Hm....that little box did not appear until mid 2005....
earlier fans/cars lacked it entirely.....
When it was introduced, most sources said it was a thermal fuse....self resetting, that would trip before the fan caught fire (see spontaneous mini fire thread), if the regular fuse did not blow.
Do tell, where do you get your info!?

 

I had a problem with my PS Pump, staying ON all the time, so I installed a new circuit to prevent that from happening. When working on the installation of the new circuit ( after reading the spontaneous engine bay fires) I checked the wiring diagrams and the fan. Based on the information I know that SPAL ( from OEM experience) manufactures fan controllers, the little box controls the fan ( meaning that the volts/amp drawn by the fan are limited/ assumed that also has thermal protection based on volts/amp , as the fan turns on when the radiator fan turns on at max, so there is no feedback from the PS pump to the PS fan). I already sent an e-mail to SPAL Engineering/Technical Departments to obtain more information regarding the small black box in the cooling fan.

 

I would just like to vent a little... Took my MINI into the mechanic on Monday, June 28 so he could remove the PS pump. That took 2 days. Mailed it that Friday to BBA which took nearly a week to get there thanks to the weekend and holiday. Get it back a week later only to find out my mechanic is on "vacation" so everything sits another week. I get a call this past Monday that the pump won't turn off, so back to BBA it goes (with the disclaimer "as long as it's our fault it'll be covered by warranty"). Now its July 23 and I haven't seen my car in nearly a month; meanwhile I'm driving I'm brother's '97 Camry I miss my car and I'm starting to think I should have just paid the freakin' dealership the $1200 or whatever they charge. BBA says they'll have it for 3-4 days so I'm lookin' at the middle of next weeks at best, IF it works then.

 

Hi all,

I facing this problem - when ever i'm driving and turn to right i feel the steering is hard/heavy but when i turn to left its normal but at some times (not so frequent maybe during cold tempreature) when I turn to both left and right it felt normal. Also when I driver faster I felt the car is going left and right, it so unstable. Also whenever the car is stop, i try turn the steering, its very hard/heavy.

I do hear the power steering pump is whining during I drive (turning steering) and the steering fan is working. I just put in new BC racing coilover for about 1mth+ and I did went to shop to do the alignment and chamber.

Will the pump cause these problem? If you were me, which will you do first?

-. Change the steering column?
-. Change pump + fan?
-. Bring to other shop to redo alignment?
-. Change steering rack?
-. Change Driveshalf?

Thanks alot

 

skip the fan.

Matt

 

I left the black box in the loop, but had to come up with my own mounting since my original bracket had no accomodation for it (since the original fan didn't have the black box). After grinding the mounting off, I used high-temp thick double-sided tape, then ran a bead of silicone around it. It's definitely not going anywhere.

This whole cooling setup was clearly an afterthought and not designed in. I finally got the new pump in tonight (had a bunch of other underbody touch-up to do beforehand).

I ditched the original pump harness holder; I used a tefzel cable tie and some silicone gasketing sheet as a protective pad around the harness.

I haven't found a solution to the oil temperature sensor issue yet; it looks like the stock sensor is the same as the VDO's I've seen. Might have to ditch the oil temperature sensor for good in order to use the power steering fan cooling duct.

New pump is in place and connected, I just need to put the fan in place, button up the duct and underpanel, fill with Pentosin, bleed, test, etc.

Next up is a supercharger rebuild; death rattle has begun. Oh joy.

 

Not sure how many (if any) have been successful getting the dealer to fix the power steering while out of warranty. I want to remind everyone to file a complaint of this safety issue to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. I'm sure if there are enough complaints it will lead to a recall! Here's a link to file a complaint.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

 

My fan has been broken for an unknown amount of time now. I have a new on in the mail coming to me as we speak. Is there any fuse anywhere I should check for after I put the new on in to make sure the fan is working?

 

My power steering pump went out on me on a busy philadelphia highway. My car only has 50k miles on it. I am very disappointed in the quality of my mini. I really miss my toyota right now (before the big recall). I am also having issues with getting anywhere with the customer relations department to see if they will pay for this repair seeing that this is apparently a common issue. Why hasn't this part been recalled yet. I will also file a complaint with the BBB and the NHTSA if neccessary.

 

I think it's a matter of time before NHTSA will put a recall on the power steering. More people need to file complaints to the NHTSA about this. Also I haven't seen anyone actually complain that they actually got in an accident because the PS went out - I have read alot of people getting in near misses though...

 

wow, I didnt know it was such a wide spread problem. My pump went out this morning too

 

I finally recieved a call back from the customer relations department. The young man I spoke with told me that they are only there to advocate on behalf of mini owners. He also stated that he called the dealership to see if they could help pay for the pump. Currently, I have a rental while the dealership decides if they want to help with the repair.

I will never purchase another BMW made vehicle again. By the way I filed a complaint with the NHTSA before the customer relations guy called me back. I suggest everyone who has had this issue do the same. We should not wait for someone to get killed because their power steering pump fails on a highway. The form on line to file a complaint with the NHTSA is very short and painless. I must say I was disappointed by the number of complaints filed with the NHTSA compared to the number of complaints on this forum. We can no longer just complain to each other and BMW.

 

This thread picked up some speed

The PS pump failed on my 2003 MCS little more than a year ago (May 2009) when the car had 95K miles on the clock. Since then I put 15K more miles and it's been working fine. The way I went to a local shop to get it replaced, there was a 2002 Cooper getting a new PS pump. I actually replaced the PS fan with the new design well before the pump failed after seeing the horror stories of engine bay fires.

I dont think I'll get back anything, but I'll go ahead and submit a complaint with the hope that it'll help a fellow MINI owner.

 

Or on a twisty in the Ozark Mts. in the rain! The whole issue if very distressing

 

If you have ever at any time been effected by the MINI's power steering failure I IMPLORE you to report your incident with the NHTSA (National Highway Transportation Safety Admin.).

You can call the NHTSA and register your issue at 888-327-4236

or

Fill out the online form at www.safercar.gov :
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm


This just might help you and your fellow MINI enthusiast and it's the right thing to do. Let's face it, beyond being an expensive PITA, it's a serious safety concern.

Thanks all!

 

Mine is finally going out now. It's coming and going and seems to act up mainly when I've been on a long drive. Is it possible that it is just overheating and shutting off if the fan is dead? Also, it sometimes goes out right after I start the car but comes back if I restart the car.

I talked with Way while I was at MTTS in Atlanta last Saturday and he suggested that I replace the battery. Dead cell or something could cause it to malfunction? Anybody have any idea if this might help?

Thanks in advance!

 

Mine has been seizing up several times over the last few months but i thought i would just deal with it while saving up for a replacement. When i finally made an appointment to get it replaced, that evening i guess the fan didnt want to turn off so the next day my battery was drained. Does anyone know if this will likely kill my battery? I guess i'll have em check the battery when i take it in for the new pump in a few days. For such a common issue i'm pretty amazed that there hasn't been a recall on this part. The money i had going to a 15% pulley now is going to a dam pump ><

 

I posted the link to the NHTSA complaint site a week or so ago, in the meantime, my dad's 04 JCW (which was the reason for my original post) got his fan and pump replaced only to have his ENTIRE rack and pinion set up fail immediately after having it returned to him. MINI says it was due to the initial pump failure. So $1100 for the pump replacement and like $1600 or so for the rack. My dad's pretty car conscious and has it serviced by MINI regularly so it's not like this is from neglect. I'm very disappointed. It's bad enough that a fan with no CEL/warning light or service interval can cause the pump to die so quickly (they do live in a very hot climate) but that the pump could fail and then ruin the steering rack almost immediately is unthinkable.

 

I've been reading thru this thread and I believe that my PS pump is starting to go out as it's running after the car is shut off therefore draining the battery. I think I may go the BBA route but my question is this -what's the general consensus of BBA and their process versus going w/a new or re-man'd unit? Also, has anyone continued to drive their MINI w/o the PS unit and if so, for how long?

Thanks y'all!!!

 

Im adding in about mine as well.

My PS comes and goes. It went out for a few days, hubby did something while looking at another problem (which was a broken valve spring) and bam it was back. Now its coming and going. I dont think its the pump or the fan but some of the wiring. Any tips?

 

I would be afraid of driving the car with a PS pump that runs continuously after turning off the engine -until the battery is drained-, especially after seeing that they are the source of engine bay fires

When the PS pump went out on my 03 MCS, I had it replaced the next day... Look at it this way... You can prolong the process for a week or a month at best, but why take any chances? If you start to see the signs, it will be out completely soon.

As for getting a new one, shipping yours out for a re-built, etc... The shop I went to had few of the re-manufactured ones in stock and changed it at the spot. Actually, when I got there, they were putting a PS pump in an 02 MC. For me, the cost of having it removed, renting a car while waiting the rebuilt unit to come back, driving back and forth and the timing of everything appeared to cost almost the same as getting one that he had that day. I just waited an hour in the shop and was on my way as usual with a functioning -and supposedly a newer design- PS.

 

New user here, and startled to see the number of people having what appears to be the same problem that I just started experiencing. Also rather surprised that there isn't any official manufacturer response to this. I called Mini USA today, and they basically stonewalled me - "no recall has been issued, so there is nothing we can or will do."

Has anybody thought about trying to make a press issue out of this? Clearly there are a lot of folks on this message board experiencing the same, dangerous problem - it would seem to me that we have an opportunity to use the power of the collective to draw some attention to this.

Would folks be interested in trying to take this to a consumer interest group - like the Consumerist blog, Consumer Reports, or other comparable organizations? If the media picks it up, Mini/BMW might be forced to address it.

The other thought that I had would be to try and draw attention to the problem in more public Mini channels - such as their Facebook page or on Twitter. The more stink that is raised in public, the more inclined they will be to do something about it. I'm clearly new here, but if there is interest in organizing something like this, I'd be happy to try and help - digital communications/advocacy is my line of work.

Thanks for all of the great insights that folks have offered on these threads; I have a fair bit of sorting through them to do still.

 

YES!

YES AGAIN!

 

Glad to see there is some interest! To really make it work, we'd need buy in and participation from a fair number of folks (at least on the social media front). Also, it'd be worth knowing how many documented cases of this failure that there are. Any more information that we could go to one of these outlets with, the better off we'd be. The volume of replies in these threads seems to indicate that it is a pretty widespread problem - if we're the ones writing about it online, odds are, there are a swarm of folks that are experiencing the same issues but aren't out there talking about it.

I'd be happy to handle putting things together on the media outreach front - but would love the help of any of you that have been around here for awhile, if you can point me toward any resources or stories that you've found (or other relevant threads) that deal with this issue. Also, if we have any mechanical experts (people who've worked on Minis with professional credibility in the field), that would be great to offer up to reporters as an additional resource.

 

Was on the highway today on a 65 mph overpass and my pump went out. Almost ran me into the right shoulder concrete barrier which is a good 50 feet above the lower freeway. I recovered pulled over and re-started. Pump works again for now. I'm gonna find a cheap reman. and replace it my-self...seems pretty easy. BTW my 04 MCS has 90K. MINI almost killed me because of their crappy engineering.