Table of Contents

E46 IHKR

Subject Page

Purpose of the System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

System Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

IHKR Control Unit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

IHKR Housing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Principle of operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Blower adjustment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Air Distribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Temperature Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Engine Map Cooling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Service Station Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Air Conditioning Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Air Intake. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Ram Effect Air Compensation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Rear Window Defroster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Workshop Hints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Initial Print Date:10/30/00 Revision Date:10/30/00

E46 IHKR

Model: E46 (325i/it/Ci/Cic, M3)

Production Date: From 9/00

Objectives

After completing this module you should be able to:

Recognize the climate control functions performed by the IHKR system.

Identify the changes compared to the E46 IHKA system.

Understand the method of temperature control used by the IHKR.

Describe how the A/C compressor is controlled.

2
E46 IHKR
Purpose of the system

The 325i/it/Ci/Cic and M3 will be fitted with IHKR as standard equipment. The IHKA
system will be available as an option on these models.

IHKR is a semi-automatically regulated heating

and air-conditioning system, similar to the
IHKR introduced for the 2001 E39.

The purpose of the system is to allow the

vehicle occupants to select the desired
temperature, air outlet distribution and volume
manually.

The system then automatically regulates the

temperature of the cabin based on the manual settings.

The functions provided by the E46 IHKR are:

Control of the blower.

Air distribution control.

Stratification flap controlled by a bowden cable

Temperature Control

Service Station feature

Air conditioning request to DME

Recirculation air

Ram effect air compensation

Rear window defroster

3
E46 IHKR
System Components

The E46 IHKR consists of the following components:

IHKR control unit with operating controls

IHKR integrated heater and air conditioning case

Heater core temperature sensor

Evaporator temperature sensor

Refrigerant circuit pressure sensor

Double cage blower motor and final stage

Water valve

Air distribution micro-switch

M-bus with 3 smart stepper motors:

- Air distribution
- Fresh air/re-circulation left (high speed motor)
- Fresh air/re-circulation right (high speed motor)

Compressor relay (DME controlled)

Auxiliary fan (DME controlled)

Rear window defroster relay

K-bus interface
The following signals are transmitted and received over the K-bus:
- Vehicle speed
- Engine speed
- Coolant temperature
- Outside temperature
- Terminal 15, 61, 50,58G (panel lighting)
- Compressor load
- Diagnosis and coding
- Compressor request

Fresh air Micro-filter

4
E46 IHKR
E46 IHKR I.P.O
BLOWER MOTOR OUTPUT STAGE

KL31
+ M
KL30
- +

KL15

1
0 2

3
FAN SPEED
4
KL30
WATER VALVE

A/C REQUEST

M-BUS
- FRESH AIR/RECIRC LEFT
RE-CIRCULATION
- FRESH AIR/RECIRC RIGHT
- AIR DISTRIBUTION

E46
REAR DEFROST IHKR

TEMPERATURE
CONTROL REAR WINDOW DEFROST RELAY
KL 15 KL 30

AIR DISTRIBUTION
POTENTIOMETER

COMPRESSOR CONTROL
EVAPORATOR
TEMPERATURE
KL30

KO REL

REFRIGERANT PRESSURE
DME

AIR DISTRIBUTION KL30

MICRO-SWITCH
M
AUXILIARY FAN CONTROL

HEATER CORE DSC III

TEMPERATURE
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kjsdfkljsdfkdsfkjdsfkljsdfkjds
ldjsfklkjsdfkldsjfkdsjfkdsfkdfklk

K-BUS BMW
DIS
BMW DIS

PANEL
ILLUMINATION 58G
BMW DIS

LSZ

5
E46 IHKR
IHKR control unit with operating controls
The IHKR control unit is incorporated into the control panel. The control panel consists of
three buttons and three rotary dials. The control unit communicates over the K bus.
1. Blower control potentiometer
2. Recirculation button X608 X610
3. Temperature control potentiometer 6 pin 18 pin
4. Air distribution potentiometer
1 2 3 4

5 6
5. Air conditioning request button
6. Rear window defroster button X613 X18341
3 pin M-bus 6 pin

IHKR Case
The E46 IHKR case is similar in design to the E46 IHKA heating and A/C case.
1. Heater Core Temp.
Sensor

2. Heater core

3. Evaporator Temp
Sensor

4. Evaporator

5. Double Cage Blower

6
E46 IHKR
Principle of operation

Blower adjustment

The blower rotary dial potentiometer has four settings. Each progressive step represents a
25% increase in blower volume. The control unit determines the desired blower setting by
the signal from the potentiometer and then sends a voltage signal to the final stage unit.
The voltage signal to the final stage unit ranges from 1.8V to a maximum of 7.1V (Normal
blower power in Key Memory).

The final stage unit then regulates blower motor voltage to control the blower volume.
There is no automatic influence on the blower setting.

The blower control potentiometer is the master on/off switch for the IHKR system. The
water valve is closed (energized) in the blower zero (off) position. The LEDs for re-circulat-
ed air and air conditioning are switched off and the compressor is switched off. The rear
defroster operation is not affected by the system being switched off.

Air distribution

The selection of air distribution is carried out using the rotary dial potentiometer (42 steps).
Each step of the potentiometer represents a percentage. The percentage indicates the
desired air distribution setting.
FULL
DEFROST Movement of the stratification flap for face ven-
tilation is carried out by rotating a thumb wheel
between the face vent discharge nozzles. The
BLEND BLEND thumb wheel is connected to a bowden cable
OF BLEND 0 OF BLEND
90 8 that moves the flap.
82 16
The air distribution for defrost, ventilation and
74 24 footwell is performed by a single air distribution
FULL 66 33 FULL stepper motor that is connected to the M-bus
FOOTWELL 57 41 VENT
49 and controlled by the IHKR control unit.
BLEND
OF BOTH

7
E46 IHKR
The stepper motor drives a cam/lever assembly (1) that articulates all three air distribution
flaps. The position of the cam is confirmed by the air distribution micro-switch (2).

The air distribution micro-switch is provided

5V by the IHKR control unit. The micro
switch is closed by the rotating cam lobe in
two positions:

Full defrost 97% to 0%

Mixed face vent/footwell 37%
(quick confirmation)

When the switch is closed the signal at the

control unit goes low, informing the control
unit that it has reached that particular
position. The display in diagnosis recog- Located on the right side of the IHKR case
nizes this position as off.

A reference run is initiated the first time KL30 is switched on to the IHKR control unit. The
reference run is required to determine the position of the cam disc. The cam disc is
rotated until the micro-switch sends a signal to the control unit. After the reference run is
completed, the control unit recognizes what position the cam disc is in and thus the
position of all three air distribution flaps.

If the air distribution micro-switch is not able to produce a signal at the correct position, the
control unit will continue to operate the stepper motor at an estimated position. Eventually
the air distribution setting will not match the actual output. The air distribution micro-switch
circuit is fault monitored.

Temperature control

The desired interior temperature is set with the rotary dial potentiometer (34 steps). The
face of the dial itself has no marked temperatures, just a blue, white and red line that rep-
resents a comfort zone.

All of the air flowing into the IHKR housing must pass through the evaporator first before
being re-heated by the heater core. This is the principle used by all IHKR and IHKA sys-
tems.

The IHKR maintains the temperature of the discharge air by cycling the water valve to reg-
ulate the temperature of the heater core. The duty cycle applied to the water valve is based
on the Y-factor (correcting variable) and other variables.

8
E46 IHKR
The Y-factor of the E46 IHKR is determined by:

Setting of the temperature control dial

Outside temperature (from Kombi via the K-bus)
Heater core temperature

Automatic temperature control is switched off when the temperature control dial is turned
all the way to the left (blue: water valve closed) or right (red: water valve full open) stop.

Each step of the potentiometer represents a temperature from max. cold (10oC) to max.
warm (49.5oC). This temperature value is combined with the outside temperature to form
a calculated set-point. The E46 IHKR does not use an interior temperature sensor.

The Y-factor is then determined by comparing the calculated set-point to the actual value
of the heater core sensor which is in the stream of air to the outlet ducts.

In addition to the Y-factor, the control unit evaluates coolant temperature and engine RPM
to determine water valve opening time. The valve opening times are:
0 ms at max. COLD
3600 ms at max. WARM

Engine map cooling

Map cooling is used by the DME MS 43.0 for the M54 engines. This can create very high
coolant temperatures which could be damaging to the climate control system. If the heater
core temperature exceeds 80oC, the water valve is closed until the temperature drops
below 80oC.

If the temperature at the heater core increases above 93oC (i.e. water valve faulty), the IHKR
will signal the DME (via K-bus/Kombi/CAN) to energized the map cooling thermostat.

Service Station Feature

The service station feature prevents the vehicle occupants from getting a blast of hot air
after the vehicle is restarted following a short stop. The water valve is powered closed by
the IHKR control unit for three minutes after shut-off. This prevents the heater core from
being flooded with hot coolant.

9
E46 IHKR
Air Conditioning control

The air conditioning system is switched on by pressing the snow flake button and having
the blower dial on position 1 or greater. The LED in the button signals that the A/C is in
stand-by.

The IHKR control module sends the following signals to the DME over the K-bus-Kombi-
CAN -bus connection:

IHKR on stand-by (signal AC)

Request for A/C activation (signal KO)
Calculated compressor load
Request for auxiliary fan

The IHKR determines the load torque for compressor activation and required auxiliary fan
speed from the pressure sensor mounted on the high side line next to the receiver dryer.

The refrigerant pressure sensor provides a voltage input signal (0-5 volts) to the IHKR. The
voltage value increases as pressure in the high side refrigerant circuit increases. The IHKR
processes this signal to determine the calculated load that will be placed on the engine
when the compressor is switched on. Pressure values that are too high or too low will
cause the compressor to be switched off.

Once all of the criteria for compressor operation have been met, the DME control module
will activate the compressor relay to energize the compressor magnetic clutch.

Control of the evaporator temperature is carried out by the IHKR signalling the DME to shut
off the compressor when the evaporator reaches the freezing point.
The IHKR cycles the compressor
at 1oC if the outside temperature
80 3 4
60 100
100
120 140
160
2 1/min
x1000
5
40
80 180 120
12 60 200 1 6

is above 68oF. The compressor

11 40 220
0

KOMBI
20 20 240 140
UNLEADED GASOLINE ONLY
0 5030 20 15 7
km/h 12
MPH !

SERVICE
ENGINE
SOON EML
miles BRAKE ABS

is cycled at 3oC if the outside

temperature is below 68oF.
K-Bus: Signal AC/KO CAN-Bus

0 1 2

IHKR
3
4

DME

KL30
OUTPUT K19 relay
Evaporator Temp. Refrigerant STAGE
Pressure
Compressor
Auxiliary
Fan M
10
E46 IHKR
Air Intake

The fresh air/re-circulation flaps are controlled

by a separate stepper motor for the left and Fresh air flaps
right side.

The stepper motors are controlled by the M-

bus and are located on the left and right sides
of the housing inside the passenger compart-
ment.

The fresh air flaps are closed and the re-circ

doors are opened when the re-circ. button is
pressed with the system switched on.

When the key is turned off with re-circulation on, the fresh air flaps will open. Re-circula-
tion memory in the IHKR control unit is 15 minutes. If the vehicle is started within 15 min-
utes the re-circulation setting will be restored.

If the system is shut off with the blower switch, the re-circulation function will have to be re-
enabled.

Ram effect air compensation

Similar to IHKA, when the fresh air flaps are open their position is affected by vehicle road
speed. This is to prevent an increase in air volume to the cabin with increasing vehicle
speed.

The IHKR receives the vehicle speed input every 2 seconds over the K-bus from the Kombi.
At a speed of 36mph the fresh air flaps will close progressively until the vehicle reaches
96mph, at which time the opening of the flaps will be 20%.
100 %
OPENING ANGLE OF
FRESH AIR FLAPS

60 %

40 % -
30 % -
20 % -

0 36 62 96
ROAD SPEED (MPH)

11
E46 IHKR
Rear window defroster operation (All models)

The rear window defroster is controlled via a request from the button on the panel. After
switching on for the first time, the rear window is heated for 17 minutes. Output voltage to
the window is provided by the K13 rear defogger relay.

After automatic switch off, if the button is pressed once again the control unit will provide
another 17 minutes of operation. If the vehicle voltage drops below 11.4V during this sec-
ond heating operation the function is stopped, however the LED on the button will not be
extinguished. If voltage increases past 12.2V for at least one second, operation will
resume. The control circuit of the convertible varies slightly due to the folding top.

Defroster operation specific to Convertibles

30
CVM
30 15
Top closed and
locked = 12V

K13
Rear window
defogger relay

K99 IHKR
Rear defogger Control unit
relay
31

Rear window
defroster

When the button is pressed on the IHKR control panel, relay K13 is energized. K13 sup-
plies KL 30 to defroster relay K99. Relay K99 is energized when the KLR is switched on
and the soft top is closed and locked to the windshield frame. This completes the circuit
and allows the rear window to be heated.

If the soft top is lowered during defroster operation, voltage to relay K99 is interrupted by
the CVM to prevent the rear window grid from heating when the top is lowered into the stor-
age compartment.

12
E46 IHKR
Workshop Hints

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of the E46 IHKR system is carried out using the DISplus or MoDiC. The IHKR is
connected to the diagnostic bus via the K-bus/Kombi connection. The system uses the
E46 test module driven diagnostic concept for troubleshooting faults with the system.

Control Unit Functions: Service Functions:

Expert mode diagnosis available at Provides access to special-
any time during troubleshooting. To ized test modules used as
enter: press the Control Unit post repair procedures. To
Functions button at the lower right enter:
corner of the screen. Function selection
Service Functions
The contents are: Body
Identification Heater- A/C control
Clear Fault Memory
Read Fault Memory Deactivate transport-lock
Component Activation function
Status Requests
DSC III
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kldjfkljdfkjdskfkjdskfjkljdfkldsfk
kjsdfkljsdfkdsfkjdsfkljsdfkjds
ldjsfklkjsdfkldsjfkdsjfkdsfkdfklk

DIS
BMW
BMW DIS
BMW DIS

Test Modules: Faults with the E46 IHKR can be diagnosed using fault or symptom driven test
modules. To begin diagnosis:
Perform the Short Test
Select a vehicle symptom from the Symptom Selection page
Select a test module from the Test Plan page
Press the Test Schedule button
Test module are written in the E46 diagnosis style.

13
E46 IHKR
Coding
Coding must be performed if the IHKR control unit is replaced. ZCS coding is found in the
Coding and Programming selection from the start screen or when pressing the Change
button. Follow on-screen instructions to remove KL 30 power to the IHKR control unit.
This step is necessary to complete the coding process.

Car and Key Memory

When troubleshooting complaints with the E46 IHKR it is important to note that because
the Car/Key Memory feature can change the operation of the system, a review of the set-
tings should be made prior to beginning troubleshooting.

DSC III
80 3 4
kjhsdfkhsdflkhsdlkfjhlkjghkg
60 100
2
lkdkfljdflkjdsfljdslfjldskjflkjdflk
ldsflsdfklhdsfhsdfhsdkhfkhsdf
kldjfkljdfkjdskfkjdskfjkljdfkldsfk
kjsdfkljsdfkdsfkjdsfkljsdfkjds
ldjsfklkjsdfkldsjfkdsjfkdsfkdfklk 100
120 140
160
1/min
x1000
5
80 180 120

D-Bus
40
12 60 200 1 6
11 40 220
0
20 20 240 140
UNLEADED GASOLINE ONLY
0 5030 20 15 7
km/h 12
MPH !

miles BRAKE ABS

SERVICE
ENGINE
SOON EML

BM W DIS
BMW DIS

K-Bus
BMW DIS

0 1 2
3
4

Print Change End Services

BMW Coding/programming SELECTION

1 CAR MEMORY
2 KEY MEMORY
3 ZCS CODING
4 PROGRAMMING
5 ALIGNMENT EWS-DME
6 ALIGNMENT EWS-DDE

Note

Only Key Memory selections are possible for the E46 IHKR. The selections are:

Set Blower Power (Raise, Normal, Lower)

Correction Set Temperature (raise/lower)
A/C on at key on (Automatic activation of the compressor control when the ignition is
switched on.)

14
E46 IHKR
Review Questions

1. What is the Voltage range of the control signal from the IHKR to the blower final stage?

2. Which components are responsible for the movement of the air distribution flaps? What
role does the air distribution micro-switch play?

3. How does the IHKR determine a Y-factor if the system does not use an interior
temperature sensor?

4. How does the IHKR signal the DME when compressor activation is requested? Discuss
what information is exchanged.

5. What three stepper motors are located on the M-Bus? What is an M-Bus?

6. Which additional component is used in the rear defrost circuit of a convertible E46, as
compared to a hard top?

15
E46 IHKR