BMW Repair: 2001 318Ti E46, Faulty AC or Electrical, low beam, thet

Question
Evan,

Couple of weeks ago after leaving my car in the garage for 2 weeks i started the engine. I smelled somthing buring from inside the car. After an ameture examination i couldn't find any problems. When i turned on the A/C and the snowflake button. There was no cooled air only natural air. the fan that blows the air inside the car works fine and warm air work fine too the only fault is the cooled air. i had it inspected by the dealers they told me the gas for the cooled air was full and don't need replacement and they dont knows whats wrong with the A/C their only suggestion was to replace the compressor for around $700 and even after thet they are not guarentee it will fix the problem. After that i returned home to find my A/C working again for another week. one week ago i had another burning smell come out from the A/C and then the cooled air stopped again for good, even worse yesterday both my low beam head lights are gone at the same time. Do you think this is linked or im just unlucky? have you encountered this fault before? can i fix it at home or should i fork out a bill for $700? Please advise. Thanks

Answer
Darren, please check the electric auxiliary fan in front or behind the radiator. The burning smell I have found is usually this component shorting out intermittently or in your case possible permanently. It should turn on very shortly after turning on the A/C. It wont turn on with out the A/C until the engine is very warm. Your car is not a U.S. model so I don't know the specifics of your system. I wouldn't go with the compressor just cause. As for the lights maybe the circuit between the Electric Aux cooling fan and lights are linked someway or worse possibly the wiring harness has burned. Start checking fuses Darren. I don't blame the dealer cause as a Tech myself I have run into this elusive problem.
-Evan