Hello.
I bought my mini cooper from a used dealer in Columbus, GA in February of 2011. I'd wanted a mini for years. Three days after i purchased it, the clutch burned out. I blame it in part that i didn't know how to DRIVE a clutch but the fact it was a stick was overshadowed by the fact it was a Mini.

So. i got that fixed (1,900$ later) and the car drove AMAZINGLY for about 3 months before it started squealing TERRIBLY -- So i had the belt replaced i had this replaced and this and that total equaled to about 900$ with everything my idiotic mechanic said was wrong with it, When i finally got the car back, a fan WOULD NOT TURN OFF, So i was told by my mechanic to disconnect the battery whenever i wasn't driving it. He did not know what this fan was, I took it to a different mechanic and he didn't either.

I attempted to take the car back to it's dealership, but they wouldn't take it back or trade it in, nothing, so i was pretty much stuck with a car (that i still have to pay for btw) that won't work. So while the car was seemingly broke down in my apartments parking lot, I drove my boyfriends car, which wasn't a problem as he doesn't have a drivers license.

Anyway, about 2/3 weeks ago his car started having problems and the repairs didn't exactly fit into our budget, So i decided to drive my mini. I re-inflated the tire and drove it to the park and it drove fine.

Well, for the passed maybe 3 weeks i've been driving it back and fourth from work, to dinner, to lunch, wal-mart etc basically using it as my main transportation, Each time taking the battery off etc.

Well, YESTERDAY when i reattached my battery i heard the fan, but it wasn't as prominent as it usually is -- it rained REALLY heavy yesterday, so i got home from work and unhooked my battery as usual. So TODAY when i attached the battery, I didn't hear it. It was weird. So then, i took my boyfriend to school, and came back home. Again, i heard NOTHING.

So i went to work and before i went in i just sat in the car to see if i could hear ANYTHING, and nothing..... but i didn't want to be stranded at work, so i once again disconnected my battery. When i got home sat in the car, nothing but this time i decided to not disconnect it.

So, after about 2 hours i went out there and started it up, No problems, nothing. It wasn't overheated, no lights were on the dash, NOTHING. I want to know what you guys think or know about this problem as it's apparently very common (according to the imports dealer in my area).

I know these cars can catch fire because of the fan, and i don't know if its the safest choice to leave it connected knowing what i know, but at the same time i'll never know if i dont try, Ya know?

Anyway. Opinions and comments are greatly appreciated!!

 

Sounds like a fan relay to me.

 

I don't know if you did search for thread or post about this fan issue. There's a lot of threads about this problem. On the upper right hand corner use the SEARCH and type in steering fan and see what's going to come up. Hope you get that resolve and truly enjoy the Cooper.

 

I gather you do not have a Mini dealer near you?
I would drive to the nearest one and have it checked out, that is what I did when I bought my used Mini.

I would not have the patience nor deal with the agrivation of disconnecting the battery every time I got out of the car.

 

No the nearest one is in Atlanta about 2 hours away

 

Road Trip

The nearest dealer to me is 1 hour, but well worth the trips I have taken to get things sorted out.

 

Seriously find the time to take a road trip and bring it to a Mini dealer if you can't find a half-way decent mechanic in your area. You may be doing more harm to you car by constantly connecting and disconnecting your battery than you know. The fire problem is related to certain S's. If you are sure it is your power steering fan, it might be normal that it runs for a few moments after you shut off your engine. If it is not turning off at all, then you do have a problem. It is possible the mechanic that was swapping out parts on you didn't hook something up correctly and it may be a very simple fix. Your mechanic, who swapped out $900 worth of parts didn't know what this was, and gave you the recommendation to simply disconnect your battery all the time, should be avoided. Go to someone else. He sounds like an idiot.