× 1-800-946-2642 Home My Account Social / Forum Articles Contact My Cart
Shop Now
Select Your Car Type Sale Items Clearance Items New Items
   Forum Width:     Forum Type: 

 Posted: Sep 10, 2020 03:26AM
Total posts: 2271
Last post: May 23, 2023
Member since:Dec 29, 2004
Cars in Garage: 1
Photos: 9
WorkBench Posts: 0
Thank you for the update.

 Posted: Sep 9, 2020 01:14PM
Total posts: 6
Last post: Sep 9, 2020
Member since:Aug 2, 2020
Cars in Garage: 0
Photos: 0
WorkBench Posts: 0
It sounds mechanical and coming from the front of the vehicle instead of the back.

We took the cover off the engine to check last week. Everything still in order. Nothing broke off, chain rail is still intact. Visually, things looks good. We decided to not mess with the timing any further and put the cover back and live with whatever... Car runs. Not great. I'm getting about 24-26 MPG. I think I was getting about 28 to 30 or so prior. But it's good enough.

Thanks for all your help with reading the codes.

 Posted: Aug 31, 2020 06:47AM
Total posts: 2271
Last post: May 23, 2023
Member since:Dec 29, 2004
Cars in Garage: 1
Photos: 9
WorkBench Posts: 0
Hard to say what the loud bang might be...  Was is like a backfire loud bang, or more mechanical kind of bang?

 Posted: Aug 29, 2020 04:22PM
Total posts: 6
Last post: Sep 9, 2020
Member since:Aug 2, 2020
Cars in Garage: 0
Photos: 0
WorkBench Posts: 0
I decided to get some help from a mechanic friend and got the car working again after about $1200 in parts and a 24-pack of beers.

As it turns out, the timing is off. Someone else misdiagnose the timing initially as being good so we never look there. He took one look under the valve cover and said, hey where is the "plastic guide rail". No idea what it looks like until i google it.

Also, the plastic railing also broke off and is jammed into the oil pump and timing chain. We did our best to remove all the plastic in the oil pan and around the timing chain. We also dislodge a bunch of plastic pieces in the oil (intake?). It's a round cylinder with a silver net inside the oil pan. There are also some in the oil pan. After putting everything back together, I realized we didn't check the bottom of the oil pump chain? More on this later.

He pick up the OEM parts from the near by dealer, gaskets, oil, and filter and I pick up the beers. He convince me to not go cheap here because it's a hard job. After installing the new timing chain kit, oil pan gasket and clean up everything, the car start up right away!!!

Happiness is in the air until we heard a loud bang and thought oh crap not again... it started rough idle for a good minute but smooth out.

We're not sure if this loud bang is. We thought maybe it's because we didn't find all the plastic piece or lack of oil flow to the engine on first start or it could be something else freaken broke off. We decided to look under the valve cover again next weekend. I decided to give it a test drive and the car seems to be responding better than before. It's seems a little weak on take off but it's not too bad. No code when read with ODB2. 

Does anyone here know what the loud bang could be?

 Posted: Aug 13, 2020 02:31PM
Total posts: 6
Last post: Sep 9, 2020
Member since:Aug 2, 2020
Cars in Garage: 0
Photos: 0
WorkBench Posts: 0
Still no dice after a week working with the mechanic. He swear up and down that the car should have started. Had the person cloned the ECU check out and confirm that it not the issue with the clone. I'm taking his word for it at this time.

Timing is ok but he'll double check again this weekend.

There is a relay on the fuse box by the passenger side that gets really hot. It probably shorted? It's one more possibility that we can check. Is there any instruction on how to diagnose this? We tried to pull it out and turn the car on and the winshield wipers started to run. This is why we thought maybe it got shorted somehow.

Please help if you can. Thanks!



It's the black relay on the bottom of this picture (not my photo )

 Posted: Aug 4, 2020 12:51PM
 Edited:  Aug 4, 2020 12:52PM
Total posts: 2271
Last post: May 23, 2023
Member since:Dec 29, 2004
Cars in Garage: 1
Photos: 9
WorkBench Posts: 0
sorry, not familiar with any K-CAN software...

Let us know what you find out. thx

 Posted: Aug 3, 2020 10:47AM
Total posts: 6
Last post: Sep 9, 2020
Member since:Aug 2, 2020
Cars in Garage: 0
Photos: 0
WorkBench Posts: 0
Also, I'm going to order a K-CAN cable to see if I can see more detail into the car.  Do you have any recommendation or know any of the software that work with the cable so I can check if the ECU is working with the CAS?

Thanks again.

 Posted: Aug 3, 2020 10:29AM
Total posts: 6
Last post: Sep 9, 2020
Member since:Aug 2, 2020
Cars in Garage: 0
Photos: 0
WorkBench Posts: 0
Thank you both for your reply, tothefloor and kenatminimania.

Thanks for the car engine detail. I'm not exactly sure what the engine number (N12). All I know it's a 2 door hatch back, 4 wheels abs, 1.6L L4 gas and it's a 2010.

I think my last option is to have the dealer take a look but I don't want to be scam. I want to make sure I understand generally which systems are having issues and the possible cost to budget before I start down this road. The info you provided helps alot.

It's also the cost of towing to the dealer, diag, and fix might not be worth it to me and not to mentioned bad experience with dealers in the past. I might get a few quotes today from nearby dealers and tow company.


In the past with other car, I have bad experience with multiple cars dealers. I brought my vehicle in to the dealer to check a code related to one oxygen sensors and they do the same basic scan and told me what I already know. They said I needed to replace all 4 and quote a crazy price. I understand the labor cost but it's clearly only 1 sensor is going. Brought it back and order the sensor and have it replaced and that was it. Code cleared and smog check pass. I didn't have to replaced any other one. The car ran for a few more years before I sold it. This is just one example and I have many others.

Regarding the instrument cluster and pin 30, could it be because I had disconnected the battery to remove parts as part of diagnosing various issues. I forget to remove the key when it was in the "ON" position when I remove the negative side of the battery. Could that trigger the code?

Can you share some info on the "instrument cluster" for the mini? I want to read more about it. I tried googling it and found a few youtube video about it. It looks like all the dashboards. 


You also mentioned about collateral fault from the instrument cluster.... Is this include the CAS? If you have any diagnose instruction to validate the CAS to DME communication, I really could use it to rule out some issues. Could this code prevent the engine from starting?

I forgot to mention that we also try to get the car started with starter fluid by spraying into the intake near the MAF sensor. The car didn't start but I'm not sure if we spray enough...
 

I have time. I don't have an immediate need for this vehicle for work. I have been working from home since the pandemic started.

Thank again for your time to answer my questions.

 Posted: Aug 3, 2020 04:17AM
Total posts: 2271
Last post: May 23, 2023
Member since:Dec 29, 2004
Cars in Garage: 1
Photos: 9
WorkBench Posts: 0
2010 R55 Cooper, so I assume N12 engine.

First set of codes were 'misfire' related.

Second set of codes were VANOS related (cam timing).

Third set of codes were Air Mass sensor / VANOS related.


P15E8:  Engine switch-off time, plausibility: time too short in correlation to engine-coolant cooling

The diagnostic function monitors the engine's calculated downtime by comparing it with the drop in coolant temperature while the engine is stationary.

The fault is recognized when the time required for engine cooling is implausibly short relative to the calculated time.

Potential problem source(s):
- Instrument cluster disconnected from Terminal 30 during stationary phase (battery change)
- Collateral fault stemming from a defective engine temperature sensor
- Collateral fault from incorrect time signal from the instrument cluster.


We can speculate and throw out some ideas, but none are based on concrete historical evidence. This could lead you to spend more time and $$ on parts with the possibility of not fixing the real problem.

Based on the changes you have already made, and the evolving different 'indicators', I would have to suggest taking the car to a MINI dealer with the appropriate diagnostic system to narrow down the possible causes. I believe this will be more cost effective (time & $$ & frustration) in the long run... 

 Posted: Aug 2, 2020 10:14PM
Total posts: 664
Last post: Dec 31, 2021
Member since:Nov 1, 2012
Cars in Garage: 0
Photos: 0
WorkBench Posts: 0
I have read this, on a road trip to texas. First is it possible you have more than one issue?? I don’t own a bmw but from what I understand your on track with the dealers who can’t figure this out either. However tomorrow Monday kenatminimaniawill be back and can Diagnosis tha codes. (Or provide an answer) 
cheers tothefloor

 Posted: Aug 2, 2020 03:34PM
 Edited:  Aug 2, 2020 05:24PM
Total posts: 6
Last post: Sep 9, 2020
Member since:Aug 2, 2020
Cars in Garage: 0
Photos: 0
WorkBench Posts: 0
Hi,

My 2010 Mini Cooper turns but wouldn't start. I have lurks around the net and saw many posts on this subject but none of them seem to apply. Would appreciate any help diagnosing this as we running out of ideas.

Some back story.

My mini started to have issues early Dec 2019. It seems to want to stall from stop to moving but it never really stall. There were no codes. So we just continue driving. Sometime, we take a hard turn and the oil warning light turns on. I saw posts to add oil when this happened and I did. It temporarily solve that issue.

In Jan 2020, the check engine light came on. The reader point to misfire on one of the cylinders. I purchased and change all 4 coils and spark plugs. We added some compounds around the spark plug to help lossen the coils if we need to change it. (recommended by Autozone guy).  Car run fine and thought nothing more of it. Around the same month, the car will not start and the battery was the culprit. We changed it with one from costco. We check and there is no IBS on this car. We didn't need to reset anything with computer.

OBD-2 Codes:
P0301
P0304
P0302
P0300
All Pending status.


Forward to May, on our way back from the store, the car would stall in the middle of the street. Nothing we could do to restart the car. After 20-30 mins we decided to tow the car home. We checked everything and decided to check the battery. The voltage reads around 11.4. We decided to jump start the car with a jump cable from our other car to see if the battery is the issue but the car still just turn and wouldn't start. We try charging the battery overnight but determined that it might be bad. The voltage after overnight charge was around 12.0, not enough according to other posts around the net.

We decided to bring it back to costco to exchange. They told us to get the model with AMG which is $50+ more. We agreed. But after we installed the battery, the car still turn but will not start.

ODB-2 Codes:
P0011
P0012
P0015
P0016
All pending...


We decided to changed the oil and filter earlier than expected because we read that it could be dirty and causing the car to not start... yeah ran out of ideas at this point for easy stuff to do and this didn't work either.

We decided to double check the spark plugs and the coils. We could removed three of the 4 coils. One of them has the plastic or rubbery boot pop off the coil and stuck in on the spark plug. It took us two hours to removed the rubber boot because it was harden. It breaks apart as we pull out but I think we got all the pieces.

We test one of the coils with the spark plug installed to ground and did not see any spark. We decided to shelved this due to other commitment.

At this point, June, the car hasn't been working and sitting in the drive way for weeks. we turn our attention to the ECU.
When we put the car on start, we hear one of the relays clicking a lot ( I think it's the bottom green one R1?). We didn't noticed this prior to the jump start the car. Some posts online suggest that jump starting the car could have shorted out the ECU causing the relay to click constantly.

We decided to pull the code again this time, it seems to give a different set of codes.

OBD-2 Codes:
P113B
P0100
P0010
P0013
All pending.

U114B
U115B
U115E
All Confirmed.

Maybe the ECU has issues at this point. Not exactly sure why we are getting all these codes.

Now it's end of July, I purchased another used ECU from ebay, brought it and my original to get it program. The person programing it is really nice and help me through out the process. I was worry that the ECU is fried and he couldn't read from it. He said he could and was able to complete the clone, without errors, and have it back to me the next day and instruct me to install, clear the code, and then attempt to start.

After clearing the code, I tried to start the car. At first, it seems like it going to turn for a second, then NOTHING. Trying again multiple times will only crank but not start.

The clicking from the relay has stopped with the new ECU.

We decided to do more testing. We put the key in the engine and push the start button. We check the battery as it was on charger and charged to 12.9. We checked the relay that was clicking and it click with 12 v going through the pins. We test the voltage where the pin 30 and 87 would be and that show voltage from the battery.

No Code from the scanner at this point.

We test PIN1 on the plug into the DME and that also have voltage... But it less than 12. It's 11.6. We put the connector back and check the spark plugs.

We remove one at a time and they all have sparks when we try to start the car. Does this mean the ECU working? I'm still not sure if the new ECU is working correctly with my old CAS.

We place the gauge to the spark plug and check for compression. It shows 60 PSI? I'm told it's "good enough" to start and should have started at this point with any other vehicles.

We decided to check for code again. This time, we saw P15E8 pending. Doing a quick google search, it said that the sensor could be disconnected. We never touch that sensor and confirm it was NOT disconnected. We followed one of the guide online to remove and test the sensor. It reads 4.4ohm? I'm told that this is ok but I'm unsure. We then shorted the pin to the sensor and see if the car start. The fan came on but the car did not start. We put everything back and try to read the code again.

At this point, its still reading P15E8 pending. We stopped here and see if we can seek other ideas of things to check.

Can you help us where else we could be checking? The only other thing that could be is the issue with the CAS and DME. Can you share any instruction to verify this? Does it required any specialize tools?

Thank you.


Edit:

Just wanted to add something I forgot. We check the gas pump and believe it's working. We remove the cover on the gas line and use a hex to release the gas (it spray all over). We let it empty. We turn on the car again and hear the pump running. We turn off the car and check if there more fuel in the line and there were.  We think that the pump is working. However, the pump seems to be running constantly when the car is on the ON position. Not sure if that's normal or not.


Thanks again.