I noticed the other day that my cooling fan kicked on and it was cold outside <0C. Then this morning I noticed that my heater didn't really want to heat up that well (-2C outside) and never really pumped out major heat as it usually does and when i got to work the cooling fan was going on high when i turned the car off. No check engine light, no new lights (have DSC and Flat lights on due to faulty speed sensor), no indications that something is wrong except it's just not acting like normal. Is this just my car acting funky or is there something wrong?

 

Does the engine get to running temp on the gauge?

 

Check your coolant level in expansion tank.

Jeremy

 

No idea, my MINI doesn't have gauges, just lights that light up if certain things happen (check engine, temp, oil, etc). I wish I had a engine temp gauge :/

 

I have noticed that the tank is cracking at the seams and there's some coolant outside the tank in the splash pan so i'm thinking low levels and it is running too hot but not hot enough to warrant the temp light yet

 

You system is cracked then. Seek other leaks and rectify them ASAP. It pays to spend a little on small stuff than spending on a new head gasket and machine work.

Jeremy

 

Check your anti-freeze too, at these cold temps if you've been adding water it might not be protecting you - it could be freezing up.

 

i've learned water is never a good idea and should only be used if you can't put in antifreeze

 

Pure antifreeze is not a good idea either, as it raises the freezing point if the concentration gets above 50/50. Premix is your best bet - you don't have to buy it that way, just mix it yourself in an extra container like a clean milk jug and have it onhand.

First things first tho, fix your leaking reservoir, top off and bleed the air out of your system.

OH, are you sure your '03 doesn't have a temp gauge? Mine did...left bottom side of the speedo.

 

I went and got a pre-mix and am going to take it in to either fix or replace the expansion tank, the antifreeze was low.

I have in dash nav, small speedo

 

On the NavScreen you don't get to see your water temp?

Here's a tip...

To check water temp in real-time through the on-board computer (the one on the speedometer) do the following: (taken from this post)

1. With the key in the ignition, but in the off position, press and hold down the odometer reset button with one hand, while holding the button down, switch the key in the ignition to position 1 (first click) with the other hand. The screen will have a number and the word “tESt”. Scroll through the numbers by pressing the odometer rest button, through to 19 and wait a moment. (Note: the number order is: 1,2,10,19) The message will say 19 "L i-off", flash to "L i-on", and back to "L i-off" again. When "log i-off" appears, press the odometer rest button again. This will unlock the diagnostic features.

2. Now press the reset button until you see 7.0

The number you'll see is the actual coolant temp in real-time (you can start your car to see your temps rise)

This is how I got proof that my low speed fan was not working since I noticed that the fan was stopped until my MINI reached 112 C the high speed fan kicked in!

Once the fan cooled the engine down to 105 the high speed fan stopped completely.

Time for a new fan replacement!

Cheers!
RayanMX