I have read this thread, and at the end, I am not sure I have the answer to why the high speed fan has recently started with this new pattern of turning on when the car is turned off.

So is there one likely cause for this problem?

2006 JCW MCS

 

Crappy parts, plain and simple.

 

Re: switching regulator: Wouldn't that lower voltage instead of amperage? Does it matter?

 

It sounds like your car thinks it's over heating..so the first thing I would look at is your coolant level. If it is low you need to look for leaks. The most common leak is the thermostat. Second would be the upper corner on the pass side. That could be a easy fix to a new rad. Third, it could be that it needs a new temp sender, and that is in the side of the head, but i don't replace a lot of them. let us know if you need parts.

Chad
Detroit Tuned

 

Searched this thread for resistance readings through the fan connector, but nothing came up.

Anyway, 2004 R53...

Start cold engine - no fan
Turn on A/C - no fan
Wait a bit - loud fan
Wait a bit - fan shuts down
Wait a bit - loud fan

On the connector (single connector, fan side) I measure an open circuit between the ground pin and the pin (inline) to the immediate left.

I measure 500 milliohms between the ground pin and the pin down one position and left one position (diagonal). This seems about right for a coil.

So, current limiting resistor for low speed side burned open, right?

Thanks,
Tim

 

Absolutely. Splice in the resister and you're good to go. Try not to over think this too much.

///Rich

 

True.

 

Is the Detroit Tuned Fan Relay Kit a fix for ONLY low speed fan problems? I keep having high speed fan problems? AC on fan simply just doesnt come on at all, low or high speed. This will be the THIRD replacement fan ive put in it, they work fine for about a month then die like this.

Any insight on a permanent fix? There is no reason a car should have this many fan problems, I am about $75 away from saying to hell with the factory fan setup and wiring in an aftermarket fan on a toggle switch.

 

I haven't heard of anyone's high speed dying on these fans, let alone after just one month of service - have you checked the fuses and relays for the fan?

 

Yea the high speed works intermittently, it seems to be related to hot and cold temps, hot temps cause it to act up and the fan to cut off. Cold temps the high speed works like normal with AC.

 

Sounds like a bad sensor to me. If the fan motor works intermittently, it is probably not bad in itself and the problem is in the control circuit. Swap relays but I am betting a temperature sensor somewhere is flaky.

///Me

 

Well if my technical knowledge serves me correctly then the coolant temp sensor on these cars also serves as the gauge sender sensor and seeing how my coolant temps are reading proper I kind of cancelled out a bad temp sensor because the gauge would be off or the car wouldnt run proper fuel trims or the cold/hot start would be off because the ecu would get the wrong ect's

 

Plus unless.my knowledge is off somehow the high speed should run all time no matter coolant temp if the ac is on?

 

I'm not sure this is true. I just replaced my relay/resistor with the Detroit Tuned relay kit and whereas my high speed fan would cycle on and off before (because I had no low speed), now my car runs ever quiet with mostly just the low speed fan ever active. So essentially I believe your low speed will always be active with A/C on unless engine temps get hot enough, or a/c high side pressure gets high enough or outside temps are hot enough to warrant the signal to switch on the high speed on the fan.

With 3 fans and each only working for a month at a time, I would definitely think you have a bad control circuit. Perhaps a wiring issue in the harness up to the fan connector, perhaps a bad coolant temp sensor (I have been told time and again how unless you have the chronopack our coolant temp sensor is a dummy sensor and does not reflect actual temperature within any proximity). You may have a bad ambient temp sensor, or also a bad a/c system pressure sensor. After all you've spent on fans... it may be worth it to pay the $120 or so to get it diagnosed by the dealer or a MINI specialized shop that can read faults in the climate control system.

 

Great fix. Just did the resistor install. Works great so far. First resistor I installed did not work since I got the wrong one a 33 ohm instead of a .33 ohm resistor. The wrong one lowered the voltage too much (to below one volt) correct one give me 8-9 volts and the low speed seems to work great. Many thanks to all who contributed to this fix.

 

Just to keep beating a dead horse...

Anyone brave enough to try a $5.20 0.3 ohm, 100W resistor from Hong Kong purchased on Ebay?

I'm looking at getting one from Mouser too. Just waiting for a return quote on price and availability.

Tim

Update: My fan may spin 10% faster at low speed, but I'm gonna try the Hong Kong resistor. Will let you know.

 

I used one of these from china thru ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/100W-0-33-oh...item35afd79839 Works great. Note the coding is important. 0R33 J means 0.33 ohms +/-5%

 

Hello everyone...

My fan is kinda different in that it has two connectors, one small (two pin) and a bigger one (three pins)

See attached picture.

Do you know what is the small connector for?

I still have the first stage problem going on, but I wanted to do some troubleshooting with a voltimeter, but I'm not able to get any readings from the big connector even tough I have a perfectly working 2nd stage at 112 degrees.

Thanks!
Rayanmx

 

IIRC, the early MINIs (pre 2/2003) have 2 connectors -- the large 3-wire one to the fan and
the small 2-wire one to the relay in the fan housing.
The later ones use a relay in the fuse box under the hood to switch it and have just the one
3-wire connector.

 

Thanks Cristo!

After posting I figured it out when I applied voltage to the two pin connector and I heard the relay click...

Cheers!
Rayanmx

 

We have wired in our Resistor kit on the two plug fans and it works great also. You just have to trace the wires and make sure you get it wired in like the above photo.

Chad
Detroit Tuned

 

Hi, great thread and VERY long, I've read it and parts more than once. I have a Sept06 MCS and have figured I have the low speed fan failure. There is some conflicting info in here but, what I believe is the high speed fan comes on when the air is on before the car is warmed up cycling on and off. There was some thought that the late 06 maybe didn't run the same as the say 05 with cycling of the low speed fan. But after reading so much I am pretty sure the low speed fan should come on and stay on when the AC is on. It does not, so....

Getting my options together and leaning to the resistor mod ( Thank you Chris) but, I need to ask what replacement fan besides OE are you using for the single connector of the later models in case the fan needs replacing. If it works on high I believe it's good. I really don't want to pull the fan cause this time of the year in FL with out a garage is probably not a good idea for a first time. I do want to pull the front to do it, but now is not the time. Rains at the drop of a hat....oh yeah

Thank you
Tracy

 

I check the fan speeds by using the On-board Diagnostic on my '06 MCSc. Very easy and shouldn't take no more than 30 seconds to access.

1. With ignition OFF, hold down Odo/Trip Counter button and turn ignition to ON.

2. Scroll thru menu by pressing the Odo/Trip Counter button repeatedly until you get to #19. Stop.

3. "On" and "Off" flashes alternately, press Odo/Trip Counter button once on "Off".

4. The menu now indicates the sub-category beginning with "1", press Odo/Trip Counter button repeatedly until you're at sub-category "7" and a 2-digit number appears, indicating the coolant temp in Celcius.

5. Start the engine and go for a drive. You will see the temp rise. Once you've reached the normal operating coolant temp range (89-91*C), park the car and let the engine idle or hold the idle at higher RPMs to speed up the process.

6. The temp will reach 105*C... this is where the Low Speed fan should kick in and stops when the temp falls to 101*C.

7. High Speed fan comes on at 112*C and cuts out at 108*C. (High Speed takes a while to come on during cool days. In my SoCal environment, during the summer with ambient temp at 90*F+, the High Speed fan would only come on in heavy traffic.)

8. To exit the On-board Diagnostic, turn ignition to OFF and restart.

I check the fan speeds a few times a year, mostly during the summer months. Although the temp gauge in the Chrono Package is not dead accurate, it should be pointing straight up at normal operating temp range of 89-91*C.

 

+1 on the above. It checks out the whole system very well. Note, a/c off for the above.

I also have a quick method to test the fan's high and low speed with the engine off.
I use a jumper wire with alligator clips at both end, disconnect the fan assembly's connector,
jump the black wire's connector to ground and briefly jump the thinner red wire
to the battery's + (low fan), then the thicker red wire to the battery's + (high fan).
The wires I use are puny so I only do this briefly so you don't heat up and burn out the jumper.

 

Thank you, I have sort of done the no AC test. I run a ScanGauge, no fan at 191F but high speed fan at 221 F. I did it after I had driven and the car was at it's usual operating temp of 191/193 city driving, no AC on and let it sit in the drive till we got to 221, took longer than I though it would. I may do it again with your exact directions. New thermostat and housing done 6mo ago. No high speed fan cycling then.

I have not done the jumper test.

AC on, no low fan, I have not noted the temp when the high speed fan starts to cycle. Ambient temps 90+ Auto air set at 74.

I will recheck tomorrow. Does your low fan come on when the AC is on?

Tracy