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I posted in the JCW forum, but it looks like this is addressing my potential issue. However, I went out today and drove quite a bit, and I never had an issue with the flap closing on its own, so I hope it is a non-issue for me.
Think we found the issue on mine to be my remote is faulty so they ordered me a new one (should arrive next week).
We did a test last week on the way to Sebring last week where I opened the flap with my remote and had another Cooper S with JCW exhaust follow close behind me on the trip with their exhaust open as well.
It seems that while the initial request to open the flap is unique to each exhaust system/remote combination (his remote could not open my flap initially), the subsequent pings that take place every 8 seconds after it is open does not appear to be unique. As a result, my flap stayed open for 1.5 hours on the way to Sebring (it has never stayed open that long before). To test things out, I had the car behind me fall back and I raced ahead, out of range, and my flap promptly closed within a minute of going out of range of his remote...
Will see if new remote fixes it...
BTW - I hang my bluetooth remote on my rear view mirror now so I can watch the red light ping every 8 seconds. At least on mine, after a few minutes, it will glow solid red for a few seconds, letting me know it has lost communication and the flap closes.
Please let me know if the new remote takes care of things for you. I'm having the same issue of the flap closing on it's own. I actually looked at the remote at the moment it disengaged. I was sitting at a light, and I looked down, and the light on the remote froze for a moment, then faded out while the flap was open. It normally blinks every few seconds when it is open. Well, when it freezes, then fades out, it means it has disengaged, and shut the flap.
Since reading the two threads concerning this issue I have been closely watching mine. Once activated, it stays on w/ valve open until I shut the car off. This includes stopping, backing out of parking spaces and sitting for fairly long times idling. Even going to "green mode" from "sport mode", and back again, valve remains open.
Mine randomly closes from time to time, although it is not frequent enough for me to really worry about it. My guess was that there was some bluetooth interference causing for the valve to close when that happens.
Mine randomly closes from time to time, although it is not frequent enough for me to really worry about it. My guess was that there was some bluetooth interference causing for the valve to close when that happens.
Mine closed twice randomly this morning during my 5 minute commute to work. Very annoying.
Pedro, thanks for the info and testing, so it looks like a faulty signal.
While I hope this is the root cause and solution I'm hesitant to believe we all have faulty remotes...I'll suggest the same to my dealership as I continue to have the same problem.
So I brought Clark in today to get paired with a new JCW Bluetooth remote... I was shocked to find out the remote is a $287 part!!! Don't lose them kids!! Thank God for warranty!!
Anyway, the pairing process was VERY easy (see below for step by step):
Normally on my 40 minute drive home from the dealership, the exhaust flap would close by the 20 minute mark. Upon pairing the new remote, the exhaust flap did close after a couple minutes, but it remained open ever since (including the 40 minute drive home as well as driving around to dinner later this evening for about another 40 minutes). Not sure if the initial closure after about 2 minutes of initial programming had anything to do with initial sync-up or if it was a fluke, but I will be watching it carefully over the next few days. I am cautiously optimistic that things have improved since I was able to drive quite a bit this afternoon and this evening without issue. Will see if it continues .
Do you know how they narrowed it down to the remote? Mine was disengaging on its own a few times, but when I took it to the dealer, we weren't able to reproduce it. It hasn't done it since. Tech suggested that maybe we change out the battery, but it's got a low battery indicator as shown in the first set of directions you posted, and my remote isn't displaying a low intensity light.
Do you know how they narrowed it down to the remote? Mine was disengaging on its own a few times, but when I took it to the dealer, we weren't able to reproduce it. It hasn't done it since. Tech suggested that maybe we change out the battery, but it's got a low battery indicator as shown in the first set of directions you posted, and my remote isn't displaying a low intensity light.
See my above post...
Originally Posted by mct
We did a test last week on the way to Sebring last week where I opened the flap with my remote and had another Cooper S with JCW exhaust follow close behind me on the trip with their exhaust open as well.
It seems that while the initial request to open the flap is unique to each exhaust system/remote combination (his remote could not open my flap initially), the subsequent pings that take place every 8 seconds after it is open does not appear to be unique. As a result, my flap stayed open for 1.5 hours on the way to Sebring (it has never stayed open that long before). To test things out, I had the car behind me fall back and I raced ahead, out of range, and my flap promptly closed within a minute of going out of range of his remote...
Yeah, I relayed that exact info to the technician when I brought it in. I thought the dealership had some way of independently verifying whether the remote was bad after your initial diagnosis on the way to Sebring.
Yeah, I relayed that exact info to the technician when I brought it in. I thought the dealership had some way of independently verifying whether the remote was bad after your initial diagnosis on the way to Sebring.
Unfortunately, not.
So today I had the same experience as yesterday... Initial flap activation closed after about 1-2 minutes but then stayed on for the remainder of the drive. Quite odd, but definitely better than before. This weekend I will see if the same initial closure takes place and try to time it to see if the timing is consistent.
Drove around a bit today in track mode, and it cut out on me twice on it's own. I'm not sure if it's a faulty remote, or if some other interference causes it to close. Not that big of a deal for me, but hopefully, we'll figure it out.
Well today was not a good day with the JCW Exhaust... I could not keep it open for more than a couple minutes for most of the day. It would open....then close after 1 or 2 minutes. After 4 times in a row of it doing it I recorded a video showing the issue twice and sent it to my dealer. Focus is now moving towards the rear module... They are going to call me sometime this week with the next steps to try.... Sigh....
Sorry to hear all the issues with the JCW Tuning Kit. I started reading this Post last week just before I got mine installed on Tuesday of last week. I almost didn't get it installed when I read all the problems. But couldn't help myself, so I jumped in! So far so good! I hope for the best for all having issues, because this Kit is great when working.
Do you know where they sourced the power from for that rear module?
Sorry to hear that Pedro. At the risk of jinxing myself I will say that mine has worked fine since day one. Could a BT signal from another source be causing it? What kind of phone are you using?
I also tend to believe that BT interference might be the reason. I am using an iPhone 6S ad use 4 apps that might be interfering:
1. Mini Connected
2. Mini XL Journey Mate
3. Spotify for Mini
4. Waze (not always)
I say this because they interact via Bluetooth with the Mini. So might be a lot of information traffic. Again this is just an assumption.
I have a 6, but 95% of the time when I'm in the Mini my phone is hooked up to the USB port. That's why I was wondering if it might be a contributing factor.
I have a iPhone 6S that uses Bluetooth to connect to my Apple Watch, the MINI stereo, my Escort Max 360 and sometimes even my Bluetooth OBDII adapter lol.
I could try turning off bluetooth on the phone and see if there is a difference and report back.
I wish they had offered the option of having a hardwired button on the dash or console instead of this Flash Gordon Crappola. It would have made things so much simpler.
I wish they had offered the option of having a hardwired button on the dash or console instead of this Flash Gordon Crappola. It would have made things so much simpler.
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