Hey there i am new here. Because where i live MINI's are very scarce and no community , i was wondering if you could help me with some question.

So the problem is that sometimes when the RPM drops from like 1300 to 900 (where it stays in neutral) the car trembles a bit, and sometime the RPM tends to fall to 700 RPM and then right back to 900. I suspect the gas pump not getting enough juice for the engine. I will take it next week to BMW to have it check but want a second opinion about this.

Also can you tell me what pumps tend to malfunction. My mini is from 2001.Also what signs i get when the pump goes bad ?

Really appreciate the help, thanks.

 

What's the air conditioning doing? I think the engine idles faster when the A/C is on, so if the A/C is cycling the revs can vary, from 1300 to 900 sounds about right. 700 sounds low though.

Where are you from if you have an 01? We didn't get them over here.

 

I can get my car to do this too if I apply just a smidge of throttle, I honestly dont know why it happens though.

 

Mine does this every single time I stop but only when the AC is on. When its off no issues. I'm afraid of it stalling.

 

Really, 2001??? The first model year in the USA was 2002. Where are you that MINI's are very scarce? Just curious.

 

'01? I'm jealous. I thought I had one of the earliest one's on this side of the pond...

 

My mini is made in July 2001 (just looked on the side panel of the dash). I am from Romania (it's in Europe). But sadly there are no mini fans here, and I really like this community because I really think MINI's own.

I will post some pics of my little MINI.

The problem happens without the A\C on. I think I exaggerated with 700 RPM but definitely 800 RPM. When A\C is on the RPM varies between 850 and 950.

I don't mind the RPM problem , it's just that the car tremors. Also refused9150, you are right, the car tremors when I stop like this.


Other problems I had with it is the AIRBAG bug, the light was on the dash but fixed it by changing 2 airbag cables.

And also thanks all for all the kind answers

 

Just as mine happens. just a smidge of throttle.

 

The injectors may be getting a little dirty, causing some mild idle problems. Have you run and injector/fuel system cleaner through? Just a thought.

 

Hello there from a displaced fellow Romanian (I live in the USA currently)!

I've occasionally noticed that on my MINI (05 model), and on other cars as well. It's never been a big issue (no fuel pumps failing or anything like that), but it could be a sign that you may need to clean the throttle body, intake and/or injectors. Most likely, if your car doesn't shudder when accelerating or any condition other than idle, it has something to do with the idle circuit.

The items in the idle circuit may be the air bypass valve (a valve that adjusts air coming into the engine at closed throttle), O2 sensor and fuel injectors. The idle air valve can get oil/dirt/carbon buildup with time, making it stick a little when moving. The O2 sensor, as it gets older, may vary in its readings under constant conditions. Fuel injectors can get clogged and "sticky" with age too. Any or all of those can cause the stumble.

A bottle of fuel injector cleaner (or better yet, a professional clean at a shop) is a good idea anyway once in a while. There are also sprays and foams to clean the intake with, although some can be a bit harsh on O2 sensors. A shop can do a very good job there though. But unless it becomes a real problem with keeping the car idling, I wouldn't be overly concerned tbh.

One ahem, anectodal cure is to just "blow the cobwebs out" of the motor by taking it on a spirited driving every now and then.

Daniel

 

Hehe, thanks Daniel for the detailed info.BTW my name is also Daniel

The idle RPM holds at 900 constant, no problem there. The shiver appears only when i push the throtle a bit (till 1200 RPM and back to 900).Also when i turn A/C on the car shivers kinda bad. Its not a huge problem but is a bit disturbing. Also once a week i give the car 6000 RPM so i don't think its an injector problem. I also think its the O2 senzor, i will take it next week to the dealer to have it checked.Also there is a problem that i think is connected to this tremor, when i make long trips, like 200+ km, if i stop the car and then start it up again it takes 2 seconds to start and not only 1.It start so there is no problem, but the thing is that it does not start at half a key like usual! :(

The real concern is the pumps, i see on the forums that they cause problems. Hope i don't get unlucky and the pumps go bad!

Will post some pics tomorrow, so you see my little MINI.

Thanks for the help.

PS for Daniel : Mersi mult pt timpul acordat.
PPS : where is the valve located so i can clean it. Don't wanna spend money taking it to the dealer.

 

Hey Daniel,

Cu multa placere.

The air valve, tbh, I haven't looked to see where it is on the MINI (I just assume it has one). Usually it's located right near the throttle body, either attached to it or right behind it. It should have a connector on it. Maybe on the MINIs, the idle air valve and the throttle control motor are the same thing. Either way, take off the intake hose and thoroughly inspect and clean the throttle body and anything in there that moves and might stick. Make sure you use solvents that are approved for sensors, especially O2 sensors.

Hmmm, the new info you posted seems to point away from the idle valve or throttle body though. It could be the O2 sensor, but that wouldn't cause your hot start problem. It does seem to point to either sticky injectors or even possible the charcoal canister (absorbs gas vapor). If the charcoal canister quits working, you may experience partial vapor lock and rough running at idle.

Best bet is to see first if you have any engine codes stored in the computer. There is a procedure for doing that, and also tools that can read those codes (not too expensive). It's really hard to diagnose something like this, since there are so many things that can cause what you describe. Maybe just cleaning the injectors and the intake will do the job. If I remember the road conditions and the gas you get over there, it's probably a good idea to do them anyway.

Always glad to help.

Daniel

 

Thanks again Daniel for the very explanatory and nice answer.

Well I went to Bavaria Motors and had my engine checked twice and they said that it's working flawlessly. No problems, no code, no nothing. This is not a bad issue that I am having because the car works very nice and there are no engine problems, the problem is somehow in my head because I want it to run like it was new. I never had problems on start/stop.

Here is one more symptom : when I start the motor in the morning, the RPM goes to about 1200 - 1300 RPM, then decreases to 1100, the car start to tremble and then the RPM quickly goes to 1300 again (so the motor does not die). Is it ok to do this?

Thanks again for the very nice help.

 

Hey that's good news! If the O2 sensor or throttle motor didn't throw any error codes then it's quite possible what you're experiencing is pretty minor and may be related to outside stuff, like weather, gas quality, etc. I would still recommend you buy a bottle of fuel injector treatment (the stuff you can put in the gas tank), just to help the injectors stay clean.

Btw, the idle condition you mention in the morning is not uncommon. On humid cool mornings mine sometimes does it too. Actually, my wife's car (an 07 model, 2nd gen) does it more often than mine. Nothing to worry about.

I can only hope that mine will be as trouble free as yours and run as good after 7 years.

Daniel

 

Hello again,

So i did extra checks of how the engine is working and its fine. The tremor is more violent when I have A/C on. I look at the engine and when the tremor happens, the engine shivers pretty badly. It lasts only 1 second. They said that the springs that support the engine are pretty damaged and they should be changed, but i don’t think that changing those will resolve my problem. When A/C is off the car tremors a little but when it’s on it does it violently for 1 second. The idle RPM are ok and holding with or without A/C on. The strange thing is that it does not do always this stuff; it’s like 50% chance. When it does the RPM drops to 650 for a split second, when it does not it just goes down to 750 as normal.

Any ideas, I think it’s a mechanical fault that the computer cannot detect (no sensors).

 

The tremor you see is when the AC compressor clutch engages (so the compressor starts to pump). That puts quite a load on the engine, especially noticeable at idle, so it's not unusual to see the engine do what you describe. It's possible the AC compressor clutch is getting worn out a bit and engages more abruptly (my old corvette AC did that) which makes the shaking worse. The springs you mentioned, do you mean the motor mounts (connect the motor to the frame, metal brackets with rubber bushings, yes)? If those are broken/loose with age they would affect the shaking also.

In short, I don't think it's anything to be too concerned about, it's just normal aging of mechanical parts. Replacing the motor mounts and maybe the AC compressor clutch (probably the entire AC compressor assembly) will most likely reduce the shaking back to what it was when new, but those are not cheap items to replace. You have to decide if it's worth it though.

 

Well yes i mean are the motor mounts (tampoane motor), and i will change them, they are about 100 Euros, so not that expensive. The A/C is very expensive, will not change that
Also Daniel, can you tell me if you get a huge motor brake (frana de motor) when you engage the A/C?


And if some1 knows got 2 questions :

1. Does the R53 front bumper fit on the R50. Broke my old front bumper a bit and will change it with insurance.
2. The Fuel indicator does not work. Change the gas readers in the fuel tank, and it does not work. It shoes 0 Fuel. The strange thing is that if i get a full gas tank it works ok, if i drop under half of the gas tank it goes to 0. The guys at Bavaria say that is the big speedometer and needs to be changed but its 800$, so very expensive. Can it be the wiring? Can't find an old wrecked MINI to buy a second hand one, Mini’s are very scarce here :(

BTW, thanks again Daniel for the great help!! :D

 

Yup, when the AC engages it does put quite a load on the motor. I can definitely feel it when I drive, these little motors do have to work a lot harder with the AC on.

As to the other two. I think the R53 bumper will fit, but it may look odd as the original grill on the bonnet will not match the indentation in the R53 bumper and the grill underneath. I guess you could probably buy a new bonnet grill to match the bumper.

The fuel tank guage. Hmmm, if it's the guage itself, then you would probably have to replace the whole center unit. It may be the windings in the guage that are partially shorted or burnt. I doubt it's a simple wire though, not if you already replaced the sending unit. Someone more knowledgeable may be able to help here.

Glad to help!

Daniel

 

Sorrn been away, medical problems

I wil lsoon go and order the new bumper. So what you guys sugest, buy the original or the cooper S R53. It is wah cooler, and i will have to change the fron grill too so will not be a problem. Any ideas ?

 

I thought the 'rough idle' was quite a common thing within all 1st Gen Minis. I'm sure I've read several threads about this on here.

Mine has never ever actually stalled before, but I almost pee myself sometimes when there is heaps of traffic and it almost does.

 

Thanks justin for the info. SO should i go for the R52 grill + bumper ?

 

Don't know if we're all talking about the same thing here but there is a phenomena which occurs from time to time (for some unknown programming reasons) in which the idle rpm will momentarily drop and the motor behaves as if it were running on two cylinders. This does not cause a stall and last roughly 10+- seconds. What is happening is the fuel trim is in extreme lean mode. I do not know what the function of this programming is but I do know that this phenomema is common with many if not all Minis and does not trigger any CEL...

 

CEL = ?

 

That's motorhead speak for Check Engine Light.

Darksun, about the bumper, I think you mean R53 (Cooper S), right? Like I said, I don't know personally, maybe post the question separately in the mods section?

 

Ahhhh. You can see why I'm still such a noob around here.

Thanks!