The car I am looking to purchase is in great shape (05 S), but has non-working A/C. This is a big deal in Texas. The owner says that it worked perfectly last year, then was not used during the winter months and the mild spring we had recently. Here in Texas, we also had a lot of rainfall last month, and the owner parked the car during this time. Once the rain dried up the summer came in full force and the A/C wouldn't blow cold air. He thinks it is either in need of a simple recharge or the compressor clutch. I haven't gotten an answer yet to whether or not he checked fuses, but what is the most likely cause of this fault?

If I buy this car I will have to fix the A/C immediately so I would like an idea of what the repair will entail.


The car is an '05 with ~94K miles.

 

Compressor itself about $700. Early MINIs have notoriously bad a/c.

 

Well like most European cars from my experience, the A/C is rather weak even when new. My wife's 06 MCSs hasn't had an issue so far.


I will have the system charged first and go from there I suppose.

 

You can replace just the a.c. clutch on these cars. It takes 1 hr to do. And cost $100 for the clutch off ebay. You don't need to remove a hose or a line. Mine stopped working a year ago and it was a fairly easy job. You do have put the car into service mode, remove the passenger side tire and fender liner and pull the belt.

 

If the low speed fan is working right, the AC on a gen1 MINI that is working right can make the car beer cooler cold...
I would regularly get out if my 2005 on a 100° f days and fog my glasses....even condensation on the OUTSIDE windows....
Biggest thing is the system must have been vacuumed if it got empty, to ensure there is no remain air or moisture...
Many folks just refil with r134a if the system was opened...
Then the AC will kinda work...but never really cold...same for iff it has too much oil from getting refilled...limited COOLING capacity....

 

Very true. System should be vacuumed and recharged correctly. I will try this first once I take delivery of the car. I will know more then. After that it will be a matter of either replacing the compressor clutch or go all out and throw an all new compressor on there.