A couple of months ago I found the driver's side of my 2006 Cooper flooded after a rain storm. Several of the gauges and indicator lamps seemed faulty. I dried out the compartment and visited the dealer where I found (like many others) that the sun roof drain tube had detached resulting in the flooding. I had them repair the drain tube but deferred any further diagnostics of the electrical system. After a few days more of drying out, all the gauge and indicator functions (with the exception of the airbag light) returned to normal function. The car drives fine.

Last week when I took the car for state emission testing, the test facility could not connect to the OBD system. I took the car back to the dealer today where they found that the connector near the floor on the driver's side was badly corroded - no doubt from the original water damage. The technician told me that the only way to repair the connector was to replace the individual pins and estimated that it would take ~15 hours of labor (~$2200) to do the fix. I asked several times if there was any other way to do the repair and he told me that replacing the individual pins was the only way.

Is that correct? Has anyone else been through this? What was your experience?

Thanks.

 

You have a few options but it depends which connector is causing the issue. Is it the OBD socket in the footwell or some other connector in the wiring harness?

 

Thanks for such a quick reply. It is not the OBD socket (to the best of my knowledge) but the 44-pin "Z" (I think) connector. After the tech looked at it and took it apart, the clock (which had been working) stopped working. The service manager said it was because the pins/wires in the connector were so badly corroded that the one controlling the clock must have parted during the diagnostics. I should add that based on the way the driver's side interior molding along the floor was torn up, this connector normally sits either under or along the floor.

 

I may have the connector description wrong. It might be 54-pin not 44-pin. Frankly I was experiencing some 'sticker shock' after the tech said 15 hours of labor.

 

Could you get both sides of the connector from a wrecking yard and solder it into your car. It wouldn't be difficult, just match the colors of the wires.

Heck, you could just cut the connector out altogether and solder the wires together, it would cut the repair time in half, the connector is only there to make it easier to assemble the car at the factory.

 

Hi - Yeah, I wondered about that too. Replacing individual pins one-by-one does seem like a lot of extra work and the 15 hours (nearly two days of solid effort!) sounded excessive. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

that the water didn't travel through the wiring. Water can flow all the way through a harness, one end to the other. This may be why u were quoted 15 hours. There's no way just snipping and replacing some pins should be quoted that high. Are u sure it was just to re-terminate a couple connectors? I'm a training and development manager for service in the trucking industry and we often see failures in coolant level sensors that allow coolant to flow all the way to the ecm. There is a fair amount of pressure build up in the cooling system contributing to the distance it flows, but it's still a possibility to consider when inspecting the damage further. Otherwise pinning a connect is fairly simple if u do it one pin at a time so not to mix up the locations.

 

Hi - I too was surprised when the technician said it would take 15 hours. I've done some connector wiring in the past and couldn't imagine why it would require so much time. When I asked the tech why, he talked about removing the pins from each side of the connector, re-attaching the wires (presumably using a crimp tool rather than soldering), and reassembling the connector. He did not mention the need for further diagnostics or suggest that the 15 hours included a contingency for unexpected problems. The water was standing about 1" deep on the floor when I discovered the problem. Unless it would wick up or otherwise be driven up the wire by capillary flow I don't think it would go very far. I did ask about replacing the entire harness but the tech said (in essence) that they would have to take the entire interior apart to do so because the harness is one piece and not designed in sections. I guess I could check with another dealer (though there isn't one very close) - there aren't any independent shops in my area that I know of that will work on Minis.

 

I had a very similar experience, except on the passenger side involing the Body Control Module. I'm looking at the bill right now. My total cost resolving the problem was $1,727. Of that $692 was parts:
- $530 Body Control Module
- $125 New Bushings (37)
- $37 Shrinking Hose (20)

And the other $1,035 was labor which included replacing all pins in connectors which were soldered and shrink wrapped, programming the BCM, and refitting sunroof drains with shrink ties.

In addition, I also had to replace the window motor in that door (water intrusion - $447). That came about as a result of the BCM deciding to lower my passenger side window at the beginning of a 2" rain downfall.

I don't know how many pins are involved in your case but based on the work that was done on mine for $1,727, your quote seems excessive.

Of course this is an out-of-warranty manufacturer defect that has been widely discussed in this forum. I kicked up a fuss (and opened a NAM thread) about not having this potential issue brought up in previous service visits. It could have been prevented for $125 (pull down headliner and zip tie tubes). In your shoes, I'd do the same. I'd share a link to this NAM thread with your dealer after I identified them by name. You might find it is worth your while, and even if it isn't, the more complaints that get passed to MINI USA on this issue, the better.

 

Hi Tom - thanks for the information. I certainly agree that quote I got seems excessive. I already have paid $281.50 for "Reattaching the sunroof drain tube" ($279 labor, $2.50 for a cable tie) and $139.50 for the diagnostic check done the other day. As it happens, one of the technicians left his cell phone in my car and when I stopped over to return it yesterday, I again queried the service manager about the cost of repairing the X15 connector. He said "it is very involved" because they have to pull up the carpet and splice in new connectors (54-pin) each pin of which has to be inserted individually. Interestingly, he also advised me to lie to my insurance company and tell them that the original water damage occurred because I left the window open rather than because the drain tube broke. This is the second Mini dealer I've dealt with and repair charges from both have been (in my opinion) really out of line. Complaints to them get me nowhere (and an attitude that seems like "If you can't afford to fix it, you shouldn't have bought it.") I love driving the car, but having it repaired is a real pain.