I have a 2005 Cooper;

I searched as many terms as I could but could not find an answer.

I need to access my climate control unit, the fan inside has gone ballistic and is making lots of noise, my local Mini dealer (Towson MD) looked at it and said I have to live with the noise (sounds like a loud hiss) until it completely fails, or pay $675 for a whole new Climate control. They explained they are not allowed to think outside the box and simply replace the $5 fan (guess how the car economy got so screwed!). I am not a subscriber to the "replace everything when a single part fails" attitude....so I want to pull the climate control and attemt to simply find the fan and replace the part.

I can get three of the Torx screws out of the console uprights, but I cannot get to the top driver side Torx screw, I tried pulling down the panel under the streeing wheel, but it does not seem to drop down...how do I get to the fourth Torx? Any advise on this type of climate control removal? I have the automatic climate system...anyone ever have this fan go "hissy" before?

If anyone can point me to a "how to" for removing the uprights (a HU replcement how to should work), that would be great.

Mini says they all make noise after a while, but mine seemed louder than usual.

Thanks for the help!

 

OK, I got the uprights off and all the torx screws are now removed...It is just a little plug-in fan in the back of the BEHR thermocontrol unit...I have a call in to my Mini dealer to see if they can get the part.

 

If they were trying to replace the whole thing as a unit, they won't let you have just the fan. I can guarantee they will only sell the entire assembly as one part.

 

They probably don't even have a P/N available for just the fan, sub-assemblies like that just aren't dealt with.

 

According to RealOEM, the blower motor and fan assembly are part number 67326935371.

 

Does this look like the part?

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...30&hg=64&fg=40

If so, it looks to be available as a separate unit. Check out realoem.org if this isn't the part to see what is available.

Wombat

Edit: Looks like aDeLoreanGuy beat me to it!

 

I thought what he was talking about was a part of the climate control interface on the center stack.

 

We have a winner! Indeed I was discussing part of the climate control. The fan is a very small (3cmx3cm) DC fan that also contains the sensor for the climate control. It has 4 terminals and looks much like a graphics card fan (the blades have a water wheel design). I think I found the source for the fan. Mini is aware that by pulling air across this little fan it has a limited life due to dust that will eventually clog the fan itself (just like a computer fan). Mini's solution is to make a new Climate Control unit that does not have the fan issue...only $675! The fan actually plugs into the climate control, so there is no good reason not to simply make these fans available...otherwise one more noise for the mini cabin (whine!)

I will update once I have the replacement fan installed. I try to get some pics to better illustrate this potential future issue for Mini owners.

 

Don't know if this will help...check out this number on EBAY 400026226646...they are very reliable...I bought a starter off an 03 with 1300 miles for 30 bucks...it was like new...they are honest brokers

 

The ECS catalog has the part listed for 145 bucks. Try puting the part number as a Google search and you may get other hits.

 

I came upon it looking for a solution to the same issue, I just thought it'd be nice to post my solution...with pictures.

I have an 9/03 R53, and every time I'd turn the key to the first position, and everything was quiet in the car, all I'd hear was this grumbling, grinding sound coming from the vicinity of the center console. I thought it must be the CD player, since my previous car was prone to a similar noise because it has a 6-disc in-dash changer.

I didn't really pay it much mind, until today. I was in a crabby mood and the noise really got to me. I pinpointed the noise and came to the conclusion that it must be the ambient sensor fan. Makes since, seeing as how it's nearly 13 years old and is always on with the ignition.

I didn't buy a new unit, or sensor. I just removed the controller and fan, and proceeded to my workbench.

This gave me a chance to clean up some dried coffee that had splashed on the face of it some weeks ago. I cleaned and dusted it. Then, I took the fan assembly apart and, under further inspection, noticed that it's really similar to a fish tank water pump. The fan/impeller floats on a spindle inside the stator. I simply greased the spindle with a small swab of lithium grease.

Once back in the car, everything was as quiet as the day Tina came home!

It's a pretty easy job, but make sure you use a plastic pry tool or equivalent. These are currently ~$70 on ECS, not a bad price considering the part, but still...




let's get that face offf




it has a pretty complex control board for being just a fan...




applying the grease...




ahhhh...lube




a little dusty




like a little jet engine with an afterburner




it's made by Valeo




six connectors, two for the sensor, four for the fan




pre-reinstallation, nice n' clean




yep




pretty clean, save for a few fibers




looks good 2 me

 

Same thing happens on BMWs. Clean and grease often brings them back to life. The little blue thing hanging in the air flow is a thermistor that reports cabin air temperature. The little fan pulls air to sample