I just had my fan housing replaced due to a faulty resistor and I didn't know if there was any way to repair my old one. I'm sure there are some electrical dudes out there that could do it. Any ideas or previous experience?

 

discussed many times but no one has yet claimed success (that can recall); it comes down to a 'board level' repair as I've read. the part that fails is soldered in ....

I've replaced it twice on the 02 now ... or I should say the dealer has.....once on MINI's dime and more recently on my dime...

 

Please enlighten us - what problems are caused by failure of this part?

 

After you shut down the fans keep running until it kills the battery. Replacing the fan assembly at the dealer is about $600. I think they quote 3.5 hours labor and $225-275 for the part.

Mine was replaced once under warranty and is now occasionally doing the same thing again.

I think, at minimium, Mini should make the fan resister assembly available separately if not redesign the system and replace them on their dime if/when they fail.

Rich

 

I would like to look at one but I am not interested in taking my car apart to do so. If there is anyone in the Portland, OR area who has one I could probably figure out how to fix it.

 

[quote=Rich.Wolfson;2470651]After you shut down the fans keep running until it kills the battery. Replacing the fan assembly at the dealer is about $600.

The resistor is not responsible for the long running. The fan gets its instructions from the computer, it is the culprit. The resistor is there to give you two speeds. The computer sends the low speed signal by routing a full 12v through the resistor and this is low speed. If the module calls for high speed, the module sends the 12v direct to the motor and it runs faster!

 

while I agree with your logic the problem is, it don't work that way.

You would think that even once this speed control resistor goes bad, once the computer sees the engine is cooled down it would turn the fan off. Sorry WRONG.

Here's another tid bit.....if your coolant gets low there can be air introduced into the system. Since the system is a pressurized one, by having air in there rather than all fluid, the total pressure is LESS than normal (think brake system...air in the lines equals squishy pedal) The computer measures the cooling system pressure and if it is low it responds by running the fan.

TA-DA .... another cause of the ill-fated fan runs forever...... Your resistor is not bad but your fluid got low. Now the next gotcha .... just topping off the coolant in the bottle (prone to leaks btw) may not help because the routing of the coolant lines makes them prone to capturing air in the high spots so you need to find the bleeder valves that were provided in the coolant lines to release the trapped air. If you don't, the computer still sees low pressure and your fan runs until the battery dies.

Is this the fault of the computer? ... well.... yes. Has anyone corrected the faulty program? dot dot dot

Not last time I checked.....

last time I went in for fan run-on they determined the problem to be caused by #2 .... COOL cheap fix, bleed air and replace a leaking overflow bottle.....

BUT

the fan is only running on high....the resistor that fails...has half failed and the fan only runs on high. Wanna fix it now or wait for the complete failure....

 

As Capt_bj pointed out it simply doesn't work that way. As many times as I have thought about it it seems like a sensor or the computer. But alas it has been determined through countless fan replacements that replacing the entire assembly or simply the resister pack solves the problem. And this seems to be a common problem enough that my local dealer keeps a minimum of three fan assemblies in stock at any one time.

And on my car it seems to be intermittent at this point but I will burp the system this weekend and see what happens. My fans have run on four times in the last three weeks. Each time it was in the evening, it was hot and the humidity was high. The last time it happened I took Artoo out for another spirited ride without the AC and when the fan shut down or went to low I came home, shut it off and no fan run on. Air in the system makes sense but I do know that my coolant tank is not leaking as it is full and no drips. I really don't want to have to change the fan assembly.

Thanks Capt and hopefully this helps clarify the situation.

Rich

 

What???? A cooling system pressure sensor you say? You would have thought that I would have known that after 5 years but....there isn't one. The cooling fan is turned on by the DME via a relay for a couple of reasons:
1. Coolant temp, Low speed is up to a certain temp around 200 degrees(can't recall the exact temp off the top of my head, and High speed is after about 215 degrees.

2. AC pressure, same thing at a certain pressure=low speed, higher pressures trigger the high speed.

The resistor is the main cause of the faulty low speed, but certainly not the only contributing factor. THere are high and low speed relays that the DME controls by grounding the control circuit. The schematics need to be consulted for the particular car and troubleshoot the problem. It would suck if you spent money on a fan and all it needed was a $30 relay.

Also, with the fan staying on...I've found to be the most troublesome on the mid '03 cars and earlier with the 2 connector fan assembly. There is a relay behind a cover on the fan assembly that will stick with the circuit closed causing continuous power supply to the fan.

 

That is really interesting. Can you point to that and can I get to it without taking the front end apart. That said I am sure you can't buy just the relay but can it be opened and cleaned?

Thanks,

Rich

 

If someone has a bad fan and is willing to send it to me I will repair it (if possible) and post how to instructions including replacement part numbers.

 

Yes actually you can just get the relay...P#61360141229 up to 3/03

IIRC, after that date the relays were located in the fuse box in the engine compartment.

Unfortunately, if your car fall into the 03/03 and earlier cars, the only way to get to the relay is remove the fan and take apart the housing cover on the fan assembly(which is siliconed in). The failing resistors are located in the same general area. If you look down in between the upper rad. hose and the fan assembly/core support, you will see a box that protrudes about 2.5" X4" and says "GATE" on it. Sometimes you can tap on that cover and get a car with a sticking relay to break its contact, like with the blunt end of a screwdriver.

 

Well i've had this problem 1-2 yrs ago the fan runnin til batt dead,i then disconnected the plug following the wire from the fan rather than the batt on shut down.this went on for about 2-3 days,and arriving at the mechanic literally on his doorstep all sorts of clicking as in the relay took place,and all works fine ever sinse knock wood,so as said the relay could be the culprit.I also had a stuck relay related to starting motor progressing to power steering and basically total shut down.Cooper Mar 2002 build.

 

I have a failing fan housing. I had the mechanic give it back to me after the repair. If you want I can send it to you if you send it back to me after the experiment.

It's an intermittent problem so I'm not sure if it will show up for you.