Scroll down this is just a boring backstory if your interested.

Alright I have a 2007 S (r56) with less then no options....seriously, whoever built this car was going for the cheapest possible Mini they could get. It all started when the left channel on my radio crapped out. I debated back a forth about what to do because of the cost of an oem replacement compared to what I could do aftermarket, coupled with the fact that I wasnt all too fond of my basic radio. After thinking about it for a while I decided I wanted to keep it factory but upgrade to the facelift radio. Nearly the same price as my old ugly radio but its black, has better feeling controls and bluetooth built in...enough of an upgrade to justify it in my mind =) Well I ordered what should have been a standard radio from a 2011 mini, What I got sent me down this long and twisted retrofitting road. The radio that LKQ sent me was actually the Champ 2.... If your not familiar it uses an lcd screen like the nav units. I immediately decided I had to do it. I quickly called LKQ and asked them if they could find the screen for me.. $270 later a Nav screen and speedo were on there way. I was thrilled to find it was the 160mph speedo because I truly hate the way they numbered the old one. Now I had my screen and radio but then I realized I jumped the gun, the mini screens arent touchscreen so i needed to find an mjoy and console. On top of that I had to source a radio trim and a few other bits an pieces. At the time the controller alone was selling for $200 and they were hard to find so i gave up and returned the parts to LKQ.



Arlgihty are you still with me??? Jumping forward ive been driving around without a radio for around 6 months and I happen to be scrolling through ebay and see a Nav speedo with screen out of a 13...yes 13mile car, It was too good to pass up so i bought it with half a mind to just resell it and make a quick buck. The problem is when it came in I instantly knew I wouldnt be giving up this time. I quickly found the mjoy with trim and a CCC for a few hundred dollars, Perfect! Now all I needed was the trim, some connector to splice and maybe a gps antenna depending on my luck. I was wrong...again They never offered Nav with manual A/C so there isnt a trim that will fit. That didnt really bother me because I always liked the auto ac controls better, plus I found the Auto A/C unit for a mere $75 GOLDEN....or not I never thought to look up if it was a direct swap since i knew the manual control was still all electronic.


The here and now...Ive decided to push forward, Im retrofitting auto a/c (which im pretty sure hasnt been done yet) and Nav . So far ( with just a quick glance) it looks like the manual A/C uses a transistor on the back of the control unit to set fan speed while the Auto uses bus signals for everything. Tomorrow hopefully ill have a chance to print out the wiring diagrams. During my quick peek between jobs today I noticed the blower motor isnt even listed on the auto A/C diagram.

 

Best of luck... a few years ago I designed a bumper sticker that simply said... "MAGIC Now more dependable than Electronics"

Motor on!

 

Alright took a good look at the wiring diagrams today and found out how the IHKA controls the blower motor (It uses pulse width modulation generated at the module and is sent to a "Blower requlator" and then to the blower motor) Now im trying to decide between a pricey oem part or taking this project a whole step further and building one so people will have a inexpensive repair when these go bad.