Hey folks - someone must be able to figure out a cost-effective DIY repair for the prone-to-fail low speed fan resistor. Mine has now failed, but I sure don't want to spend $200+ just for parts, assuming I can complete the replacement myself, since I'm sure that eventually someone is going to determine that its a $5.00 part that is the source of this grief. The next person to have their unit replaced PLEASE save the old one; I'll pay to have it shipped to me and I'll see what I can do.

Update 2/5/16: Any excellent summary of the solutions to which this thread has led over the years appears starting at post 1283 on page 52; I'll try to figure out how to embed the link.

 

Very good idea.

Replacing the whole unit due to failure of a $5 part is insane... but it's part of German 'gineering.

 

Internet price of 127. two hours work ,all is well. just do it. it is not that hard.

 

$127 - Where? MiniMania price is $350.

 

EEEEEE BAY I live in HAwaii it came to $157. with shipping. looked identical made in taiwan .same casting marks even. you don't even have to take the water out of the rad or rad out of the car. it slips right in. you do have to take the front end plastic off though.

 

Indistinguishable from the one you removed?

 

once it's in nobody will know. even has the little rubber flaps. It didn't Have the burnt resistor in it though .fan has been working great for 8 months so far. I 'm having other cooling issues now.the fan is doing extra duty

 

Be careful about where parts are made (not to suggest that "Made in Germany" is bullet-proof) but parts from China and Taiwan have popped up all over Ebay. I just bought and returned a Chinese made oil pan for my VW New Beetle... the walls are so thin that a 1/2" size stone or nut moving at 65 MPH wouldn't have any problem putting a hole through it.

It's your car.

 

Right now my every week or so my fan stays on and I found that tapping the relay makes it stop. What are the symptoms of a burnt resister pack. Highs stay on when AC is on but the fans shut down when you turn off the car?

The relay is still available separately but requires the fan assembly to be removed to get at it. And I don't want to do the work to replace the relay only to find that the resister pack is bad too.

Rich (Still reeling from a $1400 A/C compressor replacement)

 

there is no low speed to the fan when the resistor is blown.My car was used when i bough it and i never heard the fan run ever. On a cruise i noticed every one's fan was running except mine.thats when I found out there was two speeds.low speed is just the fan running through the resistor.high speed fan does run after turning the key off only when very hot.

 

Curious... what model year is your Mini?

Mine is an '06 MCSc and I can differentiate the sound of low and high speed. However, even in high speed, the fan shuts down when the engine is turned Off... regardless of AC On or Off. So is there another variable for the fan to stay on (temporarily) after the engine is Off?

 

I *think* he's got an 02/03 car if I remember correctly.

 

Mine is an 03. It just has to be boiling over hot to run after the key is off.

 

rockauto.com $80 shipped (not oem of course)

 

Did this for me the first time at an AutoX with 85 degree ambient temps. Just like my Dad's BMW motorcycle...

Question, if the resistor itself is what breaks why not replace that? Is it installed in such a way that it is impossible to remove? If it is something like a surface mount resistor it is definitely possible to replace it with some very careful soldering.

 

You spoke my mind!

Mini should really put 2 fans on the radiator.

 

Aaron at MINI of Pensacola tested a used fan I bought from a guy on NAM for me. Low speed was burned out. He replaced a relay in the fan and low-speed started working. He said it would die again someday because if the original burned out, something's wrong in the 1st place (maybe fan is drawing too much current, who knows), but it'll work for a while anyway and a relay is MUCH cheaper than the whole unit.

Still need to learn more about that "always on" thing. Def. don't want that happening. On a side note, I don't think mine's (02 Cooper) EVER stayed on after the engine was shut off.

 

SomeGuy: Thats why I offered to buy a dead unit, so that I could figure out whether the resistor is separately replaceable. No one has yet taken me up on my offer.

 

I'll second the offer. I know a few really good EE's at my school.\

So: Looking for burnt out cooling fan assembly PM with offers.

 

The resistor is built in, and hard wired to the fan motor. It is a cheap ceramic cylinder with a thin copper coil around . Exposed to the elements and vibrations it is no wonder that it fail so often. My replacement is OEM and failed again within 4 month. The fan has been running high speed only since then. No problem except the noise! I still have the first one and I'm looking into a solid state fix for this garb....e! I've got pics of this somewhere, Muummm? Every time this subject come to the surface I go . It has been years and BMW is cashing in! . BTW the part that brakes cannot be worth more than $.75!!!!

 

Did you purchase your replacement from the dealer? If so, you should get a free replacement and a free installation at your dealer. I believe all parts have a 2-year warranty on them.

-Chase

 

yes I did. Warranty only if installed by them or authorized BMW tech!

 

Really? I replaced my radiator myself, and the new one sprung a leak. My dealership completely replaced and installed it free of charge.... I'd consider asking around a little more... possibly consider giving MINI USA a call.

-Chase

 

Just because it is "hard wired" doesnt mean it cant be replaced. I would seriously appreciate it if somebody would even post a picture of the damn thing.

 

There's an old thread that may have had a picture but I can't seem to find it. If I remember correctly they even tried a Ford resister that was the same color (blue) and looked similar but it didn't work.

If someone can find that thread, it will be helpful not to go over the same stuff here and perhaps with new insights, we can fix this with some off the shelf part.

Rich