I've posted a few times here on NAM that I never heard my car's electric fan run after the car was shut off. I guess I should have kept my mouth shut. Today I had the chance to run the car a little harder than I normally do on the way home from a soccer game, and when I arrived and shut the car off, the fan kept running. I went on in the house for a while. When I came back out 30 minutes later, the fan was still running. I let it go for about 10 more minutes and finally I opened the hood and unplugged the fan power harness. I was afraid that it was going to run the battery down. A few minutes later I tried hooking it back up, and the fan came back on.

At this point, the engine is way cooled off, you can touch any part of the engine, hoses, etc. and it's all cool.

Any ideas for things to check? I thought maybe it was a stuck relay, but I'm not sure which relay to check.

 

Check the fan relay in the underhood fuse box. Pull the relay marked in the diagram with a fan out of the box and see if the fan stops. If it does, take one of the other large, similar relays from the box and put it in place of the fan relay. If the fan starts again, it means that the circuitry controlling the fan (namely the ECU) is faulty and needs attention. If it does not come on, tap the original relay a few times with a screwdriver handle and reinstall it in it's original position. If it starts again, tap it a couple more times with the screwdriver. If it does not shut off then, replace that relay (you can find this relay at many well-stocked auto parts stores, it's fairly common).

 

I did pull that relay out from the underhood fusebox, but the fan kept running. Because it kept running, I figured that the relay wasn't the right one and gave up on that idea.

 

Well my fan jsut did this today!!!!!!! I pulled the 50A fuse to iut under the bonnet. I already have an appointment for the car on Tuesday in San Antonio (nothing like a 200 + mile trip to get the window motor replaced AGAIN!)

today i am not happy with my MINI for the first time since I drove it off the lot in Dec of 02 im am thnking i may have made a mistake....

 

Took the car in today to get this problem fixed. Of course, after my car had sat outside all night at 40 degrees, the fan was no longer stuck on. Anyway, the dealer ended up replacing the radiator fan unit. The service notes mentioned that they hooked up the computer to it, no codes were logged. They then tried to manually activate the fan ( I suppose via the computer) No response to slow speed, normal response to fast speed. The relay was OK so they replaced the fan.

Starting to look for extended warranties, but that's a topic for another thread.

 

well if it is staying on then that is wierd but at least you got it fixed. if you ever does it again after shut off its because there is a stepper motor fan on the car to cool it down after shut off. i work for bmw and my mini cooper S does it after a highway run.

chris

 

I can attest to the fan being bad. I fixed a Mini last year that was like yours, not cutting off after the car had been shut down.
found the fan bad, replaced and all was fine.

 

There is a recall on aux fan for MINI Cooper. The problem is fan will continue to run and fail to shut off even with engine cold.. I have an 02 Cooper S that has been trouble free since new untill two days ago when the fan failed not shut off. Made two phone calls and found out about the recall. The dealer replaced the fan under a RECALL WORK PACKAGE SIB 12 01 04. I just barely made it past my warranty coverage of 50K miles when it happened.

 

So it's the fan that's the problem not the relay or the ECU?

kind of ironic...

 

Hey JCeviche-

Does this impact Coopers too?? Do you know?

Richard

 

Kenchan, My understanding is that there is electronics diodes and relay in the fan casing that's been known to fail. That's the reason for the recall.

Richard, I believe Cooper and MCS are both affected as they use the same fan assembly.

 

Oh, I see. Thank you for the info. :smile:

Would you know the vin numbers that are affected by the same fan
assy that needs to be replaced?

 

Yes- Just happened to our '02 Cooper. Fan continued to run and the battery went very dead. I removed the 50A fuse and the fan relay before trying to jump start the car. Trying to start, even with the jump, would drop the voltage so low the ECU cut out. The battery had to be charged for a few minutes from the tow truck before it would start.

I am leaving the car on a charger overnight. I hope it will start in the morning when I have an appointment at LB MINI

 

I also have a 2005 Mini that the same thing happened to. They replaced the fan unit. It seems some of the 2002 & 2003 had the same problem.

 

Well..... this is a strange one.... got my wife's car home (via tow truck) after the fan stayed on all night and ran the battery down. Started messing around with things... jumper cables on it so I have power, I removed both relays that have a fan pictures (R3 & R4) and removed the 30 amp fuse that has the picture of the fan... the dang thing continues to run anyway...... Unplugged the main power to the fan and of course it stops, but plug the power back in and it starts up again...

All of this with no key in the ignition, let alone running or hot. There is obviously another path for power besides the path through the relay and the fuse. New Country Mini service department in Hartford called me back and says it sounds like the controller on the fan, but of course no real advice from them unless I bring it in for full diagnostic service... 50 miles away and not under warranty anymore at 65,000 miles.

Anyone have any advice for how to narrow and identify the real cause so I can consider replacing parts myself?

Thanks,
Lloyd