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Today i was driving my R53 and was accelerating heavily (not going to lie, foot was to the floor). I was in 5th gear, going about 65-70mph, when all of sudden i heard a pop! A loud pop! Check engine light came on, and had an immediate loss of power, but it still ran.
I was about 45min away from home and decided to limp it home. On the way home swung by auto zone and scanned it. P0300 came up and it also gave me a list of about 6 different things it could be. (misfire, MAF, vacuum leak)
Right now it's sitting in the garage cooling off before i start digging into it. Looking for pointers on what it could be. Could a vacuum line have popped off and caused this? Did the super charger die?! (I could still hear it whining while i was driving.) Did it jump a tooth on the timing chain?
To me, it felt like i would be driving, and the RPM's would still climb as i pressed the accelerator, however i didn't go much faster, as if there were a lack of power. (Misfire?!)
I have Alta 15% pulley, Alta intercooler, aftermarket ignition coil pack, and wires, header, exhaust, JCW injectors and a different cam. Any help is greatly appreciated.
I'd check the plugs first. I had one on cylinder one try to escape. If you actually heard a pop, something definitely came loose.
I checked them. Cylinder 3 had a bit of oil around it. I'll try to attack a pic (on my phone)
Took the inter cooler off to see if a vacuum line had come off. There is a line that goes from the top of the valve cover to the cold air intake tube that was completely busted off, but not sure that's what causing the issue. No other lines were disconnected.
I checked them. Cylinder 3 had a bit of oil around it. I'll try to attack a pic (on my phone)
Took the inter cooler off to see if a vacuum line had come off. There is a line that goes from the top of the valve cover to the cold air intake tube that was completely busted off, but not sure that's what causing the issue. No other lines were disconnected.
I should also note that I started the car after I put it all back together and noticed the traction control light was lit, and I could not turn it off.
You should be running one-step colder plugs ... NGK BKR7EQUP.
I'll order new ones. From the picture though, they don't look bad. Which is a bit of a relief. If one of the plugs just stopped working, would it have popped?
So, I went to test spark and got no spark from cylinders 2 & 3. Tried my OEM coil pack, same results. Didn't get time to check a working plug on a non working coil, but that would be next step I would assume.
I did tape that hose back together (ill order a new one eventually) that was attached to the CAI to the top of the valve cover...didn't seem to help much.
I should also add, when I restarted the motor after testing for spark, I popped off the wire from 2 to see if the motor would run differently. No response. Not better, not worse. Plugged it back on the coil and tried 3. Same results. Got curious and popped off 4 and was immediately zapped (I know, I'm an idiot...) and the motor died. My question is, why wasn't I zapped when I popped of 2 & 3? Is the coil not telling the plug to fire? More to come...
Did a compression test. All 4 cylinders were between 90-95 PSI. Thought that was fine. Should it be higher? At least cylinders 2 & 3 weren't extremely low...
So then i tried the plugs from 1&4 (remember these had spark when i tested them) and put them into 2&3 and put the other plugs from 2&3 into 1&4. (follow that?) The car started but only cylinders 1&4 ran. Meaning the plugs are good, but why the heck is 2&3 not firing?!
Switched the wires around to make sure it wasn't a wire issue...same result. Going to test for spark again, as i now know that all the plugs are good. Also disconnected the battery to reset the code. Oh, when i started it with the wires switched around, the EML light went away...weird.
Maybe I missed it somewhere but did you try a different coil?
Yup...tried the OEM coil...same results.
Just went out there and tried for spark. I have concluded that there is no spark getting to cylinders 2 and 3. Also, the plugs from 2 & 3 were bone dry...even though i had it running for a few minutes. Odd, i mean they should be wet if fuel was injected in, but no spark, correct? Spoke with a tech from MINI, said that sometimes the computer will not send spark if it detects a misfire. Next step is injectors. I'll start that tomorrow or the day after. I'll be sure to send an update. Thanks for the help everyone.
Did some more digging around... Injectors were good...No spark on 2&3 is from faulty ECU. (MINI Likes to call it the DME) Anyway, at the moment, it appears I need a new one. New are super expensive so I'm trying to find an alternative. Dealer claims they cannot flash or code a used ECU, but can "write" a new one. Is that a load of BS? Anyone have suggestions on a flashing a used ECU?
Did some more digging around... Injectors were good...No spark on 2&3 is from faulty ECU. (MINI Likes to call it the DME) Anyway, at the moment, it appears I need a new one. New are super expensive so I'm trying to find an alternative. Dealer claims they cannot flash or code a used ECU, but can "write" a new one. Is that a load of BS? Anyone have suggestions on a flashing a used ECU?
Not to challenge your diagnosis, but I don't think it's very likely that your DME is faulty. Certainly could be, but they're not a common faulty electrical item. I know I'm no help, but I'll give you a bump to the top of the comments list!
Not to challenge your diagnosis, but I don't think it's very likely that your DME is faulty. Certainly could be, but they're not a common faulty electrical item. I know I'm no help, but I'll give you a bump to the top of the comments list!
Since the plugs are good, coil is good, wires are good and still no spark from 2&3, it is evident that the DME is not telling the coil to fire those 2 cylinders. I took apart the DME box and the motherboard looked ok-ish...there was a spot that almost looked oxidized. (i'll try to attach a picture later.) I know there is really no way to tell if one of the microchips went bad, but visually, that was the only thing I could see.
I called BBA Reman (http://www.bba-reman.com/us/index.aspx) and they said this is common. They will rebuild the DME for about $500. Beats buying a new one from the dealer. Good news is my tune stays with it and wouldn't be affected by the rebuild.
