My problem is after about 10 min in stop and go rush hour traffic my coolent temp guage goes up to the red light.

i just had my thermostat and housing replaced 1 month ago because i had the problem of my temp gauge going up to the red after only about 2 min of idle in stop and go traffic. This was done by a mini mechanic so i am sure it was bled properly.

If you have a 2002 mini non s does your fan stay on after you turn the engine off? I ve noticed my car has only run my radiator fan after i have turned off the vehicle once. I am thinking it is not turning on at idle because it is broke. or is this something more to do with sensors?

any help would be appreciated but my main question is does your mini (non S) fan stay on after you turn your engine off?

 

The FIRST thing to check is the power steering fan. If you still have the original fan it will not have a plastic protective shroud on it and it easily gets clogged and stops. If that happens you will overheat in traffic or at a red light. And if it is stuck, then you should not drive you car at all until it is fixed.

My bet is that was not the problem. Particularly since you didn't say it was leaking.

The main cooling fan on the 2002 is miserable and prone to two problems. The first is a bad relay that keeps the fan running on after the car is turned off. Since you're only did that once and you didn't say it drained the battery, then I think it is functioning properly as it went off when the radiator cooled.

The second problem is a bad low speed resister. You "may" have that problem but it would not cause overheating as when it got to a point where the high-speed fans come on, then the radiator would be cooled. Again, I am thinking your PS fan is not working.

On properly functioning 2002's, it happens when the car has undergone extreme loads and then shut off. But the fan in that case would go off on it's own after a while and not run all night. If the relay was bad (it's mounted on the fan assembly) the fans would stay on until the battery is drained.

Does that help?

Rich

 

Check the fuses - should be a 5 amp - third back on the left (I believe) on the fuse panel under the hood. I would guess that its blown. If it is, jack up your car and check the power steering fan, under the back of the engine. Make sure it is spinning freely.

On the early models the radiator fan, and the power steering fan are on the same circuit. So if something jams (sticks, pebbles, bags etc) the ps fan it blows the fuse and then neither fan works.

The dealer has a fix for it.

Occasionally my fan will stay on after I turn the car off. Mine is an S, but they behave the same.

Good Luck,

Nik

 

Yeah - Basically what Rich said!

 

i will look at that ps fan and fuse,
thank you for the help Rich, and Xsmini.