03 R53

Even with the AC on full blast cold, the fan doesn't turn on.

Not sure if this is related, but the AC also stopped blowing cold.

I can hear the whinning sound of the power steering motor. So I guess the cooling fan motor for the power steering works. Only mentioning that, because I searched and saw some people said they both went out at the same time.

Any ideas on where to start?

Brandon

 

When you say "Cooling Fan" you are referring to the Engine fan PN# 17117541092 - Fan housing with fan, or do you mean the HVAC Blower Fan PN# 67326935371 - Blower unit?

If you AC is not blowing cold anymore chances are it is because the Compressor Clutch is failing to engage, could be a fuse, relay. or the Compressor.

Motor On!

 

Do you have the climate control or manual AC? If the light on the manual doesn't stay on the pressure is too low which probably means you have a leak.

You can check the ac clutch by looking at the center piece of the pulley, if it spins the clutch is working.

Radiator fan has a high and low speed. Low speed tends to stop working because of the resistor going bad. You can check by putting 12v directly to two of the pins of the fan connector.

 

Please clarify if this is the fan in the interior for hvac, or the fan attached to the radiator

 

Radiator fan, my apologies

 

I have climate control.

 

There is a resistor that controls the fan. It fails. It’s been documented here and elsewhere. It has nothing to do with the type of climate control you have. If that fan is not working, you have 2 issues.

 

Brandon, do you have a scan tool with bi-directional controls? The quickest route to isolate your problem is to see if you have voltage to the fan's electrical connector. If you have voltage, chances are you have a bad fan motor. If you don't have voltage, it could be the Fan relay, fuse 5, fuse 8, or DME.

I've attached the R50 schematic to give you a hand.

 

Beautiful! I have a Scangauge 3, that's it. Otherwise, I do have a multimeter and a test light.

 

sounds like the issue is your engine fan. you can also test this with inpa. as mentioned you should have two speeds, low and high

the fan resistor is a common failure it seems

 

Looks like I uploaded the wrong schematic. I thought he has a justa.

 

Learned some things today.

So, the fan actually does work. But only the high speed setting. It comes on at 234°F. Brings it down to about 219°F and shuts off.

So, that tells me it is the resistor. To replace the resistor, does the fan assembly have to come out?

Also, any suggestions on what fan resistor is to purchase?

 

yes sir, sounds like the resistor. if i remember right it could also be the relay. there is one relay for the low and one for the high? i could be remembering that wrong. check me on it.

plenty of video on youtube for the how-to

I'd order from a place with lifetime warrenty. fcpeuro or ecstunning

 

I searched for cooling fan relays for the r53. But couldn't find anything. I am getting power at the cooling fan connector, wiring that comes from the car. So I doubt it would be a bad relay.

 

More than likely it is the "Resister Pack" on the Fan Assembly this is a common failure point over time ... the fan has three speeds, the highest is when the AC Compressor is turned on, a simple check is if you have you engine running and turn on your AC you should here the fan come on and run... if not, it may be time to replace the fan assembly.

Second Note: At one time I think someone had offered a replacement "Resister Pack" for the assembly, but for the age of the car you might want to just replace the entire assembly: Engine fan PN# 17117541092 - Fan housing with fan.


Motor On!

 

My AC blows, but it doesn't get cold. So, I can't check the radiator fan that way.

Well screw it, new cooling fan it is. Are the hoses a PITA to replace? Mine are fine. But if it's relatively doable, may as well.

 

There is another great option for replacing/bipassing the low speed resistor without removing the fan assembly. Depending on wich plug you have 2 plug or 1 plug, you can simply splice in a 0.33 ohm 100 W (ARCOL 11-31 HS 100. R33. J) resistor and mount it externally.
There is a thread here on NAM : "Low Speed Fan Resistor - we need solution". The best part of the discussion for this mod starts around page #52.
I've done this mod at least 3 years ago and it has been just one of the best modifications I've done to my Mini so far.

​​​​​​Read through the discussion and decide for yourself.
Best of luck

 

i thought i saw the resister pack sold separately on fcp

 

You can buy it separately. But @JABowders has me questioning if I should replace the whole fan setup.

 

whats the price dif?

 

I am not a huge fan of AliExpress but I've bought and installed three of these "Mini r53 fan resistor" items. Can't beat it for €8 including shipping.


Install can be done without going into front end service mode according to Jimmy Mini Rescue youtube channel.

Also I'm pretty sure the radiator fan only has two speeds, low and high. Low kicks in at 105 degrees celcius and high around 112 I believe.

 

yes. low at 105 and high at 112

 

My car is a 2003. So confused. Do I need to buy a the whole cooling fan itself?

 

Someone can correct me on this, but I'm pretty sure that the fan will not operate unless the AC compressor clutch is functional. With no cold air blowing, you either have a bad compressor clutch or a bad compressor. The compressor clutch will also not work if there is no pressure (freon) in the system, i.e. it's leaked out. You can easily check the clutch by pulling the relay and bridging (wire or paperclip) across the 30 and 87 terminals with the car running. That will activate the clutch. You'll need to have someone watch the compressor and make sure the center of the pulley is turning with the pulley. Just don't leave the bridge on there for an extended time. If that clutch is turning then your AC is the culprit.

 

[IMO] - Unless you decide to go with the external ARCOL resistor mod as described in my previous reply -
Then regardless, Your going to have to pull the fan assembly to either replace the internal low speed resistor @ $20 +/- or drop in a complete new fan assembly @ $80+.
Either way it's all about time and labor from my perspective.
Just my opinion.