Hi all,

I've a couple of questions regarding the working of the ac and low/hi speed fans. I read the low speed fan thread and saw the resistor fix. Car is a 2005 cooper s.

What I've noticed is when I park the car after a drive the fan runs on for about 5 mins, it's fairly loud so I presume it's the high speed fan that's running?

When I turn on the ac the low speed fan doesn't run, I presume it's supposed to run continuous while the ac is on? The high speed kicks in after about 2 mins, runs for a few seconds then shuts off, this is repeated while the ac is on.
I looked at he ac compressor, when I turned on the ac the clutch engaged and the compressor started to turn, again I presume the ac compressor is ok then?

So am I correct in saying the low speed fan resistor is shot? I want to confirm the fan is fixed before I get someone to look at the ac.

Thanks
Neil.

 

Yes, this is how mine acted when the low speed fan resistor was dead.
If the ac cools, then I'd say the compressor is ok.

 

Thanks for the reply.

There is no cool air from the ac, I need to get that checked but hopefully it just needs to be recharged.

I'll order the resistor to fix the low speed fan then tackle the ac issue.

 

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the progression seems to be (as I've read, and in my case): low speed fan dies, AC compressor overheats due to no airflow at low speeds and subsequently dies.
Can't hurt to check the charge, but odds are it's toast. On the positive side, if you're handy you can replace it for ~$350 vs. the dealer $1,200 standard quote.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ome-tests.html

 

Thanks Eric, hopefully the compressor is ok. It does engage and spin when the ac is turned on so I take it that means the clutch and coil are ok?

First off I need to fix the low speed fan.

 

Neil Ireland
It is an easy check to be sure that the low speed fan is working or not. On a '05 there is a plug net to the drivers side bonnet latch. Unplug the connector and get yourself some test leads. The brown wire is the ground and connect one of your leads to the negative turminal of the battery. Then the other lead from the positive turminal touch to one of the other wires from the plug then the other. One is the high speed and the other is the low speed. If both result in the fan operating you may have a blown fuse.
Steve

 

Yep, clutch and coil are ok, but apparently the internals 'die'. Not sure of the failure mode, aka what broke.
Note that you need to put the car into service mode to get the new fan in (or you can try one of the external resistor options), and that makes it easier to R&R the compressor. So I'd have the compressor checked first rather than pulling the fan, then later pulling the compressor (which I did without placing the car in service mode - a bit tough, but preferable for me.)

 

Thanks for the advice guys, lots for me to do

 

Today I used a spare battery and some leads to check the low and high speed fans. Hi speed is working, low speed is dead. Time for the resistor fix, store over here in Ireland doesn't open until the 2nd of January

 

You'll be fine until then

 

+1 - Once the AC has died, the only consequence of the low speed resistor failure is that in traffic it will heat up to the high speed temp trigger.

 

So today I fitted the low speed resistor, wired it to the two red wires on the fan side. I mounted the 33r 100w resistor to the engine mount as done in the fan fix thread.

I started the engine and turned on the ac, no low speed fan running
When should it kick in? The high speed kicked in every so often for a few seconds.

 

Check your low speed resistor. Might be dead. A/C is supposed to trigger low in a few secs once enough pressure builds up.

 

By 33r do you mean a 33 ohm or a 0.33 ohm resistor?

If you place a wire jumper across the resistor does the fan come on?

 

The low speed resistor is dead that's why I've added the external resistor.

Looks like I was sent the wrong resistor , they sent a 33ohm instead of a 0.33 ohm.

 

 

That's going to make for a VERY low speed fan.

 

Try bypassing the low by wires w/o resistor. That's what some of us did.

 

Yep, I disconnected it until the new one arrives.

 

The correct 0.33 ohm resistor was delivered today and I fitted it, low speed fan is now working 100%, it runs when the ac is turned on.

On a side note the ac is also blowing cold now so another issue fixed.

Thanks for the help and advice guys

 

Great to hear!