I recently bought a 2004 Cooper S and was told my radiator fan was not working. I was also told that it runs as a variable speed according to the cooling demand. I never heard of the variable speed mode on any car. The fan does turn on and off (one speed only) whenever the air conditioning is on, so I know it does work. I can't say, though, that I've ever seen or heard it turn on at all when the A/C isn't running. Does anyone know if there are two circuits or something that would make it turn on with the A/C and then without it as the need arises? In other words, just how is the fan designed to operate?

 

where do you live, i noticed mine only runs when its hot outside (i live in Yuma and Tucson AZ)

 

The fan has two stages...
stage 1, low speed, comes on when coolant temp reaches about 220F, without A/C on
stage 2, high speed, comes on with the A/C, regardless of coolant temp

 

very true, i forgot mine comes on with the ac and my water temp never hits 220 (except when its over 100 f outside), its usually around 217. but it goes up when the car is off and sometimes the fan will come on then for 5 min or so.

 

Is the always the case? I have never had my fan come on with the AC
I've only had the car 2 weeks in the freezing cold here in IL. I've replaced the fan due to it being rusty around the motor and the typical resistor problem present.

I've also yet to have the fan come on at all without jumping the power connections in the fuse box. I don't know if it's just too cold here to have had it happen yet or if there is a fault further back before the fuse box.

1. The AC button (Auto climate control) does kick on the compressor
2. Both fan relays work if I apply charge across the actuators
3. Both fan speeds engage if I jumper across the correct terminals in the respective relay locations (relay removed)
4. I've inspected all the fuses in the engine compartment and they all appear ok.

Any places to look would be appreciated.

Thanks