretty rare on E21's over here so I'm not sure about the wiring, but usually there are more connections like a pressure sensor and control over the a/c pump clutch so the current wiring may not be the most straight forward solution. But I'm no E21 A/C expert.

And eh, a pipe on the starter motor? Pics please!

[Peter V.]

Is it not that the E21 cars with AC have two heaterfans. The original unit and the seperate fan which is placed in the centerconsole of the AC-unit. The heaterexchanger of the original setup is still there (with the coolingwater) and the evaporator of the AC-unit is placed in the centerconsole of the AC and can be removed then

I know that mine is a aftermarket AC-unit but i have the construction as mentioned.

The piping you mention is from the compressor of the AC-unit. The startermotor is something completly different. To keep the coolingfan of the condensor of the AC as a boost for extra enginecooling is not a bad idea and must be a simple fix with using the wiring of the AC unit. It will not start the compressorclutch but only start the extra coolingfan.

[garyw51]

I did the same thing with my 82 (removed the a/c unit. The heater still works fine with the original controls. I also kept the fan and simply wired it through a separate toggle switch. I have never had to use it except on slow down laps after the occasional supersprint. It is good to have and am doing the same with my Baur that I have just got back on the road.

[Aus323i]

Ill have some pictures up in the hour

Cheers for the response guys,

Max