R56, N12, automatic, 101k miles

Seafoamed it a few days ago and a couple of odd codes popped up, then went away; car was running great. (P0641 and P2187)

Tonight my husband drove about 120 miles from Dallas to Ardmore, OK ... except he didn't quite make it to Ardmore. Car flashed the seatbelt light (no on in the passenger seat and his was on). Went off, then the transmission light (! In a gear) came on. Went off a minute later as he's trying to find a place to pull over, then seatbelt light again, then ABS light.

In his words, "Every warning light lit up power to radio on and off on and off then lights started dimming then it just stop running. Almost seemed like a power surge."

Car goes dead and he manages to pull over; Nice guy stops and offers to jump it but no luck. Guy drives him to town and he gets a new battery ... nothing.

So my car is on the side of the highway, 2.5 hours away. He was able to lock the doors and the service engine light came on in red when he tried it after the new battery went in, but zero clicking or ignition or anything else.

I guess we're going on to rent a vehicle tow dolly in the morning and go get it, but any and all info would be greatly appreciated; this is out of the blue. 😕

 

Just a note with the new battery that you installed, be sure to check if it has an IBS unit. If it does, you'll want to register the new battery so that you don't end up shortening its life. We have info on that HERE. It shows you what an IBS unit looks like at figure #3 above the negative (-) battery terminal (green arrow). It's the black L shaped box above the terminal.

What I do recommend is plugging into the OBDII and reading what fault codes may be present in the system. That will give you the best idea when it comes to diagnosing the issue. Who did the seafoam treatment? For P2187: System too lean at idle, bank 1. Here is some info on P2187 - https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-easy-fix.html. There are many threads on here with that fault code. I'd possibly smoke test the system to see if there are any vacuum leaks. But, your first step when getting your hands on your MINI is plugging in and reading what fault codes are currently present in the system. Let us know what you find out.

 

Thanks, Pelican. 😊 New battery and car won't start; zero response to trying to start the car. About 20 different codes pulled off of it from side of road and after towing it home, and every check engine light available comes on intermittently and repeatedly when key is in the ignition.

After much checking by husband (every fuse in the car, power straight to starter solenoid - it tries to start, wiring harness pretty much removed from engine and inspected, changing out the passenger side fuse module for a new one, and probably fifteen other things I can't remember, we have pulled the ECM and sent it off to Florida to be tested; no one here, garage or dealership, seems to be able to do it if the car can't be started.

So ... that's what I know for now. 😊

 

Does the car have an IBS or not?

 

No.

 

Just got word back from Module Experts. The ECM has an intermittent short that's in the board itself (I think I have that right) and can't be repaired; it has to be replaced.

Husband is on a business trip for a couple of days, but when he gets back he'll have to pull the CAS/immobilizer for me to send, along with the key fob, to Florida so a replacement ECM can be set up correctly.

Looks like another 9-15 days, depending on how long it takes to get the immobilizer out and to ModEx.

Sigh ... 😏