I went to 2M school in the Navy, 5 weeks from repairing holes in boards, laying traces and soldering the whole 9 yards. Had a B level certification...was funny my Dad was an A and an instructor when he was in the Navy (ETCS 20yrs) and when he was a civilian. He used to keep me certified RIP Dad.

 

Despite my doubts, it works

 

Or this: https://nepp.nasa.gov/docuploads/06A...STD-8739.3.pdf

 

It is not about if it works or not. It will work unless you buy a undersized resistor. The point is what implication is the hack that you are so in love with down the road, for yourself and worst the next owner. Exposed high current 12V wiring is a major hazard

WRT soldering and wiring workmanship specs, most derive or cite MIL-STD_2000 and most if not all technical training schools use and refer to it for their training and certification courses.

FAA has EWIS but it deals more in the design rather than technical workmanship that is carried out in repairs and manufacturing.

Even if you are not doing something in aviation there are many pertinent good workmanship practices from the said specs that you can benefit. For the low speed fan resistor, I would rather buy a $15 communist made replacement instead of doing my own hack.

 

I am supremely confident in my abilities as a Journeyman Aviation Electrician. I have expert soldering skills and currently solder components as small as 201 (SMT) under a high powered microscope. I used 14AWG wire and is rated to 32A (should be more than enough). Soldering is more secure than mechanical connections and I have high temp heat shrink over both ends of the resistor (which are also soldered). Been doing electrical/electronics for over 30 years have a little bit of talent and knowledge.

 

I have 2005 mini Cooper s with automatic climate ac button lights up but no power at
Low speed fan , ac system not low on freon should I jump the AC pressure switch or replace the coolant temp sensor ?
Thanks

 

Check the compressor clutch coil resistance first.

 

So my 2005 R53 had the burnt out low speed fan resistor issue, so I ordered this:
Installed it using 16 Gauge wire. Everything seems to work fine, but the resistor gets very hot to the touch. After the fan running on low speed for about 2 minutes (resistor has not been mounted anywhere just yet, just testing for now) I can't touch the resistor for more than a second without getting burnt.

Does this sound normal? Should I just bolt it up to the transmission mount on the driver's side of the engine bay and not worry about it? Do I need to add the thermal paste under the resistor before I bolt it to the mount?

Thanks!

 

Definitely use thermal paste, with the amount of current running through the resistor, it WILL heat up (that's a fact of electrical resistance), keeping it thermally shorted will increase the life of the resistor. I bolted mine to an aluminum plate and the plate to the front aluminum chassis just behind the grille, so I've got airflow across the heatsink fins as well as a large thermal sink.

 

Thanks! I added the thermal paste (found some laying around from previous project) and bolted it down to my transmission mount. I'll do some more testing to make sure it doesn't burn anything down or cause any issues.

From reading this thread it seems the green Amazon unit I purchased is not as good quality as the gold Arcol units from a few years ago. Does anyone know where I can still buy the gold Arcol units? I'd like to keep a spare resistor around in case my green one goes out.

I am also thinking about finding some heat sinks I can stick on the outside of my green resistor to help dissipate some of the heat. I'll keep the thread updated with the heat sinks I buy so maybe we can continue to reliably use the green Amazon resistors since they are easier to find.

Thanks again!

 

Try Allied Electronics or Mouser Electronics, they're not cheap, but they usually have everything either in stock or a couple of days out.

 

Thanks! I'll keep an eye out..

 

done

 

Fixed mine and i thank everyone who posted solutions

Everyone should fix these before they blow

 

What are these?

 

Next to the radiator fan on the passenger side. You need to out car into service mode to get to it. Mine was all busted up..

 

it’s what this whole thread is about, the easy way to fix a working fan , by replacing the resistor

 

Is this still the problem with the fan if tapping it does not turn off the fan?

 

If the fan does not turn off after tapping the relay is this still the most likely reason for it running?

 

Hi still have my 2006 R53 with the low speed fan resistor fix outlined by Chris Lamb and it is still working perfectly. I think it has been about 8 years since I did the fix.

 

I found that the brand Blue Print also does the exact same part under partnr: ADB111402



Fortunately, Blue Print is readily available in the EU, which is good news for me

 

I found the answer

 

I replaced mine just yet, I already ordered the "old style" resistor. Mine was also shot (2006 model).

 

This maybe a silly question and I think I know the answer but in the resistor replacement in post 867 does it matter what side of the resistor each one goes to?

 

It does not matter which direction.