Is this a good upgrade if my resistor is on its way out?

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/more...782&cc=1417171

 

I think there is a better one out there. Made by Dorman I believe.

 

That resistor is what one would call a factory replacement.. That resistor is still prone to fail.. There are other aftermarket types that people have used instead.. Of course going with the aftermarket does require a bit of modification but nothing serious.. When my resistor went bad I just bypassed it...But the only down fall in doing that is the fan will run on high speed as the resistor is only used to run the fan at a lower speed.. But I will say it didn't bother me a bit.. Good luck!

 

I'm assuming this is the aftermarket solution.

http://www.detroittuned.com/dorman-gen-1-fan-relay-kit/

At 53 bucks, it's almost better just to get 2 factory units seeing that my mini has 155,000 miles on it. I don't think the fan resistor will be my biggest issue when the car hits 250,000 miles. How long are the stock units supposed to last?

 

I've been wondering "why" did they even have a low speed in the design? Is it just because of noise?

 

The way I understand it was to keep noise down... But honestly IMO that was a horrible design flaw... The resistor is so prone to failure and can do some costly damage when it fails..thats why I just bypassed it... not to mention it seems to keep my motor cooler which I feel is already running warmer then I like.. So by taking it out just keeps one less thing to go wrong.. Is the fan more noticeable now! "yes".. But its a sweet sound to my ears.. and its not any louder then any other car with a electric fan for cooling.. cheers!

 

I think these are what I would call an aftermarket factory type replacement.. In other words it is a bolt in replacement.. I have not personally installed any though.. Its good to see you have got some good miles on your MINI.. The factory type resistors that I have replaced all have been under 50k.. most around 20-30k miles.. So IMO that's a fast rate of failure.. But there are some better replacements out there.. I think if you search on here you will find better ones... But the ones you have posted will require less time for install.. good luck!

 

Dorman Kit:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/170969660469?redirect=mobile

 

We've sold several of these with good results
http://www.waymotorworks.com/radiato...0-r52-r53.html

 

Is there a guide out there for splicing in these resistors? I have the Dorman and have searched for a how-to but without success...

 

Is this what you're looking for, its a link I found on Detroit Tuned page where they sell the doorman kit:
https://store-zhkcqkob.mybigcommerce...0Fan%20Kit.pdf

 

Ps ,... There's additional info on the Detroit Tuned product description page, regarding if you have a 1 or 2 plug fan version.

 

Much obliged - that's the one. Got mine from Amazon so no instructions... and cutting wires makes me nervous