Where is the fuse for the PS pump? I'm stuck at work (52 miles from home) and my 05R50 PS pump motor is fried (you can smell burnt electrical and a high pitch whine with the car off) had to disconnet the battery to stop the motor from possibly igniting into a fire. I want to drive the car home without power going to the PS pump ....is this possible. I figure if I can pull the fuse no power will be applied and I can drive home...
I purchased a remanufactured pump in June 2010 from BBA Reman and the customer service rep. (who was awesome) informed me to remove the pump and they will schedule UPS to pick it up at my house and have it rebulit and returned to me in 3 days. Once I remove the pump the car will sit. I just want to get it home without having to pay for a long haul tow...
Thanks in advance,
Mark

 

The pump is removed, the electrical connector was melted , so I had to removed the power cable which lead to under the fuse box in the engine bay. That was no easy task. I'll post pics of the crispy critter shortly.

What other concerns have I missed with the pump meltdown??? The dash batttery light is on ??? Is this because I had to disconnect the battery to shut the pump motor off before catching on fire???? Or did the 100A fuse blow causing the battery light to illuminate??? Does anyone know where and what designation the fuse is for the PS pump?

Waymotor works was very helpful in getting a replacement power cable...

 

Here are a few images on the crisp critters....anyone know what would cause this?

 

I guess I'm writing this event to myself...numerous views with no feedback...this forum seems to lacking in the support over the past year.

 

thanks so much for posting this info .. it really helps those having PS problems. So this was a rebuilt BBA reman Power steering pump that burnt out? or OEM?

I just bought a used MC and I think my Steering is stiff but then again i wouldnt know.. at first i thought it was normal for a MC but a buddy of mine that had rented a few in the past said it felt really stiff.. its a 2006 MC with 8k miles. just took it for the normal state inspection and our regular mechanic said it was normal for the car. I should check to see that the PS fan is working..

Thanks again for your post

 

Update: The PS pump I sent back to BBA was un-repairable...I was sent a replacement refurbished pump. After installing a new PS pump power cable (thanks to Inskip MINI) and Lisa and Audry at BBA (who were awesome to work with) BBA made sure that the pump was returned to me in a timely manner for me to install and get to work Monday night....Buggy is running well....for now???

vicko5000:
The pump I returned to BBA was a replacement for the OEM that failed previously. So now I'm on my 3rd PS pump in 4 years.

This was a close call, now I'm paranoid driving this car, is it going to fail again??? Is it going to catch on fire when I have the girlfriend and kids in the car??? I hate to say it, but this will be my 1st and last MINI. I need something more robust and less of a worry factor to it.

 

The Saga continues - All was fine after installing the refurb. PS pump until last night when I attempted to go to work and the battery was dead. Took the battery to AAP (advanced auto parts) tested the battery with 0 cold cranking pwer. Bought a new battery and as I attached the ground cable I heard the PS pump motor come on!!!!!! What...really!!!!

So the PS pump motor must have been on and drained the battery....does anyone know what activates the PS pump motor? Is it an internal relay on the pump??? I want to verify that the cause is other than a faulty PS pump. I have contacted John at greasy's garage hoping to make an appointment for them to resolve this issue, just waiting to hear back from John.

Good news is I finally located the 100A fuse for the PS pump...it's located inder the fuse box in the engine compartment. You need to remove the plastic lid in order to get to the fuse.

I'll keep you posted....
Mark

 

Not sure about '05 model but there was a change Mini made sometime ago to no longer allow the radiator fan operation with the engine off. For example, my '06 (built Jan '06) MCS, the fan NEVER stays on once the engine is off.

The coolant temp is monitored by the coolant thermo sensor, which sends readings to the ECM. At the specified temp, the ECM sends the signal to the Relay to turn on both the PS fan and Radiator Fan (Low Speed). They're activated by the same signal. If the fan stays on when the coolant is already cooled and when the engine is off, then either the Relay and/or the coolant thermo sensor is faulty.

The problem is the design of the PS pump. It's all enclosed, no venting and the PS fan is a joke and a half. Plus the fact that it only comes on when the Radiator Fan (speeds low or high) is on. I've monitored live coolant temp (via the instrument panel in Test Mode 7) and it rarely goes to 105*C/221*F, the point when Radiator Fan (speed 1) kicks in. So if you drive in the city a lot, the PS gets hot.

FYI - at 40k my PS pump is still the original (knock on wood) but I know its days are numbered.

 

Cadenza - Thanks for the input. My question is what activated the PS pump motor? I'm thinking it's an internal relay to the PS pump. Since the power cable goes from the bottom of the engine compartment fuse box directly to the PS pump.

The issues I'm having is since replacing the pump (2 days ago ) the refurb. pump is now dead, only after the PS pump motor was on and drained my battery. Is there another cause for the PS pump failure thats a result of the previous pump almost catching fire??? Will this happen again when I replace the now tostaed pump??? This will be my 1st and last MINI.

 

The pump is activated via internal relay, that is voltage switched. Meaning, when it sees enough voltage (ie charging system output of 14.5v) it turns the pump on, the problem is that the relay sticks closed (on) and runs all the time. There are many documented cases of these pumps burning cars and garages to the ground.

If you hadn't put in an aftermarket pump, I would say go to MINI and complain, they usually help people out with a new pump for free or at a huge discount.
I would say go back to a factory pump, if you've had this many problems with the rebuilt ones. This problem has been going on for way too long for MINI not to have solved it by now.

 

The power steering pump has an internal relay that is triggered by system voltage. (ie it runs when the charging system is putting out voltage). The problem is when the relay sticks in the closed (on) position. It will run on. There are lots of documented occasions when these pumps have burnt cars and garages to the ground.
If you still had a OEM pump, i would appeal to MINI to have them fix this for free, or at a massive discount. It would also seem to me that you have a real problem with the rebuilt pumps. I would recommend you get an OEM pump for it, even though it is more expensive. This problem has been around for too long for MINI not to have fixed this problem.

I hope this helps, good luck

 

Duh.... PS pump. Got it. Running low on sugar there.

The PS fan and radiator fan have been known to stay on after the engine is turned off. The PS pump staying on after the motor is shut off is new to me. Are you sure it's the PS pump and not the PS pump fan? And if it is the pump, then the circuit board within the pump is whacky or there's a faulty wiring harness. Another possibility is the ECM... where the signal is sent to the pump.

Electrical gremlin is a nightmare.

 

Ah hah!!!

I've always thought that insufficient cooling and high current are what caused the wiring harness and PS pump relay/circuit board to melt and spark a fire. There should be more heat generated at the pump while the engine is on than when it's off... especially with the PS pump so close to the exhaust header and down-pipe.

 

This helps tremendously...thanks...this is the info I needed so when I return the PS pump I can state with confidence that it was a bad pump rebuild and no another root cause for the pump failure.

I'm going to send this one back to BBA for repairs and I will shop for an OEM pump....I agree that an OEM is the better way to go, but the expense for an OEM is soooo painful. If anyone knows where to locate a new OEM please let me know.

Thansk again Big Fox...your inputs are GREATLY appreciated.

Cadenza - Thanks for your inputs as well. How did I determine it was the pump, well I had the car on ramps and when I connected the negative terminal to the new battery I could her a high pitch whine...I visually looked at the PS fan, no fan rotation, felt the fan no power vibration. Felt the PS pump and felt a noticable vibration.

One other question comes to mind - Why didn't the 100A fuse blow?

Thanks all your inputs, I can breath a bit easier.
Regards,
Mark

 

You can check with RealOEM.com and verify with the dealer for the latest part #. The cheapest retailer I found is PelicanParts ... free shipping.

My guess the fuse didn't blow because it wasn't overloaded. Perhaps the heat generated by the pump and the wires were the culprit??

It's amazing how BMW/Mini has been successful in skirting this safety issue with the NHTSA.

 

Cadenza- Cool beans...thanks for the links.

I was able to get in touch with Pete at Greasy's Garage aand I will be droppuing off " "greenie" next week when the replacement BBA pump arrives. I keep you posted on the outcome, it will be interesting to see if any additional electrical issues are located.

Mark

 

the PS pump circuit has no relay. These pumps manufactured by zf came in two generations.
1st gen 1/2002 - 1/2004
2nd gen 2/2004-12/2006
neither of them seems to have any relay

So i suppose that it is turned on by a signal. The pump has two connectors the big one for the power and the small one.

I believe the small connector is responsible for swtching on and of the pump.

If it was just a matter of voltage it would not need any other connector. The big one would do the work.