[Nik-Gnashers]

Could anyone shed any light on how to operate the heater/climate control ?
This is my 1st bmw, and the owners manual did not come with the car. Last night was quite cold so I tried to work out how to get the heat coming through the vents, and was completely baffled lol !
After all you experienced bmw owners have stopped laughing at me, could you let me in on the secrets on how to get hot or cold air working in my car
Thankyou for any assistance !!

EDIT: After a drive to warm the engine up so the temp guage sits in the halfway position, I noticed that by turning the auto button to off, and putting the rotary temp knob above the radio to full hot position, that I get warm air from the footwells when I push the footwell button and turn fan up to 1/2 or more, the air coming out isnt exactly really hot though compared to other cars I owned or my work van, so I am wondering if the system in my 318i is working correctly.
I dont seem to get much out of the console vents, even though they are all open and fan is on full.

 

[steve23002]

Could you post up a pic of your heater controls please mate. Ill dig out the correct instructions for you then. :thumbsup

 

[Nik-Gnashers]

Thanks steve for the reply, unfortunately I do not have a camera, or even a camera-phone (I had to ask a friend to take the pic of my car lol), but thanks for the reply m8

 

[Deano16v]

have you got dual zone? as per below

heater controls

 

[Nik-Gnashers]

Thanks deano, yes its exactly like that pic m8y !
The left buttons are almost self-explanitary, obviously the 2nd one down is the vents in the dash, and the 3rd one down is the footwell vents. I guess the auto button is the constant cabin temp, but I do not understand the top button at all (top left). It cant be the screen as there is a screen button on the right ?
I cant seem to get much heat from any of the vents (although the footwell gets the hottest), even though I turned the dual controls temps up to max (32.5 I think) and also turned the knob under the vents to the ... / hottest position.
I know the button on the right with the circle of arrows means the air re-ciculates in the cabin (so when your sat in traffic it doesnt draw fumes in) as I found that info in another thread.

 

[LGB]

The up arrow is for the screen, but to keep a flow of air over it & into the cabin, good if you want to be warm but dont want it in your face! The actual windscreen button (top right) puts the fan on full for morning/damp demisting.

 

[Nik-Gnashers]

Ahhh I get it now (the screen button with up arrows) thanks.
So how do you get a lot of heat from the footwells and face vents ? Do you turn the temp up on buttons, or use the knob ? Either way I cant get much heat from mine

 

[Nafez™]

well you have heat. thats a good thing, get your system topped up mate quickfit do it

 

[Nik-Gnashers]

The cars just been in for inspection 1 / service, so I expect everything to be topped up ?
I suppose I should check the coolant levels just in case they didnt do it yes ?

 

[e36Cain]

hi there i got hold of a bmw e36 manual i had the same problem
hope this helps e36cain.

View attachment 3961

let me know if this helps!!!:thumbsup

 

[Nik-Gnashers]

Thanks for that manual m8 !
I understand it now, although I still can't get enough heat from the heating system heheh so I think maybe its knackered.....