End result was replacement - posted here ---> https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...65#post1978165

 

Recent development. In summer weather when the secondary cooling fan kicks in while at a stop the idle drops way down for just a second or two and the whole car vibrates and then the idle picks back up to normal. Dealer changed plugs and reflashed the software to no effect. (except costing me $200). Any similar experiences, solutions? (52K on 2003 Cooper 5 speed.)

 

Mine does the same sometimes. I just goose the accellerator until the RPMs come back up. It is like it takes the system a few seconds to think about raising the RPM.

 

did the flash can change something in the computer, to make it always work??

 

See this article:

MINI cooling system primer

for more information on how the MINI system operates.

Ken

 

I'm looking at doingthis repair also. Can you provide the pictures you mentioned in your message? Thanks in advance....

 

Not sure if you were talking to me or not, but my post #26 above has a link to another thread where I posted the link to photos I took when I was doing this repair. Not really comprehensive but at least shows some stages of the work.

 

I just want to chime in to report the same issue on my 2003 MCS with 75k miles. Bad resistor kept the fan running after shutting the engine off. Issue appeared twice then went away, but finally came back to stay. The diagnosis, parts (new fan housing assembly), and repair work set me back $640.

 

Same for me, about $700.
2003 MCS with 47K miles.
Fan on high speed for two days (drained my battery) then turned off promptly when taken to the dealership.

 

Oh f#@king great, thanks again Mini/BMW. I'm now having this issue, I turned on the blower this evening to defrost my windows then it wouldn't shut off. I just disconnected to fan motor & will try to find the relay in the morning & check the amps in the battery when I have more light. I'm not looking forward in replacing the fan before a road trip for the holidays. If it's not one thing with this car it's another.

 

Sorry to hear about your fan problem, but this thread is about the radiator fan.

 

It was the rad fan that wouldn't shut off. I couldn't go to bed without taking another look at it. With the power to the fan cut off, I looked into the relay box, pulled the relay out, checked the contacts then plugged it back in. I reconnected the fan motor & now it seems to be working. I'm going to still have this checked out because this did happen before a couple of months ago but seemed to correct it self after starting & shutting the car off a few times.

 

Sorry, by saying blower and defroster you made it sound like you heater fan was stuck. Check your coolant level.....and the fan does sometimes run for 5 min or so after shutdown, more if driven hard or very warm from not moving.
Remember the fan has 2 speeds, a slower, low speed, and a louder one that turns only just before it overheats. If the car is warm, not moving, and the fan cycles on and of every minute or so, the low speed is inop, very common.
The a/c also has a circit, a preasure switch that can trigger the fan, so is your a/c working ok?

 

Had the same problem with our '02 MCS of the fan running high speed with key removed until the battery drains. During a web search I found a suggestion on another Mini forum. Apparently the high speed relay on the fan gets stuck. A rap on top of the radiator housing towards the inner edge of the fan did the trick for several people and it just did for me too. Gotta love the internet.

 

Nothing fixes that quick. You likely rapped that nasty little relay back into service for a little time. It'll act up again soon enough. The relay doesn't get stuck, it corrodes until it becomes useless and never returns. There are a few threads on the subject including one with forward-thinking relay retrofits without replacing the entire assembly and for only a few dollars.

btw, that rapping method works on the door motors that stick too if you know where to shock them back into working.

 

Had this happen this evening on my 05 MCS. Pulling the relays did not work. I disconnected the negative battery terminal and the fan obviously stopped. I reconnected the battery terminal and the fan did not come back on. Turned on the A/C and the PS did come on. Turned the car off and everything is now back to normal. No idea what happened. Typical Mini gremlin I suppose.

 

The radiator fan staying on (low speed) after shutting off the engine has a "sticky" posting that goes on for over 30 pages. This problem dates back to at least 2004 with my car, and there is a $15 resistor that fixes it permanantly. The labor is usually done by the mechanically inclined owners. Check the "stickys" at the begining of this forum, or do a search. There is LOTS of good info!

 

.

 

My 2003 Cooper S lost its heat this winter. I dressed for a snowmachine and didn't get it fixed cause my mechanic said $500 fix. Now my engine fan won't stop. I can't help but think these are related somehow. I hit a deer last year and had to get a new radiator. I think it is all connected somehow and I probably got a bad fix from the start.

Anyone have any thoughts? How can I get the fan to stop?

 

Update:
Not trying to jinx myself but the problem has never returned. I also had the driver's side window problem before this, hit where the pic said to and that's worked fine ever since to. Not bad for problems that happened five and six years ago.