Mod-Mini, thanks for making and posting that great video (you too, GKnorr)! No brand mentioned where I looked on ebay USA but is this possibly the part you bought?
Also, good to hear that the compressor may lose refrigerant if it sits for a couple years; My mechanic just called to say I had about a half charge.
EDIT: Is removing the engine mount and strap necessary or just helpful? I have small hands...

 

Fail log:
I ordered a new coil, rented an impact driver and bought the hardware needed for this job, but now I'm facing a tow and new compressor...
Basically, it's the result of working under a carport in a downpour while trying to go easy on a rotator cuff injury. Much as I told myself to slow down I still made a major error.
Painful story short, I approached the mounting bolt for the compressor from the side opposite the passenger wheel, thinking I'd get to one of the bolts easier that way. Working without thinking, I got one compressor bolt off and one alternator bolt off (it's between the two top compressor bolts). When I was ready to lower the compressor it was still on a bolt, and I cracked a mount trying to unstick what I thought was some corrosion keeping it in place.

 

Hopefully your rotator cuff is OK...

A question to those who have ordered the Clutch Coil with the Pulley from the UK, how long did it take to receive? The site says "Usually dispatched within 3 to 5 weeks".

Thanks!

Mark

 

Looks like I'm years behind this thread but I'll see if anyone's still here.
I lost AC and took it to my general repairs mechanic who said that there was voltage getting to the compressor but it wasn't engaging so I needed a new compressor. A couple of days later, the AC began working well again for about a week which made me suspect the diagnosis and research led me to the clutch coil. When I checked the impedance from the circuit at terminal #87 to ground, I get a very low reading like 1.0 and am wondering if there's a possibility of a direct short rather than the open most people describe.

 

Does the motor mount have to be unbolted or can you access everything okay doing the modular front end long bolt thingy? I ask because I've got to access some other stuff under there and would like to take a look at my compressor clutch at the same time.
Thank you.

 

If you are not putting the car in to front end service mode, you need to unbolt the dog bone to pull the motor back enough to give you access, but unbolting the dog bone is super easy.
If you are pulling forward the modular front end, then you'll have plenty of room to do the work without touching any of the motor mounts.

 

I'm guessing this is my problem too. Tested with the multimeter and got 62k ohms! Thanks for typing this how-to many moons ago. Will be very useful and I'm happy I won't have to have the lines discharged to fix it.

Mine happened while I was just cruising along with ice cold A/C... Then less cold A/C... Then a heater in mid-July. Happened at the same time my engine fan went out, so I'm guessing one caused the other.

Has anybody had luck with the eBay A/C clutch coils? Don't have infinite funds to fix everything with...

 

I put in an eBay clutch 10K miles ago and it's been flawless.

 

Was it this one? http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-A-C-Compressor-Clutch-Coil-fits-Mini-Cooper-2002-2006-/121509898040?fits=Model%3ACooper
The delphi part isn't available

 

Does anyone that has done this have a left over outer disk and torx screw they want to sell? I discovered min is missing yesterday when debugging my AC.

 

Please help. I'm at the part where you take off the first snap ring and the pulley is supposed to slid off. I have taken the snap ring off, but the pulley isn't budging! It spins freely, but isn't sliding off like it's suppose to. I used penetrating oil, but it didn't work! Any insight will be appreciated!


EDIT: Premature post. Ended up beating it off with a rubber mallet.

 

Just ran across this. Good to hear you got it off. Mine wasn't stuck on like yours, but the pulley was a little rusty so I'm not surprised.

 

Do you have any tutorials on replacing the hoses from the condenser to the evaporator? I cant find one anywhere.

 

Haven't had to replace those, but have heard of them rubbing and getting broken/leaky. Is that what happened with yours?

If I'm remembering correctly, they're pretty buried as the pass through the engine bay and not cheap - something around $150 or $200 per hose.

If you've already done a few projects on the MINI, you could probably figure it out as you go. At a minimum you'll need to take the front bumper off, airbox, battery box if its a base Cooper as a start. Make sure you pull a vacuum on the system for a while before recharging since it will be open for a while. You might even want to replace the drier while you're at it. I think its recommended if the system is opened for more than an hour or two.

 

I've got my front end torn apart. I've searched all over for a video but can't find one. There're some on heater core replacement but not evaporator hoses.

 

The closest I could find in the Bentley manual that would be helpful was removing the expansion valve. Its at the back of the engine bay and you have to remove the battery box on the base cooper or the air filter housing on the S to get to it. The two hoses connect to it with two bolts.

 

I sure appreciate your input. I traced the hoses and they do go to that area. Guess I'll be tearing more "stuff" off. Thanks for the help!

 

THANK YOU!!! I still don't know how I stumbled onto this thread - I think I was googleing AC driers to see what they're about. Anyway, I had the MINI dealer diagnose my AC problem and they said I had a bad Compressor Clutch. When I asked, they said it's not serviceable and I'd have to get a new compressor.

Well, I decided I couldn't buy a $600+ compressor so I bought a salvage unit. Then I heard you should replace the drier as well so I started searching for what a drier was and its function to find out for sure.... then I came upon this thread. I had already bought a salvage compressor, so I took the clutch off that and put it on mine without detaching any AC lines (it wasn't easy) and VOILA!! I HAVE AC NOW!!

WOOOO HOOOO!!!!!

When I tried to find the part online, I just couldn't. I searched for the part number mentioned in the original post and also just for MINI Cooper Compressor Clutch and found nothing. Went to Rockauto - nothing. What search terms do I need. Is it still available???

My salvage unit isn't going to last very long I don't think - it had corrosion on the wire. Please someone tell me where to get a new coil.

And thanks again.

 

Here's the Delphi part on eBay - pretty expensive though:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/0165006-0-Magnetic-Clutch-air-conditioner-compressor-/351326024323?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item51cca9b283

Here's a few vendors with just the coil on eBay that are cheaper:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-A-C-Compressor-Clutch-Coil-fits-Mini-Cooper-2002-2006-/121509898040?fits=Model%3ACooper&hash=item1c4a8de738&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/A-C-clutch-coil-Fits-2002-2003-2004-2005-2006-2007-Mini-Cooper-/321538849162?fits=Model%3ACooper&hash=item4add35798a&vxp=mtr

 

I got my compressor clutch on eBay for $92.
It was easy to replace. You'll need circlip removal tool to get the two circlips off. You may have trouble getting the larger one back on. I was fortunate to get it back on using two screwdrivers. I had it all together,was putting the torx 30 screw back on, blasted it with my impact driver and tore its head off. Now I'm trying to salvage the thing by attempting to extract what's left of the screw. Just go easy on that screw and it'll be an easy job.

 

I'm unable to remove the pulley after the circlip....I've tried the mallet method... No luck. any suggestions?

 

There are actually two circlips to remove. I see that you said you've removed the circlip not circlips. Is that a typo or do you still have one more to remove? If it's still in there you should have no trouble once it's out.

 

Hoping to tackle this tomorrow. Got all the tools and a coil from eBay. Although the pic in the listing didn't show it, when I received the coil, it had an additional wire coming from the coil. It looks like this photo.




What should be done with the wire with the eye ring on it? From the vids and how-to post, it doesn't seem to be on the oem coil?

 

Yeah, it looks like a ground wire and its not on the OEM coil. I sifted through my old pictures and found one that shows a similar wire connected to the coil housing. I think the coil just grounds to the body of the car through that housing.

My best guess is you need to find a place to ground that wire to make it work, but you might want to test it out first. Good luck.

 

I bought the same type of coil with the second ground wire attached. Where did you end up connecting this wire and did the coil work for you?

Thanks