This morning when I started my car and drove off my SES light was still on. I thought it might just needed to be restarted so I turned off the car and restarted, still on. The car has been turned off and set three times now and the light still stays on. I just finished removing the UNIChip to see if it had anything to do with it and the light still stayed on. What the hell could be causing this, I realize it could be a million things?

The car only has 1750 miles on it! Do I have to have one of those reset tools to get it to go off? Please help my concerned mind. :???: :???:

Jason

 

So I went down and bought a Carchip, which is a OBDII code reader and data logger. I plugged it in and these are the three codes and their descriptions that it gave me.

Code P0456 : Evaporator Emission Control System Leak Detected (Very Small Leak)

Code P0222 : Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor/Switch "B" Circuit Low Input

and finally,

Code P0123 : Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor/Switch "B" Circuit High Input

Does anyone have any idea what these mean?

The first code the carchip says it came on at 944 RPM with a speed of 6 mph, intake maniforld pressure of 6.8 psi, engine coolant temp of 165.2 F.

Can anyone make sense of this. I'm guessing the first might have something to do with the exhaust maybe. The exhaust has been on 9 days with nothing wrong.

Your input please.

Jason

 

Used the Carchip to reset the SES light so I am going to leave it connected to the car and log everything to see if anything trip the SES light again. This Carchip really is pretty cool, rightfully earned the 2002 SEMA Show award for Best Engineered New Product.

I will keep everyone posted.

Jason

 

Go to the dealer, there could be carbon monoxide leaking into the cabin. You won't know it until you find yourself upside-down the side of the road. SES lights are not to be messed around with.

 

>>So I went down and bought a Carchip, which is a OBDII code reader and data logger. I plugged it in and these are the three codes and their descriptions that it gave me.
>>
>>Code P0456 : Evaporator Emission Control System Leak Detected (Very Small Leak)

That is almost defnietly the loose gas cap code. I have seen that code hundreds of times at my shop. It is the most common code around because unless you give your gas gap a good full turn the fuel system may not completly pressurize.

he
>>
>>Code P0222 : Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor/Switch "B" Circuit Low Input
>>
>>and finally,
>>
>>Code P0123 : Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor/Switch "B" Circuit High Input
>>

Two condradicting codes sometimes mean a faulty part. There are a lot of different parts, sensors, cables and motors that could be causing this code. The MINI has a throtle by wire system instead of a mechanical connection so that adds another level of complexity to a code like this. Take it back to the dealer and see if there is anything wrong with throtle body.



>>Does anyone have any idea what these mean?
>>
>>The first code the carchip says it came on at 944 RPM with a speed of 6 mph, intake maniforld pressure of 6.8 psi, engine coolant temp of 165.2 F.
>>
>>Can anyone make sense of this. I'm guessing the first might have something to do with the exhaust maybe. The exhaust has been on 9 days with nothing wrong.
>>
>>Your input please.
>>
>>Jason
>>

 

Jason, sorry to hear about the problem!



_________________

 

Dave,

Nice to hear from you. I checked and made sure I hadn't accidently tripped the switch and it was still on map A. Got the SES light again today. I had the Carchip in when it lit up so when I got home I checked to see what the trouble code was and it was the same P0456 as yesterday. So I removed the UNIChip and I'm going to see what happens next. I reset the Carchip and entered the reset SES light code and I will start again tomorrow. I think I'm going to call the dealer and see if they know what code P0456 means. I may also go back to the shop where I had my exhaust installed and have them check all of the bolts.

Jason

 

Jason, it's easy to detect an exhaust leak. Turn on the engine and listen around each joint. The sound should only come from the rear pipes and not the joints. The cat-back exhaust should not set off SES light since the O2 sensors are in the header. Did you upgrade the header?

When my light went off the first time, I called Anne and gas cap was what she suspected. Most likely, your problem is the gas cap as well. :smile:

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Dave,

Wouldn't the Check Gas Cap light come on if it was a bad gas cap instead of the SES light? I'm just curious, why would they include a check gas cap light if a bad gas cap wouldn't set it off. I hope that is what it is.

So what were the final numbers for your car after Tony got through with your custom UNIChip map? Did it take him three hours to do as well?

Jason

 

Jason, I don't think there's a "check gas cap" light. As indicated by the code reader, the gas cap is related to "Evaporator Emission Control System Leak." Just close the gas cap tightly, the SES light will eventually go away after a few start ups. I also noticed that when the gas attendant "top off" the gas, it increases the chance of setting off the SES, even when the cap is tight. So I make sure they do not top it off and I double check the cap. :smile:

On that Sat, Tony was getting tired and a bit restless towards the end of the day. He only spend one hour on my car, so I went back on Sunday. The car was fine tuned by another tuner, Sean. He was able to obtain 10+ more torque, very noticeable in the acceleration.

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Well,

I talked with the MINI service department manager at Rasmussen MINI and she said it is most likely not the gas cap and so I will be making the 300 mile journey to Portland next Thursday. I was very straight forward with her in stating that I would be VERY dissappointed if I get up there and they look at the car and find out it IS just the gas cap. That is a really long round trip, plus gas, and a day off from work for a $17 part. The sh.. will hit the fan and I won't be quiet about it.

I am currently still having "Check Gas Cap" light going off every time I drive the car and the occasional "SES" light. This is all coming from a car with 1,904 miles on it. But dawn it, this car is just to much of a kick in the pants to not own.

I will keep everyone updated.

P.S.: Even with the UNIChip out of the car I was still getting the same fault code P0456 or P0455. The UNIChip doesn't seem to effect the code signatures. Again, I love this carchip tool.

Jason

 

I hope for your sake that if it is the gas cap that they make something up that sounds fancy and complicated

 

For this problem, I think if I was faced with a 300 mile trip to the dealer I would consider buying a replacement cap either mail order (from your dealer or Classic) or from a local auto parts shop and trying it out. With today's gas prices the cost would probably come out a wash and you would save a couple days time and 300 miles on the car.

I've had plenty of SES and EML lights with my car - I ended up and bought the ISO interface from digimoto.com. It's been really great to be able to look at the codes myself and reset the light. I've got a nice PDF of all the MINI specific DTC code definitions if you want it - many of them are different than the generic definitions. I don't know if the Carchip comes with a document specific to MINI or not.

The SES light will go away on it's own *if the problem has been resolved*, after several (3-5) engine cycles. The info I've read and my experience says that it's not just engine start/stop cycles, but the engine needs to cool down inbetween each cycle. Even if the SES light goes away, the code will still be logged and you can retrieve it. I did have an issue at my dealer where I had the SES light on for a few days, but when I got to the dealer it had finally gone off. They considered it a "intermittent" problem since the light was off, and that delayed the resolution of the problem a bit.

_________________
BigBrownDog


2002 MCS Chili Red / White


Webb EVM Package


Collinsville IL / St. Louis MO Area

 

BigBrownDog,

Please send the MINI specific codes to me!!! My email is shooter@medford.net

Thanks,

Jason

 

Jason, I hope everything works out. Look at the positive side, you get to enjoy the 600 round-trip miles to Portland in your MINI. Keep us updated!

 

So the problem was found with my MCS! I'm glad I took it in when I did. Arriving and initial look by the dealer found nothing so they asked me when the SES light came on the most often. I told them that when the car sat at idle for any time the SES light would trip. They did this and low and behold the light trip and therre was the smell of gasoline. upon examination under the back seat they gound a small leak in the fuel level sensor gasket and while they were looking at it it finally decided to let go and dumped around 3 cups of fuel all over the place. SOOOOO glad it was at the dealership when this happened.

They replaced the gasket and cleaned up the mess and all is well. Gas mileage has returned and everything is great. So far, my MCS seems to be dealer friendly, as problems go.

Have a great one!

Jason

 

Thanks Dave and Mike for letting me hang out with you and work on cars while I was waiting for mine to get fixed. Much more fun than trying to find something to do in Portland on a whim.

Jason

 

Jason, glad to know that your car is ok now! :smile:

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Yet another good dealer service experience!

 

>>Thanks Dave and Mike for letting me hang out with you and work on cars while I was waiting for mine to get fixed. Much more fun than trying to find something to do in Portland on a whim.
>>
>>Jason

Thanks for coming by and helping out :smile:

 

i have code PO455 on my NOLOGY pda... It has popped up about 45 minutes ago... i shall be at the dealer soon.. I hope the out come of mine is just as good as yours... i just had my pulley installed yesterday.... With the spark plugs... now i really cant enjoy the extra HP.. with this SES light on..

 

Did ya put your gas cap back on?

P0455 1109 Evaporative Emission System Leak Detected (large leak)


>>i have code PO455 on my NOLOGY pda... It has popped up about 45 minutes ago... i shall be at the dealer soon.. I hope the out come of mine is just as good as yours... i just had my pulley installed yesterday.... With the spark plugs... now i really cant enjoy the extra HP.. with this SES light on..

 

Yes the cap is back on.. The "Check Filler Cap" light is also on.. it clicked twice.. so im guessing that the senor has gone bad.. i have an appt wednesday morning

 

>>Go to the dealer, there could be carbon monoxide leaking into the cabin. You won't know it until you find yourself upside-down the side of the road. SES lights are not to be messed around with.
>>
>>I agree,and it would seem that the out come of this thread backs it up. IF THE LIGHT STAYS ON SOMETHING IS BROKE.Not just one more thing to ignore or whine about