5 replies to this topic

[Philcooper]

Hi guys. The electric fan on my 1991 carb Cooper seems to come on frequently, even after only a couple of minutes idling! Is this normal?

[phil hill]

When the switch was present and working on my '91 Carb Cooper the electric fan would only come on at idle during the hottest day of summer, or when thrashing around a track, so I would say no.  Does the temp gauge read "hot" too ??  

 

Phil.

[Philcooper]

No Phil, the Temp gauge reads normal!

[phil hill]

Ok.

 

So is it the little switch mounted on the thermostat housing sandwich-plate ?? I'm sure it could be tested, perhaps by carefully immersing the removed sandwich-plate in hot water as you would do with a thermostat and connecting a lamp or test meter across the switch.

 

These are horrifically expensive to replace unless you can find a cheaper "New-old stock" one somewhere.  The wiring also changed at some point from a plug and socket to simple bullet connectors a bit later into '92 or '93, but if your car is a '91 it should have the plug arrangement : 

 

 

http://www.minispare...|Back to search

 

 

If you can't stomach the price of a replacement you can wire a simple two pole "ON-Off" switch to the socket where the thermo-switch would go and turn it on manually.

 

The later cars from about '92 on had the switch in the bottom of the rad, using the same type as the Metro with a bayonet type fitting and a rubber seal, most of the aftermarket rads have an M22 threaded sensor hole so you can use any switch you like.

 

Phil.

Edited by phil hill, 20 October 2014 - 12:50 PM.

[Mrpeanut]

Mine played up on my 91 cooper too. I've disconnected it. I'll run a manual switch to the second fan at some point - the switches are just too expensive, as are the dedicated sarnie plates and stat houses.

[Cooperman]

Manual switching is the way many owners go. The electric fan is only required when going slowly, in heavy traffic or on exceptionally hot days and as 'proper' drivers, we Mini owners know when to switch the aux. fan on of off.