2005 Mini Cooper S. While waiting in traffic the Air con went hot and the engine Temp spiked big time. Turned of the A/C and the engine temp went back to normal in a couple of minutes. But, now the AC wont come back on. The light doesn't illuminate at all. and now the rear defrost doesn't come on either. Neither lights work on the control panel, but the recirculate button does and all my other switches still work too. Ive checked all the fuses in the kick panel and under the hood. Ive even moved the relays around to see if the relays were toast. I looked all over here and Google to search for the problem but I haven't found an answer. Any ideas for trouble shooting would be appreciated. I do know the power steering fan is working and so is the cooling fan because it stayed on after I turned off the engine to cool it down. Thanks in Advance

 

Anyone?

 

i think you just have to take it to a mechanic

 

Yeah.. Not looking forward to that labor bill. I don't think its the compressor because the AC Light isn't even coming on. I press the button and nothing happens for it and the rear defrost. Its really odd.

 

maybe the whole ac unit just gave up

 

Dude, I hope not.. That'll be expensive. My thought is electrical VS mechanical, but im not familiar enough with the wiring to trace it down. I thought it odd that the Rear defrost would stop lighting up on the panel too. Even after switching around the relays I cant figure it out.

 

Could it be the entire control head system?

 

You're saying that when you turn it on it doesn't blow any air at all, hot or cold? Some good info in this thread here, maybe see if it can help you trouble shoot the system at least.

 

No the fan blows but the compressor doesn't kick on. The light on the control panel doesn't light up and now neither does the rear defrost.

 

I don't think, if the car is overheating, it'll allow the AC to turn on. I know with BMW's it is possible for the IHKA to go into transport mode, which can be reset using a scan tool. Plug in and check for any faults in the IHKA or DME.

 

did you ever find the cause of this ? I have exactly the same problem
Ac and rear defroster led does not come on in the switch panel
ac does not kick in but fans work fine

 

Same issue here, following in case of any updates. Mini Cooper R50 2003, have replaced the heater controls panel, cleaned all the contacts, checked fuses, bcu etc with no luck… regassed the air con too, didn’t change a thing.

 

Was your issue ever solved? I have same issues

 

For anyone else stumbling on this thread with similar A/C button issues - check the fan speed switch. The A/C button won't light up or turn the A/C on if the fan is set to "0" or if there is a bad contact telling the system the fan is off. (Fan switch not solidly in a setting detent)