Thanks Mark

Update: GOOD NEWS! (well, some...) The tech just called me a few minutes ago... he has figured out what the problem with the Bluetooth was. Turns out that the install instructions for the kit were incorrect with the colors of the wiring - he then looked at the schematic, noticed it was different, and went by that... and the Bluetooth is 100% operational again.

Not so great news on the DPSM. He put the new amp in... and the problem still occurs! However, he noticed that the box for the new DPSM kit wasn't exactly new... it had been opened before - which leads him to believe that the amp inside may have been previously defective and returned as well.

An interesting thing, however... he removed the amp from the internal mount and lay it onto the carpet, and the problem went away. With a little more troubleshooting, he has isolated it so that when the amp is installed onto the mount (and therefore grounded to the sheet metal), that it acts up. When it isn't grounded there, the problem goes away. He even replicated the problem when it was laying on the carpet by using a cable with alligator clips!

So... just in case it is another defective amp, he is going to ask the shop foreman to witness the problem himself (both with and without the alligator clip cable), and agree to order yet another DPSM kit to try a 3rd amp. He knows that without seeing it for himself, the foreman will get antsy about having ~$5000 worth of DPSM parts just sitting there with only 1 kit actually sold.

So the tale continues... but at least it's a sigh of relief about the Bluetooth no longer being an issue. Oh... that, and all of the labor for this DPSM troubleshooting will not be on my bill, because it's considered a warranty matter now.

 

... and the saga continues

 

that was my exact thoughts before i scrolled to your post

 

So it also fails when on the carpet and grounded from the case to a chassis ground? Sounds to me like the amp is OK and that there's a snag in the new harness(es) sp? somewhere. Maybe somethings shorted to ground in the harness that shouldn't be like one of the speaker grounds. I wonder if he's compared checking ohms from the speaker outputs to ground to see if one's shorted and the others not. If that's it a quick check with a multimeter could confirm. Just a idea.

Edit. In thinking about it if there is a systematic problem in how the two new harnesses are installed, the test I mentioned could show all the same result for all four speaker grounds but all could be wrong. I was thinking if one wire was off that the test would show one different result. If there's a config problem with the harness though they could all test the same and still be wrong. I'm betting on the speaker grounds somewhere in the loom being incorrectly grounded to CHASSIS ground and this shorting the amp ( or at least the amp outputs) when it's chassis is grounded to the car chassis.

 

The finish is so close we can taste it!!

Anything else holding this project up?

 

Yowza! Glad to see things are finally coming around for you, I'm exhausted and all I did was read the thread

Glad to see that you've been able to keep your patience with the whole ordeal too! I can certainly understand where you're coming from with keeping everything done OEM and 'by the book'- I'm the same way. (Although, I think that somewhere around month two I would have started to consider Mini SA training... If you can move a datacenter, what's a box of wiring harnesses? )

 

bump for update...???

 

Well, I actually went there last night. Unfortunately not much more to report yet... last week the shop foreman looked at the car with the parts manager and both agreed that a 3rd DPSM amp was worth trying. I'm sure it has arrived by now, so hopefully I'll get a call soon with the results of that.

Other "progress" items... the passenger seat is installed now (so the car actually looks somewhat normal again), and I went ahead and synced my (replaced) cellphone successfully with the Bluetooth last night.

I'll post when I hear more... I'm just hoping the amp is the real fix, and they don't have to get a multimeter out to locate a wiring issue!

6 months and 1 week...

 

I'll have a beer in your honor tonight in hopes that will speed up the process.

 

So what's happening this week with Mr. OEM?

 

Just got back from MoS. No major news, but the tech said that he did briefly try the newest (3rd) DPSM amp last Friday, and it seems to be working great... but he hasn't fully hooked it up and done a thorough test yet. He'll hopefully get to it tonight or tomorrow night (they're slammed with jobs lately) and he promised to call me when he had the results - good or bad.

6 months and two weeks as of tomorrow morning!

 

So, is no news good news?

 

Nope, no news is bad news... because good news would be me getting the car back. Don't worry, I'll definitely post once I do.

Headed to MoS tonight, as is my Monday night ritual...

 

In time for Christmas?
:(

 

is your MINI getting started every now and then?

 

Update: The mysterious problem persists. After the 3rd amp failed to resolve the issue, the tech has started trying other things. He even took another DPSM harness out and hooked it up (outside the panels) to see if it worked - nope. He's tried disconnecting control modules, removing interior panels... all kinds of stuff. To make matters worse, the problem only happens intermittently. Sometimes the system works perfectly for 20 or 30 minutes! Then he cycles power (turns key off and on), and it's back. Very strange.

He has a few more ideas though, like disconnecting the PFMs, and replacing the crossovers... so he's going to keep plugging away at it.

I'm just happy I'm not paying for this troubleshooting (warranty time). Sheesh.Don't jinx it now! Yep - he has to pull it in and out of the service bay each time he works on it, because the bay is used by other techs during the day shift. So they are only very short drives, but it is getting started. He also hooks up a battery charger when he's doing a lot of testing.

 

it sounds very much like a short in the system. bad solder joint on the x-over board, etc. most amps will drive a dead short until they overheat and their thermal protection kicks in, so it would match your experience.

 

I really hope you're right... he has plenty of extra DPSM crossovers to try, since they have three entire DPSM kits sitting there in parts!

 

That's good to hear. I thought that it may have become a permanent fixture in their bay area, or maybe there is a bay with Mr. OEMs name on it.

 

I agree with PGT. Either his new short-circuit theory, or the other short-to-chassis idea.
It also should be simple to prove.
Simply disconnect the plug at the DPSM, then do continuity check of each speaker wire to the vehicle chassis (all tests should be open-circuit of course).
And with a good meter, you can do resistance checks of each +/- speaker feed at the amp.

 

I think MOS should put up a dedication plaque naming that bay in honor of Haemish!

 

For the most consecutive hours spent in one bay!

 

He needs a McIntosh with Powerguard....you can arc weld with that amp and it won't shut off

 

Ian & Dan - thanks for your helpful suggestions... I passed them along to MoS late this afternoon - I hope they help solve the problem!

 

So with almost 7 months of your car's warranty spent sitting @ MOS did you decide on the extended warranty?