Okay, I installed an autometer mechanical water temp gauge in my car a month ago and bled the system properly. there are no leaks(from water pump or t stat), no air in the system.

I've kept an eye on the system and it generally runs from 180 to 215. Seems to hit 215, fans would come on, cool it down to 180 to 190. If I was driving agressively, it seemed to cool aggressively. I also Have torque on my android phone. That temperature generally reads 10 degrees higher than my gauge probably because of the probe placement.

I was driving around yesterday and it was doing the normal thing and then I noticed that the temp wasnt moving from 215, so i did a quick 2nd gear pull. the temp then shot up to 220 and wouldnt move. So I only have a few mile to go, so i kept an eye on it. I also turned on my torque ap and the temp red 230. It never budged from there up or down.

When I go to my destination I noticed that the radiator fan was not on. So, when i got home I went diagnosing.

fuses are good, I only seemed to find 2 for the fans unde the hood. i also found 2 relays. I didnt have extra relays, so I "borrowed" the same relays from my gfs countryman that I know are good and the fan did not come on when I took it for a short drive where it went through the temp cycle.

The fan down come on when I turn on the ac though.


any suggestions?

when the fan was on with the ac on, the temp would only go down to 215 on the gauge.

thanks

 

The fan sensors rely on readings given by the thermostat housing with all of the water temperatures. I've owned my MCS since March and since replacing the thermostat housing now my fan turns on every time I shut off the engine.

 

My fan doesnt turn on....period....unless the ac is engaged. It used too....not anymore since yesterday

 

Bump with an update.


Did a little driving cycle today with the ac ob the lowest setting and the coolant temp seemed to act normal and I believe the fan was working cause the temp went to 210ish then droppes to 190ish

Any ideas why it only works with the ac on?

 

I know that in older cars, the fan would be forced on (by a relay run by a completely separate circuit from the normal fan circuit) any time the AC was on. Some even had one fan that only ran when the AC was on. Running the AC makes the engine do some extra work, and often the AC radiator thing (crap, spacing on the name of it!!!!!) is in front of the radiator, so pulling air through it also pulls air through the radiator.

It makes sense that the MINI would have similar functionality, though probably controlled differently.

 

I am having the same issue with no fan running. 2008 MCS Just noticed the other day the car seemed to be running kind of warm. Been watching it for a couple days now with a scan unit and it gets above 220 and I end up turning the heater on full blast and it drops down a bit. I am thinking it may have been going on for a while and I didn't notice since until recent cooler weather I have had the AC running and thus the fan running.

 

220 is completely normal. The thermostat is set to somewhere between 220-225 and varies slightly from car to car. This is normal operating temperature. The fan should only cut in if it is above 225.

 

i hear that its normal, but for 5 weeks after i installed the gauge, it was clock work, it would go to 210ish, fall to 180ish then bounce up and down between 190 and 205ish.

2 days after i made this post it went back to doing this, i dont know why, the idoit light never came on, i still have my coolant, no leaks, just going to keep an eye on it...just a fluke i guess

 

OK, so guess I got chicken and gave in too soon. Will try giving fan a chance to kick in on its own next time. If I do have a cooling issue, at what point do I need to worry about the temp being too high? Don't want to sit and wait for some indicator or warning light to come on that may not if it isn't working either.

 

I also have a fan that will not come on, even with A/C on it stays off. I don't have a temp gauge but the high temp warning light will come on sometimes until I crank the heat to cool it off. I have checked the fuses and swapped the relays with no luck. Any suggestions on what to try next?

 

It's either your thermostat housing and or the coolant temp sensor itself.