Agreed, bad wording. It's the resistor that goes bad (in most cases).

Beyond that, a person CAN buy a $300 fan assembly from the dealer, but pretty much the same thing is available aftermarket for under $100.

 

If anyone needs the external resistor from Mouser Electronics and is in the Dallas area, i have one i will give away. Just let me know....

 

Another thanks to Chris for the original solution - brought the resistor online from "element14" here in HK - sprayed black with hi-temp paint to help heat dissipation

pics linked in my gallery:
Fan mod picture 1

Fan mod picture 2

 

A better understanding of the wiring diagram would be in the WDS of the MCS here @ http://www.pinoynapinoy.us

 

So I took my car for a hard drive up in the hills yesterday, and afterwards my car had the humming noise going after it was shut off. After reading threads I believe the power steering pump was still on, My battery has drained when I woke up today.

I'm unsure what needs to be fixed at this point - do I need to replace this resistor? Is my fan not working properly? My steering felt fine and the pump just kept running, so is the pump likely ok?

Also, the power steering fluid reservoir looked like it had leaked out the top, possibly from overheating.

Does anyone have any recommendations on what I should check out first? I have an early 06 mcs.

 

The radiator fan (which this thread is about) is a different thing that what you're experiencing. There is a small fan on the underside of your power steering pump, and that's a potential problem as well.

I'm not sure, but there's probably some relay somewhere that's staying on, causing your power steering pump to run on.

 

Hi / Changed my post now after re-reading entire thread think i have the correct assembly for my 02 cooper

Just to report im in the middle of rebuilding the midlands gearbox as bought the car for my wife... cheap with a shot transmission

anyways taking everything apart i found an almost brand new fan assembly cant be more than a year old and look at the coating on the resistor
cant see any breaks on the coil itself though and its not reading any ohms ?

Also i was not getting first stage cooling so i will have to investigate more

Just thought i would leave this picture up just to show how quickly these go.........not much point fitting dealer fans really unless you have deep pockets.

Thanks for this thread guys its a big help.

 

You're welcome.

Did you mount your resistor on a heatsink? like the body.
If not it WILL get too hot & BURNNNNN!

Cheers

Chris

 

I mounted mine on the aluminum engine mount on the drivers side. bolted it with three screws tapped into the mount, and used heatsink paste for a better contact point. it makes the mount fairly warm, and the resistor gets far too hot to touch. been working for almost a year now!

 

Eureka! Success!!

Just finished my install following the information provided by Chris.
Ordered from Mosher and took two days to deliver.
I mounted mine in the same location as Chris.
Drilled 7/64 holes and used self tapping metal screws. My cordless drill make easy work of this.
I also used 12 guage wire and three way scotch connectors.
The one thing I did slightly different was I used crimp connectors for attaching the wires tp the Mosher unit. These had heat shrink material on them so the connection is not only tight but will keep junk out.
For what it's worth, I purchased my connectors, wire and "thermal paste" all at Radio Shack. So if you have one of those near by, they can help.

Now my fan works as advertised and no more cooling worries (for now)

Big thank you to Chris and eveyone else who contributed to this thread........helped educate me and solve my issue.

As an additional FYI, I searched NAPA Auto Parts online catalog and they list the replacement fan assembly for $114 and is noted as a Dorman product.

Last, my car is an '06 Cooper S hardtop.

 

Hey All,
There is now a direct replacement for this unit, I'm stocking these now as is Chad at DT. its worth it. Its a few wires to swap over and bolts right in place.


https://www.northamericanmotoring.co..._stuff_001.jpg

 

image is broken!

 

how about now?

 

Sill nothing

 

one more time, does it work now?

 

link works but graphic not visible in thread.

 

i cant get it there for some reason as long as the link works its cool

 

He ya go...

 

Thanks again!

PM me if you need one they run about $55

 

Is that a diode in paralel with the resistor wire?
If yes which was round does it live?

Many Thanks

 

both ends of the diode attach to the output side of the coil

 

Well had the mini few weeks sorted gearbox and fan then steering pump went !!!

Lol traded it in

Man i will never buy another again what a terrible car..... a few weeks was enough for me what people see in these monstrosities just amazes me.

Mk1 mini was a better car for sure!

Must be a label thing with these ...........phew glad its gone.

Back to some clean hand motoring!!!!

 

Diodes being what they are, there is a difference between the two ends. One positive, one negative.

 

I have to laugh...I just bought a MINT 03' MCS with 59K miles on it. Seriously in mint shape. You could eat off the motor.

Anyway, have had it two weeks...Drove it where I bought it in MO to Florida. About 1000 miles. In the last two weeks about 200 miles.

My wife comes home tonight (usually takes her MDX but decided to drive this on a nice day) and when she parks it the fan is screaming...She should we had the central vac on (canister is in the garage)! LOL! I disconnected the battery after about 15 minutes (thinking it was warm)...Checked all fluids, even the temp was fine.

Then read a bit here. Did the "tap" on the relay trick...Worked...For now.

All this when I am getting a pulley / dyno tune TOMORROW! Thinking I should save my money for this repair...Well, I won't do that but...Still bumming that this already has issues.

Spoiled with Toyotas and Acuras...ZERO issues for years now.

Still a FUN car...I hope nothing major in the future. It is not intended to be a daily driver...

I'll need to get into this thread and figure out the fix...25 pages is a lot to sift through!

 

Man I love this thread. It just keeps going on.