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I hope this post is in the right area as normally I do not post questions for help.
Anyway, Gay electrons (Homotrons) are again screwing with my (2002 R53) electrical system.
Just kidding to all my LGBT automotive friends that know me.
Here are the symptoms:
My dash speedo suddenly will no longer display the mileage.
Speedo:
It illuminates and everything functions just I see no digits on the mileage window.
MINI's are susceptible to many weird electrical issues when the battery is low/dying/dead. Fully charge it and see if they go away. You may be in the market for a new battery. The alternator could also be the culprit.
Should have 12.6V battery key off and removed. 13.7-14.2V or so idling and unloaded. No lower than 13V or so with loads on (headlights, AC+blower on high, radio etc) at idle, back to 13.7-14.2 loaded at ~2500rpm.
If you're reading high, >15V you're looking at a bad voltage regulator (integral to the alternator).
If you have a multimeter, check your voltage drops across the positive cable and positive battery post, and again with the negative cable and post. Should be nothing or <0.1V, but you might be surprised to find it isn't. That equals clean your posts and cable ends, and re-install everything tight. Also check all your major ground points. Like Mike says these cars hate-hate-hate low voltage, but they also hate compromised / sketchy grounds. List of them follow:
. (yep, they've already doubled in cost boys, get 'em while you can) and meanwhile provide them the pages they need to fix their own cars without getting a$$-r@ped at the Stealership and dirty Indies. I encourage others to do the same.
Mike87 and RedSky455 are right - check the simple stuff before tossing a bunch of cash at the problem.
I suspect that the data may not be reaching the speedo at all, causing the blank display. Small DC signals are easy to lose, a slight corrosion on a contact will do it. I learned an EXPENSIVE lesson that way!
As to those Right to Repair haters, well, I don’t know a term vulgar enough to fit them.
There are good shops out there with honest mechanics trying to make a living (if you come across one, spread the word!) and I don’t want to throw shade on them.
But some dealership service departments are little more than a wealth extraction racket! Case in point; wife’s (then) 3 year old minivan. I was told that the A/C died because the compressor failed, and the condenser was leaking. $1700 to fix.
I was in college at the time, working on my HVAC degree. I found nothing to back up what I was told. I called my neighbor over, who does HVAC service on long haul trucks. He saw nothing.
Then we took the cap off the low side port, and found oil slowly bubbling! 1/4 turn on the Schrader valve, no more bubbles. We put a can of R-134a in it, and it worked fine for several years!
That service department was incompetent at best, crooked at worst.
Too bad, because their Parts Dept. is excellent!
Last edited by Dan_in_WA; Nov 13, 2020 at 09:22 PM.
There are good shops out there with honest mechanics trying to make a living (if you come across one, spread the word!)
Sure, especially because online review sites have been gamed for quite a while. Yelp don't help. It's become the Mos Eisley of online commerce reviewing, a worthy counterpart to Craigslist for fraud and criminal scum. And fine to foresake the Stealership for an honest indy, but you're still going to be paying $$$ in labor and parts even for the stupid **** you could do yourself but are bringing in for the convenience. My favorite quote: $200 for a cabin air filter. Yeah, f@ck you guys.
That service department was incompetent at best, crooked at worst.
The dirty secret in the car industry at least with our illustrious manufacturers is that the Stealerships don't make their money in the showroom. The lights are kept on and the wage checks are stroked in the service bay, always have been at least with Bimmer products. Great cars when new, luxurious fine tuned performance animals and fun-fun-fun to drive but the reliability is designed to tank after the warranty period (and/or lease) expires. Hence the whole effort to shut down secondary or individual repair rights as with BMW's 'proprietary' software and that of others. They DO NOT WANT ANYONE ELSE, LEAST OF ALL YOU repairing their crappy purpose-built unreliable money pit cars.
Too bad, because their Parts Dept. is excellent!
,
Of course they are. They're just another profit center. Note the mark-up. And "OEM quality" doesn't apply to BMW products. Some are a must-have, some are the opposite. But they are always overpriced. Except power steering pumps - those are universally ridiculous, even at our own vendors.
Last edited by user 7389739; Nov 14, 2020 at 06:17 AM.
Considering what shops charge, I’ve been able to justify buying a lot of tools. And you have to be half computer geek to work on a modern car or truck.
I do 95% of my own work. Tires and alignments are about all I don’t do.
The one thing I avoid is Made in China parts, if at all possible. Their machine work usually looks good, but the materials they use leave a lot to be desired in my experience.
The one thing I avoid is Made in China parts, if at all possible.
This is becoming increasingly difficult. Not just because of the proliferation of no-name aftermarket substitute 'brands' sourced in "a certain Far Eastern Global Socio-Economic Power" carried by Amazon, Evilbay and all the brick and mortar stores (CRAPA, Auto-bone, Pep Girls etc) but for some time they have been cleverly and shamelessly counterfeiting 'OEM' or top shelf aftermarket parts, i.e. Bosch, NGK, etc. They're very good at making things look like the real thing, just not so much function like it. All over YouTube and the web. I subscribe to another online board for classic domestics where it's becoming increasingly obvious with the so-called stock quality parts don't fit, break early, or don't even work - right out of the box. Guys are starting to scour the web for new old stock, hoarding known good sources of OEM quality parts, or getting out of the hobby altogether. Everyone sees what's coming after we can no longer fix our own cars, either due to unsuitable parts or the knowledge deprivation (Right to Repair suppression) or we can no longer afford pay others to do so (most of us here never could, the whole purpose of this forum).
Time to stock up. On a great many things.
Last edited by user 7389739; Nov 17, 2020 at 07:07 AM.
