Hey group,
Wife drove the cooper in the garage the other night and the fan kept running, for quite a while after shutoff....we live in Canada and it is by no means hot here yet.
Next morning battery was dead...boosted, and got it started after turning over many times and it just didn't want to catch.
Took it out for a road test and worked fine...she got in and headed to work and the engine light and overheat light(yellow) came on.
she has not had this light come on before when I asked.
So I let it sit for the day...tried again this morning and it starts very very hard and is running very rough and smoking some.
Put code reader on and got code p15e9.
Coolant level is in the operating range.
Any thoughts? Any checks I can do?
Thanks
Andrew

 

Either your main pump (not aux pump) or thermostat isn't operating properly, engines can overheat in any weather if somethings wrong with the cooling system. Stop driving your Mini for now, I strongly believe that your thermostat housing isn't operating properly.

 

The thermostat on these cars is a complicated little beast, located on the driver side of the engine, right under the air intake tube. On my 08, my thermostat was leaking, and left some blue/green stains on top of the transmission.

I agree with the above comments that you should not drive until the issue is identified further. If you are comfortable with doing this, the part is about $100 mail order, and will take you 2 hours or so. Don't forget to get a gallon of the MINI anti-freeze and a gallon of distilled water.

There are how-to instructions on the site if you search.

Mike

 

Got the car to the mini dealer, they pulled the coolant thermostat sensor and the car ran fine, they are going to replace that today and see how it acts.
If it's ok we should be good to go, if not were onto thermostat replacement.
Thanks for your help, I'll keep you posted
Andrew

 

What is your mileage? You would have had to replace your thermostat housing at some point anyhow, it could have been one of the four sensors in the thermostat housing. Mine started leaking at 47k.

 

So I just recently obtained an 2008 Mini Cooper S convertible with 140k miles- thought it would be a great car to run around with, less gas, etc. I live in Arizona and its summer so the average temp is between 95-105°. If its in motion, it does great, but if its idling, say at a stop light that is long, definitely always in a drive thru, it overheats and it even happened when it was cooler outside. I knew Id be sitting for a while in a drive thru so I turned off all cooling and rolled down the windows (even driving to this location I had no AC on period) and it again overheated. Smoke/steam? billows out from under the hood and I let it cool down before driving home. Now, the first time this happened I couldnt get it off road for a minute and when I did it was smoking from under the hood AND it sounded like the coolant was boiling! The temperature gauge went from being in the middle, to fully in the red in seconds. I was afraid to open the hood till it stopped, then let it cool for over an hour and drove home. Now I use it only for quick trips until I can get it looked at because I'm afraid of the damage that is inevitable if I allowed this to repeat over and over, which I won't. It has an inter-cooler attached and now that I'm thinking about it, I cant recall that I've ever heard the fan kick on or off. Maybe I just dont recognize the sound. I'm a girl with very limited mechanical knowledge and I worry that I'm going to be taken for a ride if the mechanic recognizes this fact and I'd appreciate any advice I can get. Its an "S" model so I don't know if that makes it more prone to issues or not, as well as what the intercooler involvement is. So the facts- it overheats with or without AC when idling, although not when running. The radiator cap had a crack in it and I purchased a new one in case it was responsible, no change. I have kept the coolant filled up (phosphate free, pre-diluted). It doesn't leave any fluids underneath where its parked (save the few times it overheated). I was told it might have a power steering fluid leak yet have not seen evidence yet, the oil needs changed but is at the right level and the previous owner told me very little about the car, other than his ex drove it on bumpy dirt roads on a 1000 acre ranch and he implied that they had possibly replaced the radiator, but I'm not even sure of that. The car was full of dirt and dust in every crevice. In looking up possible issues, I see that the thermostat, the fan and the hoses are often problematic on the mini's, each can be quite expensive labor wise.. so I m hoping to get this right the first time. Thanks in advance to anyone willing to offer advice.

 

When the car is cold, with the hood up, get a flashlight and look between the right side of the engine (driver side when you are looking at it) and see if you can see anything wet. There is a plastic tube about 2" round going from the headlight to behind the engine, look under that. If you see any blue or green liquid around there, that is the thermostat housing that needs to be replaced.

With the hood still up, start up the car and turn on the A/C. Look under the hood and you should hear and see a fan running. The fan is between the engine and the front grille. Use a flashlight to check. If you see a fan that is not turning, then you could have a fan issue as well.

My bet is the thermostat housing. When your mechanic is working on that, have him check the water pump and oil filter housing for leaks as well.

Mike

 

Thank you for replying to the thread, I will do as you mentioned tomorrow morning!