STATUS: RESOLVED
Thanks to nine5raptor for the tip on the r134a gauge. I researched for a little bit and did some basic diagnostics. The I could hear a sound whenever the air was turned on/off, so I assumed the pressure wasn't too low to cut off the compressor.

I went ahead and bought a gauge. It was sitting a round 33PSI. I got a 10'ish oz can of r134a and started refilling until the pressure basically stabilized above 45 PSI. I found sources that said that pressure can get up to 60 and be normal, but A) it really wasn't increasing pressure at all at that point and B) the air inside the cabin was already very cool.

So it's working just fine for right now. Hopefully there wasn't anything particularly harmful that came about from my stupid mistake other than the money it cost me to fix the problem.


Original Content

So I just replaced my HPFP by myself, and I apparently did something wrong that is causing the air to blow without any cooling.

I'm an automechanical idiot, so if anyone has some helpful suggestions as to what could have been done wrong in putting humpty dumpty back together again to cause the air to blow without conditioning, I would appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

~A

PS Yes, I had to replace the HPFP, because MINI said they won't replace them for free if they are JCW minis, even though everyone else gets a free extended warranty or "courtesy" replacement.

And since everyone's just gets replaced for free, there were no tutorials. I'll post my pics and step by step soon.

 

Are you talking about the fan that sucks air into the radiator/intercooler at a traffic light in hot weather? How is air blowing and not have any cooling?

 

It is blowing. It is the difference between basically having a fan blow vs AC. Just not cool.

 

When releasing fuel pressure, did you accidently release a/c line pressure along the way as well? First check would be to get a can of r134a that has a gauge on it and check refrigerant pressure.

Sent from my Nexus using NAMotoring

 

Hmm, that is probably what is going on here.

Which Schrader valve is the coolant pressure? Is it driver's side?

I saw two valves and bled them both because I couldn't reliably find a source for which was the fuel pressure.

And what is the procedure for re-pressurizing it?

 

If you are not sure if you vented r134a or gasoline when working on your car....
Time to go to s shop.....
If the HP fuel pump is not done right...and even a tiny leak results...it is very dangerous.... And you said you have no clue.... Get help before you kill somebody or start a fire.

 

P.S.
If you are so unsure of what you did WHY IN THE WORLD would anybody want to use a diy you make?
The pictures might be useful in determining WHAT you did though....
The worst thing in the world is a diy from a person with no clue.

 

No, the worst thing are forum trolls.

The DIY is there because none existed for the few people who don't get the complimentary replacement. As stated, I will update it when people provide useful information that fills in the gaps.

Re: seeking help, that would have something to do with why I posted here.

I forgot why I used to hate forums. This one has been great for me in the past, but the high and mighty trolls must be everywhere.

 

Not trying to troll you....
Just trying to get you to do a reality check....
Working with high pressure fuel and compressed gasses are dangerous.
If you want, post the pictures of what you did...
Show us WHICH valve you relewsed /opened...
If you did release the ac coolant, doing a diy refill is iffy at best....
The system must be vacuumed to remove all traces of gas and then refilled by weight....not by psi as kits used to "refill or top off" systems are sold....which also must be done with the compressor running...a psi switch shuts it off when the system gets too low.
Trying to help you...not troll you.
You did a great job, but sounds like you got in over your head....and getting a second set of eyeballs to check your work would be prudent from a safety standpoint.
Gasoline at high prewsure and hot engines are a potent mix....

 

Oh my I completely misunderstood. We're talking about the AC, I though he was talking about when you pull into your garage, that fan that kicks on to bring in fresh cold air to cool the engine and lower the cat temperatures.

 

Adding refridgerant worked, or at least it's cool now I did some looking around per nine5raptor's suggestion on the coolant gauge. And I also did some looking around per your tip on vaccuming the AC system. Since it had some pressure, I decided to just try to add refridgerant and see how it went. It at least works for now even if that may not be the best by the book approach.

I also don't want to sound like I take safety around things like fuel lightly. There were only two things that I didn't do by the book in the replacement process. The first was removing the fuel line, because that involved going under the car, and I wanted to stay above board. Secondly was having the proper attachment for the torque wrench to do the final torque settings on the HPFP line.

Yes it's risky, but my dad and I figured it was close enough. I posted the how to on the forums. And magically nine5raptor was helpful and pointed out the part that was needed.

The walkthrough was updated to reflect that solution, and voila (I got the crow foot set today and did the warm engine torque step today).

And that's the entire point of what I set out to do. Provide a resource that others can help me make changes to, so that it's there if anyone else in the future is in the same unfortunate situation of being up a creek without a HPFP paddle.

It then changes from a how to posted by someone who is clueless to a resource initiated by said clueless person yet refined by smarter and more auto mechanically learned minds whose proffer of constructive changes were used for the referential benefit of all mankind.

 

Sorry, just getting back on here. Thanks for sticking with it. I'm guessing you filled it at the front left valve (near passenger side headlight on left hand drive vehicles).

If you only bled it, it is unlikely you sucked much, if any, additional air in. If you had cracked it open to replace a component, it would be full of air. May not be perfect but it likely is a sufficient fix.

Sent from my Nexus using NAMotoring

 

I wish every repair was as cheap as buying a can of R134A, congrats nine5raptor and OP!

 

+1 congrats!!