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

 

You must scrifice your first born to Lord Lucas, The Prince of Darkness.

 

^^^^^^^^^ HAHAHAHAHAHAHA ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

sad but true.

 

Well......... after a thorough and scientific review of my Bentley manual electrical diagrams and becoming even more confused (I'm not very good with electrical diagrams) I located a 2" x 3" black box that the fan power wires go through and with the label 'GATE' on it and then performed a little percussive maintenance (tapping on the box out of frustration).

The 'GATE' box clicked and the fan turned off. I started the car and turned the A/C on high.... sure enough, the fan comes on high when then shuts off and comes back on again a few minutes later... I think the circuit is functioning with just one reservation... it seems to be either on or off and when it's on it's on high. From what I read in the Bentley manual, there should be a "Low" circuit that puts the fan on low all the time when the A/C is on, but I'm not exactly sure this is the way it's supposed to work. From what I just observed, it's just on or off and when it's on it's on high.

But at least it's not stuck for the moment..... anyone know what this 'GATE' box is and whether it can be replaced on it's own?

Thanks,
Lloyd

 

It would seem that the box houses a relay in the fan's circuit. Typically, the source for fans continuing to run long after the engine has been shut down is either a stuck relay or a temperature sensor that decided to go on holiday. Once a relay learns how to stick, it generally likes to get stuck in the future (it has learned a new trick and likes to repeat the trick for its own entertainment). You can either replace the 'GATE' box with another one; or, continue to unstick it each time it gets stuck. Since this is your wife's MINI, she might not appreciate being stranded each time the relay decides to get stuck; you probably should consider replacement.

 

Hi Caminifan,
Thanks for the follow up... Since my Bentley manual doesn't cover this detail, I guess I'll have to do a little disassembly to find out what type of relay this is and whether it's replaceable on it's own or part of a complete assembly...

And yeah... it's the wife's car so it better get fixed :-)