The fan motor is toast.

 

In the end, I ended replacing the original fan motor with a MINI Fan motor at great expense. Long story....lesson learned at trying to save a few bucks.

1) bought a Dorman fan motor for a good price. Took it down to my mechanic to have it installed. Dorman only lists 1 part. I suspect an adapter for the plugs were supposed to be included but there wasn't one in this box. So the plug didn't fit my car. The Dorman unit comes stock with the 2 plug arrangement. This was the last one available locally without ordering and waiting a few days and my car was already taken apart.

2) Called supplier of the Dorman fan motor and he sent a TYC fan motor to my mechanic in exchange for the Dorman unit back. TYC fan motor was installed and initially, it worked, then for some reason, the fan blades seemed to have become off balance and it started vibrating and rubbing against something so mechanic pulled it out.

3) Called MINI and bought a factory fan motor (great expense) and it has been installed. I asked for the old one back so I can do the resistor mod for next time. Returned the TYC fan motor and got a full refund for it. But the shop that sold me the TYC didn't think there was anything wrong with the motor, though he did detect a bit of movement in the motor bearing. He thought that should be within tolerance.

Buying aftermarket is a bit of a crapshot at saving some money. Most of the time, it works out. In this case, the lower quality of the aftermarket parts just didn't work out. For a twelve year old car, I just thought I could get away with it for a few years.

 

There are definitely two fans and there are no adapters from a two-plug (2002-2003) fan to a one plug fan. I would blame the person who sold you the original Dorman as there are most definitely two part numbers for R53s.

///Rich

 

wanted to say thanks for the great info on the radiator low speed resistor

i was at dealer and they quoted me $738 to replace fan assembly

i bought a replacement resistor kit from local auto parts store for $32 and installed it
in less than an hour. didn't pull fan or radiator, did remove bumper and bumper crash bar
so could pull radiator forward enough to get to resistor on the back

working good so far!!

 

In Canada, where dealer parts are usually twice the price for the same part in the US, I was quoted $604. CDN for the fan motor assembly. Dealer then applied a 15% discount on both parts and labor. So about $540.

So the difference in part quality is not that big but noticeable. On the original one that came off my car, there were weight clipped onto individual fan blades to balance the spinning fan. The motor assembly is totally covered by the fan hub. The aftermarket one had an open fan hub center that left the motor exposed.





Also, on the resistor pack, you can see what broke. There is a protruding piece of metal there.

 

Hello,
I just got my new resistor from RS Components, I got this one (yes 0.22 ohm, I want a little bit more power for the low speed fan) but they have pretty much every combination of size and power you may want.

Posting just FFR

 

Hi!
Facing this trouble too. Basically I am rebuilding my Mini thanks to NAM, from steering joint to 6-speed swap

I was wondering if anyone figured out a way to fix the low speed fan problem in a pre-2004 Cooper (if i did not misunderstand there 50+ pages, this model has the low speed relay on the fan itself, so no long- distance bypass).

Many options come to my mind, from the possibility that the low-speed relay holder in the fuse box gets the control signal anyway so we can tap in there to to the possibility of wiring a relay along with the high-speed cables and the resistor...

 

Cat
i am not certain but think some of the posts talk about the "fan" as the whole unit including the motor, blades, framework and resistors. not sure if there is one with resistor "on" fan motor and one with it "on" the fan housing assembly itself (frame work of whole item).

my 05 was on the framework at the top and easy to get to with outtalking out whole assembly.

i went to my dealer and had them pull the assembly they sell and looked at it to get an idea about how the resistor was attached . you might try the same thing with your year, or at least get a photo from them if don't have actual unit in stock

 

You just need to remove the entire fan assembly and look carefully for a plastic box that house a resistor. The resistor is never built into the fan motor. I am pretty sure pre and post 05 has the basic same resistor, if your car is built to have a low speed.

That is right. There are some Minis that do not have low speed fan, according to the wiring diagrams that I reviewed. So the fan is either run at high speed or not run. I wonder since you have a R50, and in a pig country (I like prosciutto and speck so flatter yourself ) I wonder if you car is one.

 

PNW
in my 05 you can see the resistor under the front upper radiator hose where it crosses from side to side.

i replaced the resistor with out removing the entire assembly.

 

It is clear he does not know the exact location of the resistor, nor I as I don't have a problem. Post a photo to show how one can see it without removing (or limited removal) the front end to make it visible would be most helpful to him.

Here are the two wiring diagrams from 06 model year, one called single stage, and the other dual stage.

single stage



dual stage


Here is a photo by Pelican showing the resistor box. It is very close to where the connector is so I suppose you can do a limited front end removal to get to it.

 

Hello PWN, I am a big fat rich swine and have the two stage fan
May you post the diagrams for early models with dual stage?
Mine is a 05/2002 "euro" cooper, so R50 RC31

I understand where the resistor is located in the fan assembly and also that in some models it is possibile to bypass it without any disassembling since the low speed power relay is located in the fuse box and not onboard the fan. I`d like to figure it out if something similar can be done on my model too.
That is, in the first scheme you posted the 0.3 ohm resistor can clearly be inserted between "1" of 4014 and "1" of 4007. I`d like to find out how to do the same on my R50RC31

 

Until I had a chance to consult my Bentley manual I thought your were smoking something we don't have here in the land of the free. Why would any sane engineer put the relay in the fan assembly?

I am afraid to say you are right per these three pager diagram in the Bentley. It does not distinguish R50 or R53 as there is only one set of diagrams. Here you have it.

 

Looking at that schematic (tnks for posting it, a schematic chopped on multiple pages has effects similar to California`s space cookies) seems that the relay mounted on the fan chassis is the HIGH speed one, not the low speed.... Me very puzzled.... Unless willing to have the fan go instantly on "high-speed" (and encountering unknow secondary effects) seems to me that there is no way to bypass that damn resistor without disassembly. Seems I`m in for some fun time! Yay!

 

I am working on my wife's R52 2008 mini cooper S. The AC stopped working even though the clutch engages. I found I had the blown resistor problem, and have temporarily jumpered that with a 30W lamp. The fan now goes into slow mode and cycles on and off with the engine temp. It still does not come on when the AC is switched on with the engine cold, even though the high side pressure goes incredibly high. I saw it go to 350psi before I switched it off. Jumpering with the lamp is temporary, I have ordered the resistor from mouser, but it is a great visual way to check the power cycling to the low speed fan. I am pretty sure the high pressure switch is faulty, due to over pressuring the system probably for months before my wife told me about it. Anyone know where the switch is and how to get at it?

 

I think the huge high pressure created because of no condenser cooling destroys the pressure switch which turns the low speed fan on and off. I still have no AC even though I fixed the low speed resistor.

 

I don't think there is a high pressure switch on the MINI's AC system. There is a pressure sensor and expansion valve. I believe once the compressor is engaged via the AC clutch, it stays engaged and modulates the output rather than turning the compressor on and off as in many other cars.

Here's the Realoem diagrams for the base Coopers:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/part...i-Cooper&mg=64

I'm by no means an AC expert, so I'm not sure what could be causing your high pressure problem. My guess would be a blockage somewhere, but I'm not sure how you would pinpoint it.

I replaced the expansion valved on mine when I was switching out the compressor. It's located on the left firewall. A little tough to get at. Requires taking out the battery box on a base Cooper. After that, you have to go by feel to find the bolts that secure it. I think I also had to get at part of it via the driver's footwell.

 

Mini does has a refrigerant pressure switch. A switch or sensor is just semantic as it is a open or closed contact. It is located at the lower engine left side per wiring diagram note. Mini's DME monitors this switch and will disable the compressor clutch if the switch is triggered.

I think allowing the refrigerant temperature to get too high will cause excessive high side pressure - like if the coolant fan fails.

 

That makes sense. I think we're referring to the same part - 64539323658. Number 5 in this diagram:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=64_1119

 

Thanks for the replies, and the links to cct. diagrams and part numbers. I ordered the pressure transducer which was supposed to arrive today via Amazon. Indeed this is a transducer, not a switch as I first thought. It sends an analogue voltage proportional to refrigerant pressure to the ECU. As I said the low speed fan resistor had failed so the fan did not come on when the AC was switched on. Having fixed the resistor the fan now works in low speed, but only with the radiator temp it still does not come on when the AC is switched on. I do not believe there is a blockage causing the AC high pressure, its just the lack off cooling. When the engine coolant gets warm enough, and the fan switches to low speed, then the pressure starts to come down in the AC. Anyway Amazon did not turn up and I had to put it all back together because it is booked in with the dealer tomorrow morning for the power steering pump recall.

I had difficulty getting the plug back on that transducer and think I bent a pin. Any how when I got it all back together the fan went straight to high speed, even without the AC on and a cold engine, and the compressor clutch will not engage anymore when the AC is switched on. So I assume this transducer controls 3 things. The compressor clutch, fan low speed and fan high speed. If it is signalling a low pressure the clutch can engage, but neither the fan low or high speed come on. That was the case before I bent the pins. Now it is signally too high pressure, because the plug pins are bent, so the fan goes straight to high speed and the clutch is inhibited from engaging. I think I have it figured out now. I'll let you know when its fixed. I just thought people might want to know that this fan low speed problem can cause problems with that AC pressure transducer which can be a bit misleading if you don't know what that thing does.

 

Thanks for the detail update. So it is a transducer, and that fills in a mystery of what I saw in the wiring diagram. I thought it is odd that it has 3 pins, and all three go to the DME. Not your good old contact type pressure switch.

 

Have a look at this video it all made sense when I watched this. Instead of a simple switch, and I thought its was 2 switches for 2 different pressures to enable the low and high speeds, its actually an analogue voltage signal. Depending on how the ECU is programmed the ECU can do several things. Switch on the low speed fan when the pressure (temperature) reaches a predetermined operation pressure, then switch to high speed when it starts getting higher (on hot days) then finally switch off the compressor clutch if it gets too high to protect the compressor. This probably explains why the compressor is still working after the low speed resistor failed long ago. It's just now that the pressure transducer failed too that there is an obvious serious problem with the AC.

 

Can someone tell me where the fan relay is? My 2010 Clubman use to have the fan run for a while every time I drove it. Now it does not. I have the Foxwell scanner and did a live test on the fan and it runs...Is there a software setting that tells the fan how long to run or is this simply temp verse OHMs on this resisiter?

 

I`m a lazy swine unwilling to take off the front end and deal with the cooling liquid etc so I am pondering if to make the low-speed signal just trigger the high-speed fan & insert the resistor in series to it. All it takes is simply a double two-ways relay good for 60A

What is x69923 wit connection k14098? Just a plain ol' mechanical relay connecting to the main 12v rail or a real electronic "control module ?

If it is just a plain dumb relay (hence with no problem being "backfed" 12volts) , routing n.2 of X53 into n.2 of x5301 would cause the high-speed fan to to be triggered even when the request is for the low speed one.
Moreover, if I put a relay on 4 of x53 inserting/removing the resistor what I get is also the low speed fan.

Ok I`m setting myself for trouble, since the high-speed fan on my model can work even with no power in the main 12v bus backfeeding 12v is a bad idea. No no.

Also: what is that little component mounted parallel to our green friend?

Ok guys how can I get to the terminals of that ****ing resistor without having to tear down even the radiator?