When driving along under normal conditions, my temp gauge reads normal, spot on, all the time. When waiting in traffic for extended periods (which happens to me very rarely, but every now and again), my car starts getting hot. As soon as I start moving along it cools down right away.

What parts should I be looking at replacing? Is this just a thermostat thing?

Thanks in advance. Excuse my noobishness.

 

I had this same problem- I'd get the car to a shop ASAP. Anything related to overheating is potential for disaster- I lost a cylinder head to stress cracks in a matter of days because my engine started overheating in traffic.

...not that I'm trying to scare you or anything. I'd just really get that checked out. If you catch it early, you still stand a chance.

 

Sounds like your cooling fans are not working. The fans come on to blow air through the radiator when the coolant is hot, especially when the vehicle is stopped and air is not being forced through the radiator when driving.

Here are some links about cooling fan problem:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ure-spike.html
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-problems.html

Here are some links to low speed fan resistor problem:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...oling-fan.html
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-solution.html

 

This will be most likely be 1 of 5 things:
low coolant (I believe these have a coolant level warning, not that familiar with gen 1 models)
failing water pump (can also cause #1 as well)
stuck thermostat
bad electric cooling fan
clogged coolant passages or kinked hose(s) (fairly unlikely and rare)

 

How long has it been since your last coolant flush?

 

No level sensor on R50, and I'm almost positive the same is true for r53.

 

Many (actually all gen1, unmodified pre2005 cars) had the ps fan wired in such a way the fuse could blow, and render the radiator fan inoperative....
So first step (after checking fluid levels), listen for the fan...there should be s distinct speeds...the low (often fails due to a resistor), then when the car gets a bit hotter, the high speed...should sound more like a jet engine or lawnmower....the low speed is hardly noticable....but can be seen...
Next, listen....if the fan is ok, and works on atleast the highspeed, are there any odd sonds under tge hood....and hi pitched grindings, clankiy sounds?(just for r53's).

 

OK, now you guys have me sufficiently scared! Especially because I was in a HUGE traffic jam yesterday and my car's temp got elevated twice (both times I was able to shift to another lane or take an exit pretty much right away and drive for the 30 seconds necessary for it to cool back down).

Seems like it's the low-speed fan resistor that's the culprit, but of course I'll check around and make sure there's not anything else going on.

Anyone got a link for a good spot to buy a replacement? Would love to buy one this afternoon, right after I get back from my morning appointment.

Thanks for everyone's helpful responses!

 

If the low speed fan has failed, it wil let the car get very hot, but the fan will yurn on, and prevent overheating....
While it should be fixed, check your fluid levels...
Mini's tend to consume a bit of coolant through small leaks...the coolant bottlr, themostat gasket, and eventually the radiator...any hose on a 10+ year old car is suspect too...
And a reminder...mini's DO NOT USE LONGLIFE COOLANT, and require regular servicing....

 

I had the same thing recently happen to me, the temp gauge would spike if sitting still for a bit of time. Checked the coolant levels, and sure enough, had a leak somewhere. Visually inspected things and the culprit was the thermostat housing. Got a replacement housing/gasket/thermostat and replaced them all, and now no leaks. Apparently this is a very common problem with our cars.

 

Alright, I just went out to check things out. Observations:

1) Looks like my coolant is a little low and a lot dirty. Gonna have to change that ASAP.

2) Ran the car with AC on for about five minutes and never saw the radiator fan move once.

So, my plan consists of this:

1) Do the radiator flush and fill.

2) Check fan fuses.

3) Check thermostat.

4) Install a new fan relay kit from Detroit Tuned:
http://www.detroittuned.com/shop/ind...?productID=530

Anything else y'all would recommend?

 

Update: spoke with someone at Detroit tuned and he recommend replacing the whole assembly since I'm not sure that either of my fan speeds are operational, suggesting a larger problem. Found a place online that sells the TYC model for 90 bucks. Figure that's worth it.

Also, Zippy, what did you mean by clanking or rattling under the hood on the R53s? I sort of hear a bit of that coming from the supercharger, but I'm not sure what's normal and what's not.

Still need to check fuses as well...

 

How hot is the car actually getting? Does the gauge peg on full hot? Do you have a way to plug in a OBD-2 scanner to monitor the coolant temperature? This is one way you might be able to determine if it's just a low speed issue or you have no fan at all.

Jason

 

It does, on rare occasions, go all the way to the top. I've always been able to roll along when that happens, though, luckily. That cools it down quick.

If necessary, I guess I can borrow a scan gauge from advance. But it's hard to make it happen on my own. It only seems to happen in big leagues traffic or waiting in long lines.

I am getting more to think that now my high fan isn't clicking on either.

 

Here's a video of me trying to let the car heat up (but not being able to wait long enough for anything to happen before my girlfriend drove it to work).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wc3p9ug-1U

As you can see, the fan isn't running there at all. This is after it had been running about 5 minutes.

Also, are those noises from the engine normal? Zippy has me a little nervous after asking about weird noises...

Edit: Couldn't get the video embedding feature to work, but there's the link. It's only 30 seconds long.

 

5 minutes of idling is probably not going to kick on the fan, especially if engine was cool when the 5 minutes started.
Engine sounds pretty normal.

 

I agree, what are the temps, do you see or smell anitfreeze from under the hood?
I know with mine it gets to about 218 or so and the high speed fan kick on , but I also know my waterpump and supercharger are just about due for replacement. on the highway at 70MPH no A/C on, my car runs about 194 when the outside temps are in the 80s

 

From a cold start, it's going to take much longer than 5 minutes to reach even the low speed fan temp, so I wouldn't worry too much there. You would probably need 20 minutes idling before the fan would kick on.

If your temp gauge does fully peg on "hot", the fan is most likely not turning on, but if you can plug in OBD-2 and watch the temp rise as you idle; my low speed kicks on at 221F, and the high speed at 234F. If the low speed is working properly, it will cycle on and off around 221F and not rise enough to trigger the high speed (this is sitting at idle).

Jason

 

Haven't had a chance to check exact temps yet. I'm hoping it won't come to that. Probably going to replace the fan assembly and change coolant (after making sure it's not just a fuse problem).

If that doesn't work I'd assume thermostat. Is there a way to test that beforehand or is it the old guess and check method?

Edit: Thanks for the info, Jason. Maybe I'll try letting it idle for a bit after it's been running and see what that tells me. Unfortunately, I won't have a scan gauge for exact readings but I'll probably be able to see if the fan is gonna start at least.

 

Ran the car just now for about 5 minutes immediately after it had been driven. I watched the needle climb up towards the top line and didn't see or hear any fan movement. While I was waiting, I checked the fuses. Looks like both are intact (I believe there's a 30A and a 50A in the under-hood fusebox, right?), but I'll check again later to be sure.

This leads me to believe it's the fan assembly or the thermostat. The thermostat is smaller, cheaper, and easier to replace. Should I start there and see if that works? Or should I just go for the fan assembly first? Both at the same time? Better safe than sorry, I guess.

Thanks for all your help, everyone.

 

If you have a android phone download the torgue app, get a OB11 adaptor from amazon for about 30 bucks, and you will be able to read temps,
How much Milage do you have on it?

 

Oh, nice. I'll have to get that.

My mini has about 70k on it.

 

Bet the ps fan is siezed..

Blew the fuse...rendered the radiator fan useless...can happen on ANY pre2005 unmodified mini...
My car late 2004 production, but model year 2005 was modified with the wiring upgrade kit, splitting the two fans a few months after i bought it....my fan siezed (ps) the first winter with the car...dealer cauggt it at the 1st service...and proactivly upgraded tp the full 2005+ wiring spec.
What i would do...check the ps fan...bet it is stuck...replace it soon, for now it can be upluged. Next check sll the fuses...this should get the fan running. Then get the rad flushed...refilled...
The noise i was refering to was a possible water pump gear/sc sound...in the final stages before total stopage, the pump will run at higher rpms, but not at lower....resulting in overheating when sitting/slowspeed. I wanted to rule this out asap...it usually makes a very distincitve noise..kinda like dragging chains...you are fine there by the sound of it.

 

My car has the tyc fan...no issues...BUT it is likly once you get power to it it will run fine...low speed may/may not work, but it will not overheat if you get atleast the high speed running.

 

If i remember right, while a hi amp fuse provides power to run the fan, a smaller fuse, like a 5 or 10 amp provides the power to energize the relay (also provides power to the ps fan...tge reason why the two were split).