Looks like I have the same problem but I can't seem to find this part on Rock auto's site. You have a link or did you guys get the last one?

Thanks,
Chuck

 

*****

 

Wow - I just did a search and it's gone! Try giving them a call and asking about it. It was still there earlier this week - I checked when I was doing my write-up, which I submitted for moderator approval last night...

Although sold by Rockauto, the origin of my part was the Swindon address on this site, based on my shipping papers:

http://www.apd.co.uk/Trade+Counters

You could try contacting them directly.

There is also this on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290727355239...ht_1235wt_1064

They may not ship to the states though...

Can't believe it's gone from Rockauto's catalogue - hopefully that's just temporary!

 

Write-up is up! Here it is:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...utch-coil.html

Hopefully, the parts will be available again soon! Until then, it's either buy a new compressor or get a used clutch coil off a wrecked MINI. I'm sure Way Motor Works has a few if you give them a call...

 

Thanks for the tips, I asked the Ebay seller cost to ship and he said 38 euro which is about 46US so it looks like about 170.00 to get it here.

I've only got one hand so I'm going to have to find some help on this one and still need to call Rock auto and see what's up there.

Thanks for the writeup, great info!

Chuck

 

After having my compressor replaced (and replacing the fan myself prior) the a/c worked great.

For 43 days. This week it died again. Brought it to dealer (which isn't nearby) and they vac'd / charged it. Worked great again!

For 45 minutes. This morning it's dead again. Car at dealer now. There must be a leak somewhere.... even though yesterday's report said "no leaks."

 

Wow, it seems like all the AC clutch coils for '03 MINIs are dying at the same time. I just found this thread after our MCS "went hot" on a very hot day after blowing cold just moments before. I'll do the relay check but this seems to be the problem.

For those looking for parts, there are a couple of eBay listings for the AC clutch coil at $95 plus $5 shipping.

Thanks NAM for always being a great resource.

...ned.
'03 MCS

 

I called Rock Auto and I'm on the list to get an email when it's available again. The Ebay listings I've come across are from Germany and the prices are Euros 95 euros is about 117 US and I was quoted 38 Euros, about 47 US so about 164 so still better than a new compressor. I'm gonna see if Rock Auto gets it available soon, if not I may go with Ebay.

Has anyone else gotten one from the guy on Ebay? Correct part, the ads I've seen are all in German but I didn't see the part number.

Thanks,
Chuck

 

Search today for "mini cooper ac clutch" and you'll find two listings from Ohio. One of the sellers - "wilber1952" - was identified in another NAM thread about AC as a source for this part back in February. I plan to buy from one of these guys as soon as I have the chance to complete the relay testing so well documented in this thread.

...ned.

 

Thanks for that tip, I hadn't tried that exact phrase and didn't see those. You know if that's the same as the Delphi part number ( I did ask him).

Hopefully get to this in a couple weeks, I got a friend on the hook to help.

 

Great to see those coils are back up on eBay! Based on appearance, I don't think they are made by Delphi - the black protective coating on the coil is different on the Delphi one...but folks have used them successfully. The new listing on eBay is better than the previous one too - it includes the connector now!

 

Day 7 with a loaner car. Dealer called yesterday, said the 'high speed fan' has failed, and that when the temp gets high enough, the ECU is telling the compressor to shut off.

Which sounds reasonable, even if I've never heard of it. But....that fan is new. Like < 60 days old new. And the car has an aftermarket temp gauge that never goes above 205....ever.

They're swapping fan out and have decided that the 'leaking' a/c hose wasn't really leaking. It's disconcerting in the course of a week to get back:

• "a/c is fine, no leaks, recharged, works great"
• "a/c is leaking, has a bad hose"
• "a/c wasn't leaking, it's a fan problem"

Makes me wonder if my compressor was ever bad at all. I'll need to get the new fan back from them to return it to RockAuto, but it'll be interesting to see if it works on both speeds.

 

Wow - pretty wild. My trust in that dealer would be completely gone...makes me wonder, are they just guessing as to what the problem is/was?

 

I ordered the part from Wilber1952 on ebay, should be here today or Monday so hopefully install next weekend. Will let you guys know how it goes.

Thanks for all the help!

 

Just had the same problem with the 05 today.

Stopped blowing cold air and compressor won't engage.

Checked the output on pin 87 of AC relay with relay in : 0V Ac off,
0V AC on.

Resistance pin 87 to ground (motor off and relay out) near 0 (analog voltmeter).

What should I check next?

...ED

 

From what I found I was getting negative resistance from both a digital and analog meter, I tried jumping 87 and 30 and got no joy from the compressor, changed the clutch coil and tried, I still got nothing, jumped 30 and 87 and the compressor runs, still not cold. (you can also jump 30 and 87 even with no key and if your coil is good you'll here it click, have a friend near the comp and there's no doubt) Checked presure, 0, found the long presure hose from the condensor to the evap has a crack under the air box, now waiting for the hose and a drier so I can replace that too. Disappointing having these kinds of problems on an 80K car. So far still fairly cheap fixes, 100 for the coil, the hose was 150 and some freon with UV to find the leak but at a shop this would be over 1K and they would have replaced the compressor. GKNORR's writeup is great on replacing the coil, be careful with the T30 on the comp, we ended up chiseling that bolt out, impact tore the tool and bolt up completely, at least I replaced it with a real fastener with a proper head.

Good luck!

P.S. The part I got from wilber the wires coming out of the coil were twice the size of the original, hopefully a sign that it's a better replacement and won't die so soon, we'll see.

 

If you're getting a small resistance there, my guess is the clutch coil is not your problem. Double-check your measurement just to make sure.

My new OEM clutch coil gave a reading of about 25 ohms.

 

Thanks!

I have a steady green light on the AC switch when on. I think I read here that this
means that there is enough pressure on the system.

Will try jumping 12V to the clutch coil output at the relay plug and see what
I get.

Can you post the part number for the AC relay? Don't know what PO may have
done and want to be sure it is right.
Any cases where the relay failed?

108K on her now.

...ED

 

I'm not aware of cases where the relay failed, but of course it's possible. There is an identical relay in the fuse box, so you can try swapping the two to see if it changes anything.

There are details on the clutch coil part and the places to find it in the write-up:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...utch-coil.html

 

The steady green light inside means nothing ref refigerant presure, I've always had the light and presure in the system now is zero.

 

Didn't have much time to look at it, but here's what I did:

Jumped 12V to the compressor coil with engine off- I could hear it engage.

Left the jumper in and started her up with AC on- no cold air.

Slow fan-
Does not run with AC off ( 5 min idle)
Does not run with AC on and coil jumped ( 2 min idle)

I guess the next easy step would be to determine the pressure in the system,
and check the cooling lines for chafing/cracks. Would really like to know where
the AC low pressure switch is.

...ED

 

I take it you saw the compressor was turning? I can't remember where the switch is right now. My A/C failure was sudden and total, I also have two problems, the clutch coil and now a hugh crack in the aluminum part of the line running from the condensor to the firewall/evaperator. I have the coil fixed and my hose broke under the air intake box.

I have a hugh leak and it was still difficult to find even with the UV dye. I never did see the dye until I wiped a rag over the crack while leaking and looked at the rag. So if you are looking with the UV stuff (glasses on too)chances are it's not going to hugh spot. I finally found my leak by running the system while charging and when the compressor would run you could see the mist rise from under the air box and there it was.

If you have a set of gauges see if you have any presure in the system and go from there. If you're empty take out the air box and look at that line, I think the box is pushing on part of it in that area.

Good luck!

Chuck

 

When I jumped power to the coil with the engine running, I heard it engage. The
compressor must have been turning at that point or I would have heard a lot of racket
from the belt.

I found out the low press switch is either under the fuse box or the battery box.
I'm going to find a gauge to check AC pressure. If low, I'll try charging it.

ALSO
Checked the fan operation with engine off by jumping power (and ground) to the plug at driver side top of the radiator.
This is a 3 pin plug with brown (ground), large red (high speed),and small red (low speed) wires. High speed worked fine
when jumped, low speed did not. So, I'll order a new fan assembly today.

At least if I have to replace the compressor, I'll already be in service mode for the fan
replacement.

I feel like I'm making progress, but time will tell.

...ED

 

Well, I threw a gauge on the fill side and got "0". Put a can of 134 in and now have
enough pressure to activate the compressor. But no cold air inside!

I still have to get her up and check all the AC lines, especially since I found a small oil
spot after moving car. I believe this is compressor oil.

So, have to find the leak and borrow a good gauge set to check the compressor.

...ED

 

If you had zero presure and got nothing from the system you have a large leak someplace, Mine was in the smaller of the two lines going from the condenser to the Evap/firewall, you can get to the presure sensor in that line by removing the battery box.

To replace that line I had to remove the air box, battery box with the ECU, take off the fuse box. Support the drivers side trans/engine and remove the drivers side trans mount, and the front bumber cover and bumper. It was like trying to do a puzzle trying to figure out how to move the big prebent hard line in and twist the flexible line around enough to get it in but after a little playing with it 2 of us got it in. It went a little better than I thought when we 1st started digging into it.

Replaceing the dryer is pretty straight forward, lubed the new orings as things went back together, got the a/c system buttoned up and pulled a vaccum on the system, got it to about -29 on the gague, closed it up and let it sit for an hour. Still good, we pulled vaccuum for another hour and charged the system, one can and about 2 oz out of another, system is supposed to hold 14 oz, of course a couple more oz than one can, thanks!

We put the car back together, found where the original hard plastic spacer attached to the line we replaced had broken where it attched to the body, this caused the line to rub thru and crack. we found a way to cable tie the new line securely and added a couple more line protection pieces, be creative, I cut a peace of old tire and was able to wrap and secure the line better than it was.

The car went back together easily, kinda surprised me and I started looking around for something we forgot but we put all the bolts taken off back on, started it up and ran the A/c, nice and cold. I didn't see any signs of oil loss with my leak so we didn't add any oil.

Good luck finding your leak and hope that it's not the Evap. When the book starts off the section with "Note: This is a complicated job" you know you're in for a load of fun!

Chuck