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Stock Problems/IssuesDiscussions related to warranty related issues and repairs, or other problems with the OEM parts and software for MINI Cooper (R50), Cabrio (R52), and Cooper S (R53) MINIs.
That's too bad - mines been fine for about 2 years - doesn't TYC have a lifetime warranty though??
It does, but you still have to cover shipping back to the vendor you bought from and I think them sending a new one back to you. It was probably around $30. I got one warranty replacement without any trouble from RockAuto and then decided the next time it went out I would do the resistor mod.
I was looking through my maintenance records. My first TYC resistor lasted a year and the second one lasted 3 years. I've had the resistor mod in about a year and a half now with no problems.
It does, but you still have to cover shipping back to the vendor you bought from and I think them sending a new one back to you. It was probably around $30. I got one warranty replacement without any trouble from RockAuto and then decided the next time it went out I would do the resistor mod. I was looking through my maintenance records. My first TYC resistor lasted a year and the second one lasted 3 years. I've had the resistor mod in about a year and a half now with no problems.
Thanks - that's where I got mine....to each his own I guess...I figure if I have to change it out every 2-3 ish years (even at my own cost) not such a big deal.
So Im going to purchase the resistor (100w 5% .33ohms) in order to fix the fan, but cant seem to find them anywhere that doesnt call for a two week shipping period. Where did you guys get them? The Amazon resistors are in the UK and the shipping costs suck. Didnt find it on Fry's or Radioshack's websites.
So Im going to purchase the resistor (100w 5% .33ohms) in order to fix the fan, but cant seem to find them anywhere that doesnt call for a two week shipping period. Where did you guys get them? The Amazon resistors are in the UK and the shipping costs suck. Didnt find it on Fry's or Radioshack's websites.
Looks like you can get this one through Amazon Prime 2-day shipping if you need it fast (link is correct now):
I got mine off eBay, but the shipping took a long time from China...
Originally Posted by David.R53
Digi-key is a major electronics supplier. It is a good source for a "name brand" version - Tyco Electronics.
If you want cheap shipping, pick USPS First Class at checkout. They also offer the usual express options. They sell these resistors with a MOQ of 1.
Once you have the manufacturer's part number, you can use OctoPart to compare price, stock and minimum order quantity (MOQ). They are showing Arrow Electronics is also stocking it, also with a MOQ of 1.
Thanks for catching the error as well. I updated my post so the wrong size resistor doesn't remain in the thread. Cristo - would you please delete the links in your response.
Ordered! Thanks for the links fellas. I would have replied sooner but I waited until the last day to go Valentine's Day shopping. I know, I know, typical man...
I have been searching for a fix for the low speed fan not coming on but every post I can find details fixing the Gen 1 units with the resistor on the fan assembly. How do I fix it on an 08 R56 hatchback (not the S). I only have two wires coming off the fan and they look like they go to the fuse box under the hood. I have not removed it yet because I do not know what I am looking for. Pictures would help. The high speed fan cycles on and off but no low speed and my AC blows only cool air.
I need some HELP, my Gen 1 03 Mini cooper it blowing the AC fuse located in the engine bay.
The AC works for a while them it blows up the fuse SIZE (30), I noticed that the fan is only spinning in one speed.
I am about to order the resistor from AMAZON, can someone please provide me with the detailed pictures in how to perform the procedure to replace the resistor.
You might have two problems. The fuse usually blows because the Power Steering Fan is stuck or sticking. The fan on the radiator fan will not blow because of a blown resister.
Also, is your fan running only on HI or LOW? Is it loud or quiet. If it is quiet and running, your resister is not blown.
guys, i just got the resistor, and i want to find out how to wire it, my mini is a 2003,
there is a plug with three cables one small red and the other one a bit bigger,and a black one, the low speed fan IS NOT WORKING.
p.s here are current pictures of my wiring, i tested but nothing, probably i missed out something here??
..i just got the resistor, ...my mini is a 2003,...the low speed fan IS NOT WORKING.
Look closely at the wires coming off the fan. It looks like you have a two plug fan but I can't actually verify that from your pictures. It's a small plug separate from that big one.
Mine is a 2003 as well and it has a 2-plug fan. If yours is 2-plug as well, the external resister is not an option.
Off top of my head thick red is low speed. Thin red is high speed and third wire is ground. I was in the process of making a plug and play relay/resistor harness to fix my dead low speed when the fan motor itself died on me so I bought a new fan assembly and have it all fixed stock.
I cut the two plug ends (fan side and car side) from a junk yard car so it would be able to plug between the fan and the car on my car and not have to cut anything on either side.
I almost finished my plug and play stuff, I'll find it and take some pics/notes tonight and post them up. Maybe it will help someone else.
This fix worked perfectly on my 2006 convertible. Ordered the resistor on Amazon and received in a couple of weeks. Thanks for the guidance!
Originally Posted by Rich.Wolfson
It's actually straight forward.
1-Determine which fan you have. One plug or two. If you have a one-plug (2004 and after), you can wire in the resister easily without removing the fan. There are a lot of places to mount the 0.33 ohm 100 W (ARCOL 11-31 HS 100. R33. J) resister but my favorite is on the drivers side motor support. Just drill, tap and mount the resister (the picture here is before I realized on Artoo had the two plug fan and this option was off the table) wire it in with 10 ga wire as in this diagram , solder only with shrink wrapped ends, and you're done. No worries.
2-If you have a two-plug fan, 2002-2003, then the resister fix is less elegant and I have found that if you can persuade a dealer to give you a removed OEM fan, or the one broken in your car is OEM, you replace the resister and relay assembly with the Dorman on Amazon or the Detroit Tuned one, pictured here, you'll be good to go for a LONG time. Note that some suggest that the Dorman fan needs a bit of extra help where the wires attach to the resister but that is your choice and there are all sorts of ways to do it. And there is another upgrade out there too. The picture attached has the OEM on the left, one upgrade in the center and the Dorman the one that has not blown on Artoo for a long while, on the right. But I would not simply crimp in the assembly. High-temp solder connections is the only way to go. If you want the best directions for removing the fan, this thread will give you everything you need.
And in the older fans where the relay is on the fan, use a new relay whenever you are in there. The relays are cheap and they start to stick after a while. Cheap insurance in my book.
Did I miss anything?
///Rich
PS-Thanks Chris, Zippy and Cristo for doing most of the grunt work on this. My guess is half the R53s out there have non-functioning low speed fans.
Also-I tried to get the URLs correct but the HTML editor is not behaving. It looks good in Preview but not when posted. Sorry.
I have read and read, and I’m still confused on some of these issues. Can someone help me out, so I can make sure I understand correctly?
I have an ’04 Mini Cooper S MC40 edition. My air conditioner went out about 2 years ago, and the dealership I bought it from fixed it under warranty. They said they replaced everything, compressor, condenser, hoses, etc. Afterwards, the AC worked great.
About 18 months ago, my AC went out again. I brought it back to them and they kept it for a week, then called me to tell me they couldn’t fix it. They said the compressor and everything worked perfectly, but there was an electrical issue somewhere in the system and only Mini dealerships would have access to the schematics to fix it (this was a Nissan dealership, the nearest Mini dealership is about 4 hours away from me.)
Since then, I’ve been driving around with no air conditioning. It’s worth mentioning that I live in Louisiana, where it’s routinely 100+ for at least 7 or 8 months out of the year. I’ve been managing it by carrying an ice pack with me on the 45 minute commute to work and back, but I really wanna fix it.
I’ve been assuming that the fan resistor is the issue. I was planning to just replace the entire fan, but cost has me reconsidering the resistor. But before I start splicing wires, I wanted to make sure this is the correct issue.
First, the low speed fan does not seem to be working. I just cranked the car and turned the A/C on, and the fan did not move. That sounds like the low speed fan is out, right?
However, the car never overheats, and I’ve driven probably 30,000 miles since the A/C first went out. If the low speed fan wasn’t working, wouldn’t I have overheating issues while driving that much in 104 degree weather? Granted, most of that is on the interstate, but even driving in town or stuck in traffic, no overheating. Ever.
Also, my A/C never blows anything but hot air. Once the car gets hot enough to kick on the high speed fan, wouldn’t the A/C start blowing cold again?
I’d read about this issue when my A/C went out the first time, so I haven’t run the compressor at all since the fans went out, other than in short spurts (usually 30 seconds, never more than a minute) to see if it’s working or not. I’ve been adamant about that to make sure I didn’t blow my compressor, since the car is no longer under warranty.
So, does this sound like replacing the fan or resistor would fix my issue, or do I have a different problem or a combination of problems?
Thanks so much for your time. You guys are awesome.
My low speed fan went out but the AC continued to operate. However, it took me a while to understand what was going on and my valves burned out I think due to running too hot. The high speed fan would come on but I am presuming that the lack of heat control from the low speed fan burned the valves. Expensive repair! So I would get the low speed fixed asap. Seems to me the AC is a different issue. Note that I am not a mechanic; just my experience.
I'm still confused myself... fan kicks on / stays on for a few minutes after the car is off but typically only if I drive it hard. Not sure if it's related but my ac barely pushes any air... I bought the resistor but mine being a 03' r53 that was made in 02'... can anyone repost a picture of where to splice or give me some insight? Thank you everyone!
Originally Posted by streetgj7
My low speed fan went out but the AC continued to operate. However, it took me a while to understand what was going on and my valves burned out I think due to running too hot. The high speed fan would come on but I am presuming that the lack of heat control from the low speed fan burned the valves. Expensive repair! So I would get the low speed fixed asap. Seems to me the AC is a different issue. Note that I am not a mechanic; just my experience.
I'm still confused myself... fan kicks on / stays on for a few minutes after the car is off but typically only if I drive it hard. Not sure if it's related but my ac barely pushes any air... I bought the resistor but mine being a 03' r53 that was made in 02'... can anyone repost a picture of where to splice or give me some insight? Thank you everyone!
By barely pushes any air do you mean cold air out of the vents, or volume of air out of the vents?
Have you found a certified AC repair shop? Start with finding out how much freon is in the system.
Is there any oil or debris blocking the condenser, and keeping you from properly cooling the freon charge?
First, the low speed fan does not seem to be working. I just cranked the car and turned the A/C on, and the fan did not move. That sounds like the low speed fan is out, right?
You have it backwards. The A/C system needs to achieve a certain level of pressure before it triggers the low speed fan. So your non-working A/C isn't triggering the fan, not the other way around. Your low speed fan may or may not be working (not enough information in your post to know). In any case, the A/C operates independently and the radiator fan doesn't prevent it from working.
I have read and read, and I’m still confused on some of these issues. Can someone help me out, so I can make sure I understand correctly?
I have an ’04 Mini Cooper S MC40 edition. My air conditioner went out about 2 years ago, and the dealership I bought it from fixed it under warranty. They said they replaced everything, compressor, condenser, hoses, etc. Afterwards, the AC worked great.
About 18 months ago, my AC went out again. I brought it back to them and they kept it for a week, then called me to tell me they couldn’t fix it. They said the compressor and everything worked perfectly, but there was an electrical issue somewhere in the system and only Mini dealerships would have access to the schematics to fix it (this was a Nissan dealership, the nearest Mini dealership is about 4 hours away from me.)
Since then, I’ve been driving around with no air conditioning. It’s worth mentioning that I live in Louisiana, where it’s routinely 100+ for at least 7 or 8 months out of the year. I’ve been managing it by carrying an ice pack with me on the 45 minute commute to work and back, but I really wanna fix it.
I’ve been assuming that the fan resistor is the issue. I was planning to just replace the entire fan, but cost has me reconsidering the resistor. But before I start splicing wires, I wanted to make sure this is the correct issue.
First, the low speed fan does not seem to be working. I just cranked the car and turned the A/C on, and the fan did not move. That sounds like the low speed fan is out, right?
However, the car never overheats, and I’ve driven probably 30,000 miles since the A/C first went out. If the low speed fan wasn’t working, wouldn’t I have overheating issues while driving that much in 104 degree weather? Granted, most of that is on the interstate, but even driving in town or stuck in traffic, no overheating. Ever.
Also, my A/C never blows anything but hot air. Once the car gets hot enough to kick on the high speed fan, wouldn’t the A/C start blowing cold again?
I’d read about this issue when my A/C went out the first time, so I haven’t run the compressor at all since the fans went out, other than in short spurts (usually 30 seconds, never more than a minute) to see if it’s working or not. I’ve been adamant about that to make sure I didn’t blow my compressor, since the car is no longer under warranty.
So, does this sound like replacing the fan or resistor would fix my issue, or do I have a different problem or a combination of problems?
Thanks so much for your time. You guys are awesome.
I had no AC for 7/8 of the years I've had my R53. Finally got everything fixed this year. I did get a new radiator fan off amazon because my stage I fan would not go on. My AC lights went on, and current was running thru, so I knew it wasn't a fuse. AC was fully charged as well. What it came down to, was the AC clutch would never engage. Instead of a new compressor, I bought a new clutch of ebay for about $40, hoping this was the cause. We took out the compressor using a method I found on youtube (
) and saw that the old clutch had rusted and was locking in place. We replaced the clutch, cleaned the surfaces, put everything back together and then, finally, my AC came back to life.
Depending on if you can hear the AC clutch engage or not.. it might just be as simple as that, but definitely check to see if the resistor on your fan is fried as well.
02-12-2016, 07:00 PM
