Hello everyone, I have been lurking for a while, and just created an account because I just bought my first Mini. I got and 03 Cooper S 6spd. It is a little high on miles, sitting at around 185k. I just bought it 6/16/2018. So far I have put about 100 miles on it, just driving it around town, with a little bit of highway driving. So I have to take it back to the dealer that I got it form, they are going to do an oil change on it. Also, I have had a check engine light come on a couple of times, getting a P1688, which from what I am reading looks like I need a new harmonic balancer. It happens around 5k rpm it just goes into limp mode and I have to turn the engine off and back on then I can drive it again. I am hoping they will help me out with it, since it first happened while I was on a test drive of the car. Also, I have noticed that it seems like I am having low power at low rpm, I am not sure what is causing it, but it has almost no acceleration till I get to about 2500-3000 rpm. I found a walkthrough on here on how to reset the ecu to learn my driving style, but it didn't seem to fix anything. This is my first supercharged car, so I am not sure what to expect from the engine, but I thought supercharged cars had good low end power and torque. If anyone has any ideas as to what could be causing my low power issue, please feel free to chime in.
Anyways, enough about the car, and a little about me. I live in the Waco, TX area, but am currently staying in Laredo. I really enjoy learning new stuff about cars, and working on them. I have an advanced technical certificate in automotive technology, but haven't really used it. I am getting rusty on my car knowledge. I am sure I will at some point ask some, uh, not so intelligent questions. But I am just trying to learn. Anyways, enough about me for now.
Best regards
Dustin W.

 

Welcome to the forum

Every vehicle I've owned is a learning experience and there can be bugs to iron out. But when its right, its fun to run.

 

Thanks for the welcome. Even with barely any power till 2500 rpm, and not being able to rev over 5000rpm, this is still a fun car, I can only imagine how much fun I will have with it after I get these bugs ironed out.

 

Welcome to NAM.

No engine expert here but thinking that low end torque has more to do with the stroke length and the compression, diesel engine comes to mind. Also somebody here has posted how much hp it takes to turn the supercharger in our car so if anything the supercharger takes away from low end torque, the turbo is what provides torque for basically free.

Any pictures of your new ride?

 

I only have this one pic so far, it does have some cosmetic issues, but I'm ok with that. It is just like no power at all on the low end, I'm sure there is an issue, but I will get it figured out when I get a little more time with it.

 

Welcome, looks like texas heat and sun burnt the paint up on the bumper a little. Good thing they tinted the windows. On the power thing, do you have a CEL? I would get the schwaben tool and run a scan just to see if anything comes up. Then start from there and check the hoses and boots to the intercooler.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d-q-and-a.html

 

Welcome!

Don't let the little things get you down, as soon as you get all the little kinks worked out you will be happy you stuck it out.

There are a number of threads about the most common items that may need to be addressed with an older MINI.

I have a couple well over 150K miles and they are maintained and run and look like new (well close to it).

Motor On!

 

Wait till you see a closer pic of the spoiler... Let alone the front end... Well that party isn't from the sun haha. But no, there is no cel currently, the only code I have thrown is P1688. Which happens around 5k rpm. I'm pretty sure that is the harmonic balancer, but the dealer I got it from is taking care of it, whatever it ends up being. Thanks for the encouragement guys, I'm really excited for this car. This weekend I will done into it more to see if I have a vacuum leak or something, I'm sure it's something simple. Do these cars have variable valve timing?

 

Welcome.

Yes the harmonic balancer is the most common thing to cause the 1688 code and it can be intermittent like that until it fully fails. Go with the ATI Damper when you do replace it.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm getting it fixed by the dealer I got it from, it was part of the deal, I don't know what they are gonna use, I will suggest this to them though, is it comparable in price to oem?

 

Hi and welcome to the NAM family, Dustin!
Lots of help here to keep your Mini healthy and happy!

 

Wrigdust, I'm curious to know what solved your hesitation issue. If there was a solution, please post it here. My 2004 MC40 has the same problem after initial start. Oddly, if I shift very quickly through 2nd, 3rd, then back to 1st, the problem resolves itself. I have no idea why that works because it makes no sense whatsoever (unless there's some link to the ECU).

 

Welcome. Once you get the quirks and issues dealt with those Texas highways will be calling your name.

 

I am actually waiting for parts to come in, the dealership is replacing the BPV and map sensors, so hopefully that will fix it. I will post when I get it done, hopefully the beginning of next week.

 

Alright, sorry for the delay, I replaced the BPV, did it myself because I was tired of trying to schedule a time with the dealership for minimal down time. When I first took off the old BPV I noticed it was stuck open, so I fiddled with it and closed it, but when it would push open it wouldn't close. I was basically running naturally aspirated. Then going back together, I managed to pull the supercharger intake pipe off somehow, got it all back together and recs to 3k instantly them back down to a very rough idle. Sprayed some can cleaner, found I had a leak under the intercooler, looked and sure enough the intake pipe want on the supercharger, messed with it for a while, got it back on start car same thing, this time I get P1689 P1245 P0300. Spray carb cleaner again, hmm I guess I didn't get it back on, mess with it some more, say a few curse words, finally get it back together, erase codes, reset the computer, start it up, bam runs like a whole new car. I took it for a spin and man is it fun, I mean I already thought it was fun, but I feel like I just put a supercharger on. Also sends to have fixed the P1688 issue as I took it up to almost 7k in 2nd 3rd and 4th gears with no issues.

 

Congrats on your DX and repairing your MCS! You did good!
The fun can now begin!

 

Yeah, after I get some new tires on it, my rear tires are shot

 

I just wanted to tell you: If you get a can of Back to Black fine mist spray, you can do all the outside plastic parts with it and it will last a very long time, before it needs it again (like a year). Don't worry if it gets on the paint, as it wipes right off. The stuff is like magic and it makes the plastic parts look like new!

 

Oh cool, thanks for the heads up