Yes, I know. Another A/C thread, but I have searched and I haven't found my specific issue answered.

First off, some info on my Bernie. 2005 MCS Auto. 135,xxx miles. Recent coolant issue (explained below). Power steering leak and the infamous Aisin POS transmission.

From what I have read, I have gathered that the compressor rarely fails, but the low speed fan is a common fault. I keep my A/C at 64 degrees F and never change it until winter comes of course.

My problem: I have had ice cold A/C since I bought the car three years ago, then one day about a week ago, the A/C steadily got warmer and warmer until I got to my destination. It was about 85 degrees F on this day and I did not catch the engine temp. I figured the Mini just needed a recharging, so I bought a can of R-134 and attempted to recharge the lines. I discharged the lines and charged them back up to 35 psi. Still warm. I checked all relays/fuses in the engine fuse box and that relates to the fans and A/C, and they all checked out good. The relays I checked were green to make sure I checked the correct relays. The replacement relays look completely different.

Today, I checked the engine fan and it wasn't spinning. The engine temperature is about 195 degrees F and it's overcast and about 80 degrees F outside today. I know the low speed setting on the fan is suppose to run nearly continuously, but the fan is not spinning at all - that is if I'm looking at the correct fan. Coolant levels are perfect which may explain why the high speed setting doesn't kick in, but the fan isn't spinning at all at 195 degrees F.

I am not hearing any alarming noises coming from the compressor. I can hear the A/C clutch engaging when the A/C button is pressed and it seems to be working properly.

My question is does this mean that I have the low speed fan issue due to the fan not spinning at all at 195 degrees F engine temperature. Also, I want to make sure that I'm not crazy and that the low speed and high speed are the same fan, just different settings. I only see one fan (I'm looking just right of center on the front portion of the engine bay. It's between the radiator and the engine), but I don't know if maybe another fan is hidden somewhere. From what I see from pictures on the web, it is just one fan with relays attached to it. The fan isn't seized and spins freely when pushed with a screw driver (car was off when I did this).

Earlier in the year, I did have a radiator pipe pop a leak that caused the car to lose all of it's coolant and to overheat. The high speed fan ran continuously and after the car was shut off, it ran for about 20 minutes. I ended up stopping the fan by pulling the relay. Replaced the pipe and all has been well since. That was roughly 4 months ago.

I am pretty proficient DIYer, so I plan on fixing whatever the problem ends up being myself. I'd much rather it be a $80 fan than a 350+ compressor.

 

There is only one fan. It runs at either full speed, usually in 15 second bursts when the engine starts getting overly hot, or low speed, when engine temps start to rise above the 195 mark, or whenever the AC is on. Low speed is just routed through a resistor, which often fails. A lot of guys just bypass the resistor and install a better one for a lot less money than a new fan (I think mine was about $5 on ebay). Check the sticky thread for the solution:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-solution.html
So is your ac working now after the recharge can?

 

Per the Bentley manual, and confirmed by my ScanGauge, the fan operates at low speed at 221F, and turns off at 214F. The fan switches to high speed at 234F and remains on high until the coolant temps drops by 7F. Supposedly it also turns on when the AC is on and the AC system pressure reaches 8 bar (114psi)

So it's not a surprise that your low speed isn't on at 195, though it should run if the AC is on.

I had the same issue with AC working fine and slowly dying. In my case my low speed fan (resistor) was dead. After replacing the fan the low speed still wouldn't go on with the AC, presumably because the AC wasn't creating enough pressure. Speculation was that the dead low speed fan allowed the compressor to overheat and 'die'. After replacing the AC compressor (& R&R of R134a) all acted as it should.
The compressor ran me ~$265 and another $120 for R134a flush and fill.

 

Thank you for your reply. I thought it probably was the only fan, but wanted to make sure. No, the A/C still runs warm after recharge and the fan is not running at all - A/C on or off.

 

Thanks. I was under the impression that the low-speed runs nearly continuously, but I guess not. The engine temp hasn't risen above 195F. The fan isn't running at all and I am suspecting that is the problem. I turned off the A/C as soon as I saw this problem begin and have been keeping it off since. I hope I salvaged the compressor, I'd really hate to have to replace it. It might have died though because my gauge was reading 95 PSI on the low side port when I first hooked it up. Quickly vacated the lines and charged them back to 35 PSI.

 

If you end up having to do the compressor, this post can save you a bit of time.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ricks-ftw.html

I was annoyed that my compressor died after 4 years given the AC on my '85 CRX was still going strong!

 

Thanks and yes, this is annoying. I replaced the engine fan today to no avail. The fan still isn't running, although it did get hot enough that the high speed turned on, so I'm guessing the thermostat and relay are good. So I'm guessing I'm up the same street as you and my compressor is dead. That'll be the next thing I try.

 

Did the low speed fan come on first? It should go low speed, then high speed as it gets really hot. You should get the two stages per the above with or without AC running.

 

Yes it did. Low speed first, then kicked to high speed. The reason the high speed kicked on is because I lost some coolant while replacing my fan and the coolant level was low.