Long story short. Parked my mini over some tall brush and it ended up starting a small fire.. I moved it before any serious damage could occur, THANK GOD! unfortunately the fire did have time to melt 2 plastic lines just under the passenger side, the lines run from the engine compartment all the way to the back. The SES light is on but I dont have any driveabiliuty issues. anyone know what these lines are for and where I can get a good price on the parts? I need to get inspected and in tx they wont do it with the light on. Thanks in advance. BTW, I'm new here and this is my first post, hopefully I'm in the right place.

 

I think if you can get the codes read it might point you in the direction you need to look.
As for parts its probably going to be factory only.
Best bet would be bite the bullet and go to the dealer. Good luck.

Welcome to NAM!!

 

Wow - glad you caught it in time! The lines you're referring to sound like the fuel feed and return lines. Do you smell gasoline outside the car? Hopefully not!

Either way, certainly something to address soon.

Stop by an auto parts store to see if you can get the SES code...there may be other issues from the fire...

 

I guess I should have mentioned that I stopped by the local auto-zone and they pulled the code, its P1477.

 

Attached a doc that's a good reference to have for codes on a MINI.

P1477 is "Leakage Diagnostic Pump Reed Switch Did Not Open."

One or both of those fuel lines must have a leak.

 

Probably the evaporative emission control lines were the ones that melted
which is why a leak detection DTC is being reported with the SES light.

 

Also, you should be able to splice in new sections of line if the damage is not too extensive as there is no significant pressure in evap lines.

 

A good lesson to be learned here. City folk aren't aware like us country boys about parking hot grain trucks in wheat stubble while there's still wheat to be cut. Many a grass fire has broken out across the county because somebody not thinking pulled over into tall grass off the side of a road especially in the heat of summer. Exhaust pipes do get hot enough to ignite dry grass

 

Definitely the EVAP lines. I agree with Pdabore that if small section of line is melted then simply cut the plastic and attach rubber hose/tubing to each end with hose clamp to secure to where you can't pull off the line. Don't overtighten or risk cracking the plastic again.

Also, make sure you buy hose from an auto parts store that is rated fuel grade. Any sort of air leak in the line will continue returning faults in the ECU.

I would try this quick fix before heading to the dealer because I'm sure the parts and labor will not be cheap as the line is probably one complete section from the charcoal canister by the fuel tank to the purge valve in the engine bay.

Also, you'd know if its a fuel feed or return line if you ever crack one of those. It'll spew gasoline so fast it would be impossible not to smell/tell, let alone keep the engine running due to lack of fuel pressure.

 

WOW!! you guys are GREAT! I just wanna send thanks out to everyone that has posted, I sincerely appreciate y'all taking the time to do so..
@ ERIK06MCS: I like your idea as it sounds like the quickest most cost effective way to rectify my nagging SES light. I'm fairly certain that I can piece the line, the damaged section for both measures about a foot. I'll be headin to the auto parts store after work to see what I can find. Ill follow up with the outcome..

Thanx again!

 

Good luck!

May be a good idea too to cut out a small section to bring into the store so you can test fit the line and ensure you get the right inner diameter.

 

@ ERIK06MCS: Good Idea.. Any thoughts on the best way to cut this tubing? I dont wanna risk squashing it ..

 

As long as you have access, these cutters work really well:




Similar cutters are sold at most tool stores like Lowes, Home Depot, Sears, etc. They are also great cutters to have in your tool box. Work great on hoses, etc to give really nice clean cuts.

 

It'll definitely be tricky because the plastic may crack/break instead of cut nicely. Make sure whatever you use is very sharp and not dull. That'll prevent breaking/cracking. Also, go slow, Maybe use a tool like that pictured above, apply pressure and keep rotating the tool around in a circular motion like how you would use a pipe cutter. By taking your time you should be able to cut/carve the line without squishing or cracking.

 

I finally got the chance to attempt the repair that was suggested, I purchased 6' of 5/16 ID fuel line and some hose clamps ($9.56$)at the parts store yesterday. The melted lines were worse off than I thought, I ended up having to take 3 feet out of each one, there was a 3rd line that wasn't melted at all (I believe its the one that actually says "fuel" on it). It only took about 45 mins to get it all done, mostly because i was being overly careful not to damage the tubing when I cut it back. Anyways, I drove the car to work this morning (55 miles) and the SES light was still on so i honestly thought it didn't work or I that i hadn't cut the lines far enough back.. Then when I got in it earlier to go for lunch I started it up and the light was gone! Thanx so much for the help with this, I can only imagine how much money I just saved..

 

Clint,
If you didnt clear the fault or reset the ecu then your light would still be on immediately following the repair. This light would have stayed on too until the proper conditions were met while driving for the ECU to go ahead and retest the evap system for leaks. After it retested the system successfully without issue it would trigger the light to turn off. However, there will still be a stored fault in your ecu even though the light is off, until the next time it is reset.

Glad it worked out for you on the cheap!

 

Wow! I just did the same thing but was quick enough to move the car without damage. I parked it in tall grass, got out to put up an Open House sign, and smelled burning and knew right away it must be the grass. Closed the trunk jumped in and move the car - seems to be fine.

Won't do that again. Glad to hear you got it fixed. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the ECU looks for the fault at start up and after a few starts/stops if it doesn't find the fault, it will clear the light.

 

Jumped in the mini this morning and the SES is back on.. Is it possible that I need to have it cleared? Any thoughts are appreciated..

 

For some codes, it could take up to 80 warm up cycles to clear on it's own. If your state has no emission testing, then you could manually clear the code with the scan tool.

 

We do have emissions testing (Texas) and I am also up for a state inspection. if I clear the codes will it cause my car to fail?

 

It would only fail if the emission sensors still have a "not set" or "not ready" value. When you clear the code, it takes driving time to get the values reset in the computer, so you couldn't immediately go to get the emission test and pass, but if you waited a while, maybe a week or two to be safe, you should be fine.

However, if the code cleared on it's own and is now back on, my guess is that there is still a small leak somewhere in those lines, or some other damage to the evaporative emissions system. Was the car parked for longer before the code came back on versus before the time it cleared?

A little similar situation - I had intermittent codes with a new aftermarket O2 sensor a few years back - would go on and off randomly. It wasn't until I put in an OEM sensor that it went away for good. In other words, there was still a problem with that sensor until I put in the exactly correct one. If you're getting a code that comes on and off regularly, my vote is there is still a problem somewhere.