I read thru the overheat threads with 2002 cars and the PS fan. Here's a similar problem with my 2003 but more involved with the A/C.

--Start out from home, A/C works fine -- good & cold.
--Stop at first traffic light, A/C blows warm ... but A/C light is steady ON not blinking.
--Accelerate to driving speed and A/C comes back on.
--At idle -- it drops again .... this has been going on for 4 very hot humid days -- above normal temps for us.

But then yesterday the engine overheated
--I drove car 5 mins. to Lowe's with same A/C problem
--Car sat for approx. 30 minutes
--Then upon leaving Lowe's parking lot, A/C was not working well so I cranked it to LOest position
--Drove approx 100yds, stopped at DQ drive thru window ... at idle A/C went out again BUT THIS TIME the overheat light came on while waiting for our order.

--Turned car off to cool 5 min.
--Drove short distance (100 yds.) before overheat light started blinking again, then it stayed steady ON.
--Drove another 100 yds before I could pull over ... engine smelled HOT
--Checked under the hood .... overflow was above MAX level, but no sign of fluid overflow as you would expect if engine overheated.
--I had seen light whiffs of smoke 2 days earlier -- but NONE that day ... but level was above MAX higher than it should have been ... but there was coolant in it.


--Let it cool 15 minutes, turned A/C OFF, and tried for home -- I'm 3.5 hours from nearest dealer.
--Got out on the road and drove another 100 yds -- overheat light started flashing again
--I immediately tried to pull over, but had to clear an intersection -- had to give it a little gas to get out of the way of an off ramp before there was room to pull over ... BUT THEN ... when I had hit 45 mph for the first time since leaving Lowe's ... the overheat light went OFF.

--the car sat parked & temp probably went up (I have idiot lights not gages)
--started car and ran slow near idle speed for few hundred yeards ... but cooling system could not cool engine & it overheated.
--turned A/C off and let car sit ... engine has still got to be hot, but this time, with the A/C off, the cooling system was able to cool the hot engine.

When the idiot light suddenly went OFF when the cool air was blowing over the engine instead of sitting at idle -- like air flow over the engine acted as a cooling factor. So what is the A/C doing to not allow engine cooling?

It all seems tied to the A/C .... A/C off and no more overheating. I am calling the Roadside Assistance tomorrow. And if it isn't much further to tow, I'll be sending it to the Mini dealer in Cleveland. Any idea what the loaner policy is for being far away from a dealer when the car won't run?

Thanks for any tips. I'd like to be armed with some knowledge before talking to the dealer. [stock -- no mods]

 

Quote:

any tips. I'd like to be armed with some knowledge before talking to the dealer

Yes,don't tell him your story. Your car should have been taken to your dealership at the moment it started overheating. Damage to the engine could happen. (I would't want to blame anything on your delay.)
If you live a long distance from dealership have it towed.

 

Sounds like your cooling fan isn't working. The cooling fan has two functions. To remove heat from the radiator to cool the engine and two, to remove heat from the air conditioning condensor. If the heat isn't removed, the engine will overheat and the refrigerant in the A/C system will not have any heat removed from it to continue the flow to cool your car down. The most probable reason your A/C was working while driving is because you had air flow in front of the vehicle cooling the system down to work. When you stopped, there was no air flow (because the fan isn't working) causing the A/C system to heat up and not work.


You have to take your car in.

Good luck!

 

Yea, if your A/C stops working when your not moving, it's a sure sign that you are overheating. It happened to me in a previous car when the fan belt broke. Get that MINI to MINI asap.

 

I've had a similar problem lately with my 2003 CVT Cooper. I had 2 isolated episodes about a week apart of the following:

Started car from having been parked >1 hour. Within a few minutes of driving in local traffic I noticed the A/C was blowing warm air. Looked at the engine temp gauge and noticed it steadily rising toward the light. The first time it actually turned the red light on before I was able to pull over. The second time I turned the car off before the light came on. Each time I pulled over and let the car sit, 30 min the first time, and about 10 the next. Each time that seemed to solve the problem. Each time the engine fan came on to cool the engine while the car was sitting. The first time the coolant level was above max, but by the second time it had dropped some, so I suspected a coolant leak although I hadn't noticed any spots on my garage floor.

I took my car to the dealer for a service and had them look at that problem. I was told that a fuse had blown which prevented the radiator fan from coming on, and that the coolant level was low from likely having boiled off. Fine, I took the car home.

Now, about a week later, I've had my third episode of near overheating. The situation was again similar, having just started the car, and the A/C not blowing cold air.

I guess I'll be heading back to the dealer, but hope that someone here might have another idea as to the problem.

 

I got my Mini back. And it was the cooling fan ... they said it stuck and then blew the fuse. They don't know how and don't know why ... it just happened

Replaced the fan & assembly, recharged the A/C, and did my 10K maintenance early so I wouldn't have to come back. Said A/C worked from airflow when driving. If it didn't work at traffic lights the fan wasn't working .... so look for that as a sign that the fan is going bad.

I live in a town where Minis are few and far between -- so I attract a lot of attention. And so it was when Road-Side-Assist drove up to get my car. The crowd was impressed that the warranty covered it. A big PR plus for Mini & BMW.

Towed my car in on Thursday
Started work on it Friday AM
Called Friday afternoon to tell me it was fixed.
I drove the 3.5 hours to the dealer Sat to get my car.

Great service at Classic Mini, Mentor, OH

Only complaint was that the guy behind the counter didn't know anything about the fan other than they have replaced them before. I would like to know if it is the same fan problem from 2002 models that they supposedly had fixed. Also not happy that I could be driving my car while it was overheated without me even knowing about it. That's the problem with idiot lights -- they make an idiot out of you. The only comment the dealer service counter guy had when I said I wanted to put a temp gage in the car ..... can you guess it? .... "You'll void your warranty!"

Other than that, I was very satisfied. Except now my car speaker is rattling bad when bass is up -- I didn't notice that before. Why is it that you always noitice something different after you have a problem repaired? Does something actually go wrong when a dealer has it or are we just super-sensitive-critical to everything when we pick a car up?????? The American Consperacy Mentality???

 

The exact same happened to my MINI and countless others. It's the same power steering (under-the-car) fan. It's a design flaw, pure and simple. Road dirt and grime collects around and inside the motor due to the fan blade design and eventually the motor siezes, taking out a small, 5 amp fuse. Unfortunately the circuit that controls the large radiator fan is supplied by the same fuse, and with it now blown, the radiator fan cannot function. The radiator fan runs with the a/c on whether or not the engine is up to operating temp or above. Also, the a/c system will be the first thing giving noticable change in operation if the fan is not functioning. If the a/c is on but gets considerably warmer when idling in stopped traffic, this is the first sign that the fan may not be functioning. It will take considerably longer for the temp gauge to register an overheating condition (and even longer for Nav-equipped cars to light the temp light). Auto a/c cars will blink the a/c button (snowflake) LED.

The check is simple, and can be done at any time to ensure the operation of the fans. If when stopped you notice the a/c not performing up to par, stop and open the bonnet. You should see and hear the fans running. If not, check the 5 amp fuse marked 'F5' in the underhood fuse box. It's most likely blown. You can do this check in your own driveway at any time by simply starting the car and turning the a/c on to maximum cold. Open the hood and check the fan. It often does not start immediately, but should in less than a minute (the outside air should be at least 70 degrees F for this to happen). If the fans never start, check F5.

Note too that the radiator fan has two speeds. With the engine hot from driving and the a/c on max for a while and the car not moving, the fan will double it's speed to keep up, especially in 90+ degree weather. It's when the fan goes on full speed like this that the power steering fan comes on. If the PS fan happens to be seized at this time, the fuse will blow and all the fans will quietly stop, just when needed most.

Now, what to do if you are in the middle of nowhere, no cell phone, and your car is overheating? In the case of a dire emergency, find the spare 5 and 10 amp fuses in the fuse box in the passenger compartment (they are lined on along the edge). Install the 10 amp fuse first. If it does not blow and the fans begin to run, change to the 5 amp fuse and continue driving. What was just done here was a temporary 'overfusing' the circuit that in many cases is enough to free the seized fan for a time and allow you to keep going. If you happen to find your car at some hole-in-the-wall garage unfamiliar with MINIs, have them disconnect the under car fan and replace the fuse so you can keep going. Have your car taken care of through warranty to have the fan replaced by a newer, revised type supposedly less prone to this problem. And dont tell them you put the 10 amp fuse in the fuse box.