2008 Mini Cooper Convertible - Water boiling, Gauge Normal, New Cooling Fan
 

Background and Problem:

So for a year or so I've been hearing my high speed fan running any time the engine gets hot and it just went out, this is when I started doing research and discovered I had a low speed and a high speed. Since my low speed fan wasn't working and now the high speed fan stopped working, I did some research and ended up replacing my cooling fan. Everything seemed to be doing well however today, I get to the gym and my water is boiling.

I have not heard my high speed fan kick in since I got the new fan and I thought this was just my low speed doing a great job.


Just some things you might need to know:

I ordered the fan from AutoZone.com and while it fit perfectly and seemed to work perfectly, it did have an extra cable that doesn't have a place to plug in. I just assumed that this probably made the fan compatible with multiple models of mini coopers. Maybe I'm wrong about that?

I am not losing fluid as I've been checking it every day for about 2 weeks.. since I installed the new fan.

I replaced the relays in my engine compartment a few months back due to the high speed fan continuing to run after the engine was turned off. Problem solved.

I replaced the thermostat housing about 5 years ago.. it had a hairline crack and I was losing fluid. Problem solved.

My Mini now has about 140k miles on it.


My Questions:

What do I need to test to find out why my high speed fan is not kicking on even though the water is boiling?

Why is the gauge showing normal even though the water is boiling?

This extra cable that is dangling from the main cooling fan cable.. is anyone familiar with that and is it possibly a problem?

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...d644585fa5.jpg

After talking to someone in a Mini group on FB, it seems that the double connector is an issue. Mine should have the single connector but the new fan came with the old-style dual connector which is likely preventing my fan from getting a signal from the relay to go into high speed.

Is this something I could alter or do I need to replace the entire fan for the correct one?

I'm not a technician, but it seems like I could jump the (2) prongs in the smaller connector and that would correct the issue. I also could be dead wrong.

Anyone, have an idea about this?

I'm going to suspect a bad cooling fan resistor.....I assume that the '08 has them, my '04 & '06 S cars have the resistor in the radiator support......I had to replace them both, I found replacements on eBay for around $20......you will have to cut and splice the wires together when the resistor assembly arrives.....

If you are electrically challenged when it comes to wiring and splicing, find someone who can help you

Again, my first thought is a bad resistor.......my second thought would be that the water pump impeller is corroded off or the impeller has come loose from the water pump shaft.......

Bryan

My resistor did go out and instead of splicing a new one in, I just decided to replace the entire fan. It wasn't difficult and I found one for around$100.

The low speed fan is working fine which suggests the resistor is fine.. if I understand it correctly, the resistor reduces the power going to the fan thereby reducing the speed of the fan.

The new fan, while it works great in low speed mode, is not going into high speed which means a relay issue. I have replaced the relays just a couple of months ago so I'm guessing that's not an issue either.

The new fan came with an extra connector-- the old one only had a single large connector. I have come to understand that this has something to do with the relay and I wonder if I can simply jump the connector pins together on the extra connector or if I absolutely have to replace the entire fan assembly with one that only has a single connector.

The water pump impeller is an interesting suggestion.. haven't heard it before but it makes sense. Is there a way to check that somehow to see if it needs to be replaced without removal?