I just replaced the radiator fan, shroud, resistor, etc, on my '06 R50 daily driver (243000 miles). The fan was not working, even with the AC on. Now the fan will work when the AC is on, but not when the car is hot.

Given that the ambient temp right now is in the low fifties, the car might not be getting hot enough to kick on the fan. Or is the ECT sensor bad? I don't see any signs of overheating, and the idiot light for coolant temp is not coming on. Is this light triggered by the ECT? I don't have a scan tool to read the temp.

Any suggestions?

 

That all sounds about right.
You can get a slightly more accurate temperature reading with the hidden menu, option 7.
For reference, mine runs around 96C.

 

Yes sounds right

you have to get all the way up to 105c for the low speed fan

how are you measuring temps?

 

Update.

Car seems to be running fine. One odd thing that I've noticed is that if I set the cabin temp at say 70deg, it feels okay while the car is moving, but if I come to a stop it gets bloody hot in the cabin (probably because the airflow has stopped). I've checked with a code reader and there are no codes present.



Coolant level good in the expansion tank.



Coolant comes out when the bleed screw is opened.



Oil is a good color, not milky.

 

Coolant looks a little low. Is that cold or hot?

 

The coolant level looks about right to me - it's well above the MIN & just below the MAX marks on the side of the tank. It's also nice & green (which mine isn't!).
The oil level is perhaps a tad low, judging by the dipstick.

For reference, according to the hidden menu, my car runs around 96C - 98C most of the time; the high-speed fan kicks in when it feels like it. - even in a summer traffic jam I rarely see 100C.- I don't think the temp sensing is very accurate.

CRC - see what the hidden menu tells you about temps. You may have the chrono package & I think that can display temps, too.

 

Serafin - Coolant level is about 1/4 inch below the Max level, so it should be okay.

MVPeters - Picture of the oil is a little deceiving. Actual level is good. I included this more to show that the oil is clean, with no coolant mixed in there.

I took the MINI to a local mechanic, who I trust totally, this morning and he has a plausible theory as to what is happening. He's going to take an in depth look tomorrow, and I will give an update tomorrow evening.

 

So I took the MINI in this morning, and the mechanic found the following.

1, As suspected the car wasn't getting hot enough to trigger the coolant fan.
2, The coolant could have been boiling to steam and the temp warning light would've stayed off because the bulb is blown!
3, The sudden increase in the cabin temperature is being caused because the ambient temperature sensor behind the front bumper is knackered. Apparently it is reading a low outside temp all the time and telling the module that controls the heat that its bloody cold outside. There was a code present in this module that once cleared, and the car was run in the shop, the inside temp stayed at the setting on the automatic climate control panel. When taken for a test drive, the code reappeared because the ambient temp sensor is shot, and the cabin temp got really hot again. My code reader will only read the powertrain codes. Also the opening for the inside temp sensor was partially blocked off by a piece of lint, probably from the towels that I use to clean the dash with.

The mechanic is certain that once a new ambient temp sensor is fitted, and the code cleared, all will be good again.