Radio climate control panel replacement

jjzeilstra · Jul 19, 2023

Well, I finally paid for the a/c replacement. $3500 and it blew cold for about a week. Now they’re saying it’s the radio and climate control panel on the dash. That’s another $2k at the dealer. I definitely don’t want to do that.
The dealer says I need PN BM61-31-9-379-125. I can find lots of PN BM61-31-9-379-121 much cheaper, but these are apparently not interchangeable. Does anyone know the difference between these two parts? If I lose some functionality, like XM radio, but gain a/c, for hundreds less, I’ll take that trade every day.

SSi3 · Jul 19, 2023

Weirdly the only differences that jump out on these two links is Celsius vs Fahrenheit and the weight is slightly different?!

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/partxref?q=BM61-31-9-379-121

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/partxref?q=BM61-31-9-379-125

Oh I see the difference now, its the heated seats buttons:
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sh..._I01_BMW_i_i3_60Ah&diagId=64_2242#61319379121

jjzeilstra · Jul 19, 2023

Oh interesting! Thanks!!!

It looks like you were right the first time. Your last link shows -121 and -125 as "No. 2" on the table which I assume means the second picture. There an eBay listing for a -121 with heated seats, and my -125 has heated seats. So the difference might just be temperature in C or F.

I'll take my dash off and confirm my part number. Might have to roll the dice on switching from F to C.

frictioncircle · Jul 21, 2023

jjzeilstra –

What's the issue that's requiring replacement of the radio / climate panel?

jjzeilstra · Jul 21, 2023

In a nutshell, the issue is sporadic operation of the ac. It worked for a couple weeks after putting in a new compressor. Then it didn't work for a few days, now it has worked the last few days. Next time it doesn't work I'll pull the panel off. Maybe I can find a bad solder or something.

jjzeilstra · Jul 30, 2023

Did some troubleshooting. The control panel seems to be fine. It isn’t doing anything crazy, other than some flaky leds. I couldn’t see and bad solders, but my eyes aren’t the best.

After sitting turned off for a while, I turned on the car and Max AC to try and hear what was going on. Went under the car and the compressor was VERY hot.

Now my theory is that the compressor is getting the right messages to turn on, the current is trying to turn it, but something is keeping it from working. Time to push back on the dealer.