I have been reading a variety of threads regarding the infamous problems with the power steering pump/fan and my situation with my wife's 2005 Mini Cooper Convertble is a slight variation on the theme and I was hoping someone could provide some insight/advice in how to fix it...The car has about 97,500 miles on it and recently (after we'd had the car for about 10 days), I heard the pump running on after I shut off the engine and removed the keys; I read on this site and several others that the PS pump was notorious for failing, so I assumed my problem was that the pump was about to fail. I took the car to a mechanic who has worked on other vehicles for me and explained the problem as I had interpreted it through reading these forums. We decided that the best course of action was to have the pump rebuilt by BBA Reman, which I did. At the suggestion of several forums and other Mini owners, I also decided to replace the fan at the same time as a preventive measure, given how prone the fans are said to be to fail. So, a rebuilt PS pump and a brand-new fan went into the car, worked for the first several times, then right back to where we started - the pump runs on after the ignition is shut off. The mechaic basically threw up his hands and said he didn't know what to do; I took the car to another mechanic and he did what he could to figure out what's wrong, only he now says that it's the FAN staying on, not the pump. It seems at this point fairly obvious that it's most likely not either of the parts that are faulty, but that I have SOME sort of electrical issue. Mechanic #2 says that without the Mini codes - which he says are proprietary and which Mini won't reveal - he could spend hours trying to run down the source of the trouble. I was hoping that someone might have had a similar experience and could offer some suggestions as to how to proceed...of course, last resort could be simply to take the car to a Mini dealer and bend over. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks.

 

I have the same problem on my 2002 MSC with 70,000 miles. Any help out there??
Thanks in advance.

 

I had my pump refurbished by BBA. The first time it came back the PS pump would run unless the battery was disconnected. I sent it back under their warranty and they sent me... someone else's pump. Four lifetimes later BBA managed to send me my own working pump again. It's worked like new for about 500 miles so far.

 

The Main HD relay sticks inside the pump... Sometimes if its the first time happening you can tap the relay with a plastic hammer and it unsticks. I have never hard of anyone being able to rebuild these pumps. You just replace them as a unit and send the old one back for the core charge

 

Pull the connector apart for the radiator fan and see if it stops. If it does, then replace the relay which is easy on your 2005. The relay is only $10 or so and is in the fusebox in the engine compartment. Most times you can just tap the relay and if the fan stops they you are sure that that is the problem.

Rich

PS-On Pre-2004s the relay is on the fan and you have to tap it with a long screwdriver reaching down on the passenger side of the fan past the upper hose. The dealer will tell you the entire fan assembly needs to be replaced. Not so, if the low speed is still working, you can replace just the relay.

 

Rich:

Sorry if I didn't make it clear in my post - I was referring to the PS fan, not the radiator fan...perhaps should've similarly checked if it may have been a relay issue, but in any event couldn't wait any longer, and ended up going to Mini dealer and having the PS pump replaced, bending over as predicted....