hey guys i have a over heating problem.. i took a little fan off my car a while back because is was making a lot of noise when the compressor from the a/c turned on.. so i took it off and now my car seems to over heat but i'm not sure if thats why my car is overheating....plus it only over heats when the car is idling.. and when it idles for to long the a/c blows warm air.. but when i get moving again the a/c blows cold... again the little fan is under the car not the fan for the radiator..

 

That little fan under the car could be the power steerling fan

 

here is a little fan under the car..

 

Jackstands... USE JACKSTANDS.... Sorry but I've seen little ones crushed cause daddy thought the jack was enough *steps off soapbox*
Do your other fans turn on while the cars idling? My previous car would do the same thing but the A/C cooling fan worked and the coolant fan crapped out. It would overheat sitting but would do fine with any air running. Check your fans first

 

If the "little fan" you are referring to is near the oil drain plug (at the back of your oil pan), that is indeed your power steering cooling fan. By removing it, you are almost guaranteeing that your power steering pump will overheat and fail (to the tune of several hundred dollars for replacement). Buy a new fan assembly for about $70 from the dealer and save yourself some grief. Removing it shouldn't cause the car to overheat tho.

 

Listen to these folks and get a working power steering fan back on your car RIGHT NOW.

 

I'm not too familiar with the fan setup on a MINI, but most cars have two fans, one of which is for the AC, specifically for keeping the condensor cool when at idle. If that fan goes, the AC will blow warm when stopped.

 

What year MINI? Your radiator/condenser fan should run when the ac is on. check fuses! and replace powersteering pump fan. check threads for fans.

 

If your Mini is an 02 or early 03 the PS fan you removed is wired in conjuction with your radiator fan, so what you may have affectively done is disconnected your Rad fan that's why it's over heating at idle. Do you hear your rad fan coming on? If it is then you have other problems. The new PS fans are designed much better than the old ones as the old ones had a poor shield and debris would get in and jam the fan causing it to burn out and blow fuses. A blown PS fan fuse will not allow the rad Fan to come on but only on the early models. I had the same problem on my 02, hope this helps and good luck.

 

"it was making noise so I took it off" without knowing what it was, what it's for, or what you're going to get when it's removed? Sorry, but with logic like that you get what you deserve...

Read the posts above, there's good information there. Take this as a lesson to not eff with stuff you don't understand. Learn about the sysem before messing with it. Or next time you'll take something off that really screws up your car! That is, if you haven't already... how do you know the car is overheating? Little light on the dash? Coolant boil over? This car has an Al head on an iron block. The heads don't like overheating, this can lead to warping and then you have to get head work done.

Matt

 

Have your Thermostat checked out...

 

My Car once made a thumping sound while motoring, I took the wheels off and now the sound is gone .,,,,But I have a hard time getting traction now to go anywhere. What's wrong?

 

Duh you're not getting traction cus yrrrr car is too lite now! Try adding weight like this:



wait a minute he has wheels on

 

Yeah the fan comes on around 220 deg or so..I was at a drive through yesterday and saw the temp get to 220, then it quickly fell down to 198 or so when the fan came on--doing exactly what it's supposed to do.

Put it back! lol

Richard

 

I'd guess that something got into the connector for the PS fan, and when it turned on, the fuse popped and you lost your radiator fan. So, clean out the connector (so it doesn't happen again), and change the fuse.

While the thermostat may be an issue, overheating at rest but not when moving is a classic symptom of the radiator fan not turning on.

The PS fan can be cleaned if it's not too bad, so it may be savable. If not, get one from a wrecking yard or buy new and put it back on the car.

In the future, you can look around www.realoem.com for what parts are. Since it's organized by subsystem, you'd have to hunt around a bit, but at least you'll have a clue about what the part is before you decide to yank it.

Matt

 

I'm not trying to hijack the thread or anything, but today I found I have a very similar issue. Today I took my mom shopping, and ran the A/C for the first time (since I got my car back) during city driving. By the time we got to the store, the car was overheating, which it has never done before! My A/C was also failing to cool when the car was idling... and I realized I have yet to hear the radiator fan come on at all! When I got out of the car in the store parking lot, the fan was definitely not running, which it most certainly should have been if the car was that hot! I absolutely have not removed anything from the car, but ever since I got the car back, the power steering whine has sounded... not louder than usual, but... "sick?" Sort of erratic. I will check out the fuses and the power steering fan in the morning and see if that's what the problem is... Hopefully my findings will help you too //MiniMonster//! Thanks guys!

 

Spoken like a true 6th Gear man! I completely agree. I also agree HEAVILY with BrutalSun. PLEASE USE JACKSTANDS ALLWAYS!!! Maybe it's just the '05, but mine has clearly identified spots for them. Get a load spreader, aka 2x4...jack up one half of the car.....and put TWO jackstands under each side. Man, I would NEVER let my little girls under the car like that! *shut me up now*

 

Wait....Let me get this straight.....you removed something from your car that you didn't know what it did and now you are complaining about a problem. I will explain as if I am explaining to a child since you obviously know absolutely nothing about a car.

A car is a very complicated machine with many many moving parts. A lot of these parts do not have a clear function, even though they are vital to the proper functioning of the car. You should never remove anything that you don't know what it is or what it does.

I shudder to think what you would have done if your ABS module or supercharger were making "a lot of noise".

 

You guys are brutal, yet funny !

 

You people with overheating issues need to post the build date of your car!

There is a known issue with 02 and early 03 build cars with the PS fan (aka little fan under the car) being on the same circuit as the radiator fan. This was fixed under a TSB.

 

Yes I had a early 04 (03 build) that had the same problem. Shop I went to put on 180 thermostat, flush and 50/50 coolant and I added the Wetter Water on my request, but Steve of Steve's Auto told me I need to take it to dealer though. That it might be my fan relay. Took it to dealer, waited for 2 weeks for appointment and I had to for a diognostic, but they replaced the entire fan and the plastic panel near ps tank for free. After that I could motor and have A/C full blast no prob. My 06 does not have that problem.

 

Just noticed you disconnected it, do you drive it like that?
I though your fan would not turn off and killed battery like mine did, but noise...yes the fan is supposed to make noise. I would disconnect at night just so fan would shut up and not kill my battery.

 

A minor update. The power steering fan absolutely isn't running. I hope to get the car into the shop in a week or two.

 

do it NOW

my ps pump was replaced last month .. 'under warrenty'
the fan raised all kinds of hell rattled and groaned for a month or two

 

I'd love to, but I don't have the dough until the first.