22 replies to this topic

[lsto]

Personally a manual fan is always the preferred option. Alot less to go wrong

But why is it so difficult to have an automatic electric fan in a mini, when all modern cars have had them for decades?

I'm not sure what year your car is but if it had the fan fitted from the factory then it probably had a previous owner who removed the sensors that control it.
My last cooper had PEM10036 which is the sandwich plate and YWL10010 which is the sender. On mine the sensor was bypassed with a switch, I guess the previous owner didn't want to fork out £70 for the sensor when it failed. I replaced the sensor and it was never an issue, fan always cut in and out correctly.

On my current car I am currently adding an aux fan and I am just fitting a temperature switch which I'll attach to the outside of the top rad hose. I want the fan to cut in when the top hose or engine bay gets past around 85 degrees as I have a turbo and it gets warm very quickly. I'm hoping the fan will reduce engine bay temps but will have to see when my switch arrives.

[Readers14]

 

 

Personally a manual fan is always the preferred option. Alot less to go wrong

But why is it so difficult to have an automatic electric fan in a mini, when all modern cars have had them for decades?

I'm not sure what year your car is but if it had the fan fitted from the factory then it probably had a previous owner who removed the sensors that control it.

I suspect this is what has happened on mine. 
The radiator or thermostat housing had no temp sensor to control the aux fan.

So basically the fan is just an ornament!

Edited by Readers14, 18 June 2024 - 08:05 PM.

[Readers14]

My friend has used a few of these and they work great. It’s a prewired controller with relays and adjustable on/off temps, choice of temp sender and also a manual override switch

https://daviescraig....fan-switch-0444

This option is looking more appealing now.

A question - where did your friend position the temperature probe?

[nicklouse]

I just added a temp switch in one of the hoses. Just pick one that works in the range you want and wire the fan up via a relay. Maybe have a switch so you can have manual control as well.

[timmy850]

My friend has used a few of these and they work great. It’s a prewired controller with relays and adjustable on/off temps, choice of temp sender and also a manual override switch

https://daviescraig....fan-switch-0444

This option is looking more appealing now.
A question - where did your friend position the temperature probe?

He used the radiator fin sensor and crammed it in between some of the fins

[Readers14]

He used the radiator fin sensor and crammed it in between some of the fins

 

Yeah that sounds simple enough. Nice one!

[Readers14]

Made some progress on this.

Today I trial fitted the Revotec electric fan & decided to order the Davies Craig temperature controller as mentioned above.

It was the easiest option for me as the temperature probe can placed in the fins of the radiator and the switch can be adjusted to whatever temperature you want (between 40 degrees C & 110 degrees C).

 

 

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[Spider]

 

I am being a bit hypocritical here - as I have bought lots of things that i don't really need - BUT

- if your primary cooling is from the standard fan AND you have accurate temp readings AND you haven't mentioned any cooling problems ,,, do you need it?

Coming from an engineering perspective- Why did they fit an extra fan in the first place?

 

 

Traffic and vert slow speeds would be the only reason, but otherwise, just be mindful that at normal and higher speeds it only presents an obstruction to the airflow through the radiator from the engine driven fan. By all means, if you want to fit it, then go for it.