Good instruction how-to!, but one question...

Why is it called a diode kit? The essential part is the resistor.
What does the diode do?
Block reverse emf from a spinning fan when it switches on or off?

 

Hi, i tried this ressistor mod yest, I have 2003 cooper s i have 2 relays in the fuse box under the bonnet with 2 fuses also. The fan housing has what looks like a relay at the ressistor to. I basically spliced into the blue wire and red of the same size soldered wires to this and then to my new ressistor but its still not working.
help please..

this is the ressistor i used,
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2905348468...84.m1439.l2649

 

That resistor has the wrong resistance - way too much!

The proper resistance is 0.33 or 0.34 ohms.

 

am i looking at the right one with this one?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/0-33-Ohm-0-3...-/390356577645

 

Yup - that's the right resistance. Sounds like your build date is late enough that you could go with the Dorman resistor too - which has a lifetime warranty. The Dorman part number is 902-706. It's $25 at Rockauto.

 

We cant's even get it for that price. That is nuts... but you also have to think that when you need help rock auto will not be a phone call away, nor did they show you how to do it, nor will they even know what your talking about..lol

 

well ive ordered another resistor so now i just have to hope ive spliced into the correct wires when it turns up.

 

philchrome, if you have the older 2-plug fan harness, post 778 in page 32 might help you. This was what I did:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...r-surgery.html

 

hi minsanity, i have the single plug with 3 wires, 2 red and 1 blue.

 

Just jump the two red wires on the fan side after the plug. You'll get high when low is called. No more resistor to worry about. That is if you can stand the high speed fan noise.

 

nooo nooo if there is meant to be a low speed, then a low speed i shall have ;-) i have high speed that works fine, plus i have a scangauge to keep an eye on things.

one thing i did notice though when i took the top hose off, is the amount of antifreeze that came out was a bit of a concern. looked almost as if it was full of neat antifreeze.

 

I've the resistor that I didn't put in. Having it on high when low is called gives you around 5F lower engine temp as monitored by the scangauge. After having those results, I opted to just store the .33ohm mouser resistor. My A/C is much cooler, too. You may do either. Just squeeze the life of your old fan.

 

Hi all,

I got some good info here on fixing the fan issue and thought I would share this.

It's a replacement resistor for the fan shroud.

Neil.

 

Detroit Tuning has a version that is available here in the US.

 

Thanks for the pdf
And it takes for ever to get the old fan out & back in ....
whereas my fix can be done in the works car park during lunch times.....

and its £73 !!!!!!!!!!!!!! on amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Print-A.../dp/B00B8YUE6M

@ that price you might as well replace the whole fan assembly...........

Cheers

Chris

 

I already put an external resistor a while back with a switch that I can use the internal resistor or the external resistor.

But I had to replace the radiator this past weekend, and I made a video and It can give you one idea of the job when you need to get there.

Service Mode

Radiator/Fan/Resistor

 

I'm wondering if I may have the same problem with the fans as everyone else.

This morning I got into garage to go to work and the car was dead. No sound at all after turning the key. I popped the hood and wiggled battery wire and the juice came back with the fans kicking in at high.

Started the car, went to work and on the drive still heard the fan. Got to work, fan still running. I pulled the battery cable to make sure that it doesn't get drained while i'm at work.

Now wondering what this can be, as the fans should not be on today with 20degrees in chicago.

To give you some more info, the car started acting up few months ago, where the computer would reset itself without any notice upon starting the car. Basically, you turn the key and the headlights will come on with beeps in the car and clicking nose from under the dash. The car will start normally after this but the clock is reset, and it feels like there was a connection interruption from the battery to the ECU. The battery cables are tight on and there is no way that there is a bad connection there.

Anyone have anything similar? Is this related to the new fan issue that appeared today?

 

1) Turn off the car if your fan is still running disconnect the battery.
2) Open the fan connector (on my case Cooper 2006 S) it is only one connector for fan 1st stage and second.
3) Reconnect the battery, the fan should not be running
4) Now with a voltimeter measure on the fan connector (side that connects to fuse box)
if on either 1st and 2nd stage pins you have 12 volts
5) If so the relays must be operated. To confirm remove the relay fan 1st and 2nd stage.
6) Now on the fan connector you should NOT have voltage.
7) If there is voltage you must have a short in the cable.
Note: The Control Module activates the FAN based on temperature readinds of the car.
If CM is operating the FAN even with the car not running it is possible because there is
situation where the car is leaking coolant when you stop the cast iron block is still heating
up and the CM keeps the FAN running until the temperature drops.
In your case (if no short circuit somewhere) my guess is that in some how the CM is thinking the temperature
is above the threshold and keeps the FAN running regardless.
======================================
Regarding the weird behavior with low voltage.
A health battery when you start the car goes to a 9-10V due the load imposed by the start motor.
If a battery is not healthy and has a weak charge it can fluctuate more, on this case causing oscilation
in voltage and the effect can put electronics in the threshold almost cutting off where you can observe weird
behavior.
I had a drain of current (almost a short circuit ) in the clutch of my AC a while back, everytime I was
turn the AC on lights on the dashboard were coming with no reason.
========================================
Do you know how to use the On Board diagnosis on your Mini?
You could use that to see how the CM is seeing the coolant temperature in your MINI.
When you enter the test MODE you can check stuff like this, but you are going to be insterested on
TEST 9.0 and TEST 7.0
1.0 Chassis number
1.1 Kilometer count
1.2 Parts number
1.3 Coding-, Diagnostic- and Bus-index
1.4 Production Date (Calender week/year)
1.5 Hard- and Software status
1.6 Injectorstatus, Cylinder count, Engine factor.
2.0 Combisystem Test
3.0 Service intervall counter
4.0 Actual fuel consumption in l/100km. eg.0154 = 15,4 liters/100kms.
4.1 Consumption in liters/100kms.
5.0 Distance consumption in l/100kms.
5.1 Actual rest distance with available fuel in Kms.
6.0 Actual amount of fuel in tank. eg. 123321 =12,3liters left 32,1 liters right
6.1 Total amount of fuel in tank.
6.2 Show value of Fuel guage. 1= both senders OK, 2= sender failure, 3=ti signal unplausible (no reading)
7.0 Actual coolant temp.
7.1 Actual outside temp.
7.2 Actual engine revs.
7.3 Actual speed
8.0 Hexadecimal readings of menu 7.0 to 7.3
9.0 Actual on board voltage (Battery)
10.0 Land codes
11.0 Unit codes
12.0 No funktion
13.0 Gong test
14.0 - 14.4 On board diagnostic codes. eg 000000 = no failures
15.0 - 18.0 No funktion
19.0 On/Off for Test menu.
20.0 Correction factor for Fuel consumption
Formula for correction:
Shown consumption x 1000 / user defined consumption
Push the trip reset button to begin the correction. Numbers count up from 0-9, when correct number shows push trip reset button.
20.1 Sets 10ths. for consumption factor
20.2 Sets 100ths. and 1000ths. for consumption factor
20.3 Saves the new consumption factor and shows new value
21.0 Software reset. (Same as disconnecting battery)

 

I am gonna perform this fix as soon as I have the resistor at home.
thx to the ones for finding and testing this

 

Thanks for the info. I tried the diagnostics on a cold engine and the coolant temp in 7.0 read -048 when cold. Battery voltage was 118.
As soon as the battery was reconnected the fan came on high again. I proceeded to remove the medium square fuse (50A) and the fan stopped. I then drove 7 miles, got engine to the operating temps and performed the diagnostics again.
This time the coolant temp was at 087 (not negative this time) and battery was at 128.

Then the strange thing happened. I put the fuse back in expecting the fan to kick back in so I could test if I can stop it with the small 30A green fuse (less pain in the back to remove) and to my surprise the fan did not come on.

So now the puzzle. Why was it on before but now it's gone. I will monitor it going forward.
If anything, i'm prepared to live with pulling the fuse as needed. I can even leave it out now in the colder months and think of some fix for the summer.

 

I must be the relay of fan 2nd stage that was with a contact stuck making the circuit always closed. When you were struggling to remove the fuse you must have hit the relay and you did free a contact that was stuck. It is very common for DC circuit in a range of 30A.

If I was you I was going to replace that relay right away. And if you are curious open it and check the load contact i bet will be burned.

See explanation bellow:

 

I did the fan mod today and I'm now the happy owner of a non-overheating r53.
I bought my car second hand and this is in fact the first time the low speed fan kicked in, I was never aware it existed since a few days ago.
Peace of mind: check.

 

Thanks to all the informative posting on this thread, I was able to replace the fan on my 2003 Cooper. I used the Dorman brand, as I have the older two connectors fan on my car.

A few feedback:
* Even for someone who has never worked on the Cooper since I bought in new almost 10 years ago, the process is really not hard. For those of you who are on the fence, you can do it as long as you have all the tools listed.
* The 10mm socket needs to be a deep socket in order for it to work.
* I used a Bosch impact driver to remove all the bolts and nuts on the metal bumper, which makes the job a whole lot faster.
* On Cooper, there is no need to remove the four outer screws under the bumper lip (two on each side). They only keep the bumper in one piece and does secure the bumper to the car. You only need to remove the five screws along the center, plus the two T30 bolts, and the two bolts you access through the wheel well.
* My Dorman fan has a September build date, the resistor is no longer like the one on post #565. It is now very much like the original resistor.

Now the low speed fan is back, and I am ready for A/C use over the summer.

I did not go with the resister mod, it is more work than I want. Besides, the car probably will get traded out in a year or two, so there's no need for a permanent fix.

 

Yes we do. The Kit... and a how-too!

 

This is all very nice, but is alot of work.

Just install an external resistor and the problem is fixed without removing so many parts. . . . . . . . . . . . .

If you are going to do all this work, you might as well replace the fan unit also.