I bought the scanner as a means to figure out whether my low speed fan issue was caused by my ac compressor not functioning, or if my ac compressor was not coming on due to my low speed fan not coming on.

when using the scanner, it does not allow me to activate the ac system or the fan to determine if either are functioning. am i doing something wrong, or was this a poorly spent $180?

 

I'm not a coding expert with Minis but I believe this was a wast of 180 bucks. I'm sorry to brake the news to you. All the programs that you could possibly need are available free online to download onto your laptop. Then either purchase a cable that goes from computer to OBDII (forgot the name) or if the laptop is Bluetooth enabled just get a Bluetooth OBDII scanner tool for 15 bucks on amazon. That's what I do. You can use this for any info sent over OBDII. I mostly use it to run torque and AP Soft. Motor on and good luck. Search the forums for more specific info.

 

which software works with the pc to OBDII cable?

 

Per the Bentley manual, and confirmed by my ScanGauge, the fan operates at low speed at 221F, and turns off at 214F. The fan switches to high speed at 234F and remains on high until the coolant temps drops by 7F. Supposedly it also turns on when the AC is on and the AC system pressure reaches 8 bar (114psi)

You don't need a scanner to test the low speed fan. Just get the coolant temp. In my case (and reported by others) the low speed fan went out, and that allowed the AC to overheat and die. At least in my case both my low speed fan and AC both died.