If you drop a 10mm socket in the engine bay it is both there and not there until you either pull the entire bay apart or you find the 10mm in your driveway.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat

 

Classic dope slap material!

 

Hey, veggivet good to see you are still active here!

 

Hey Eddie, long time no see. I figured since I've not been on the track recently, I might as well chime in here on occasion. Hope all is well with you and P.

 

I was thankfully forewarned about this. When I cleaned mine out a while back I used some weed whacker cable to just 'snake it out' instead of blowing it out. Seemed to work pretty well.

 

what is a rear parcel shelf also why don’t I have an armrest

 

you can buy them online from Haynes and they are super helpful and work across many models

 

You may not have noticed, but the post you are responding to was dated late August of 2013. I've an idea he's moved on.

 

haha thanks for letting me know I actually did not realize that but hey maybe he’s still looking for a manual after 9 years

 

No worries, easy to miss as there are lots of little/obscure indicators accompanying each post and poster on the forum. Wouldn't it be a hoot if he did respond.

 

It is a plastic shelf that clipped into the side panels behind the top of the rear seats when the seats are up. Located between the seat and the rear hatch.

No center arm rest with the Gen 1 MINIs; was an option with the Gen 2 MINIs and is standard in the Gen 3.

 

Yep - They seem to be hard to come by for the 1st Gen. They are retrofit and replace the center EBrake cover.
I got mine (silver trim) from AllMag.com (FL). I was hoping for Anthracite trim to match my interior. It was mentioned that it was never produced in Anthracite.
Wrong - I came across one at a salvage yard but someone had butchered it to get to the EBrake handle.

 

I have seen this on the front of some cars. Must be a cost savings deal since not many have it. Also would increase the price of a front windshield replacement.

 

Not sure if this was covered but if you turn the car off with the lights on, turning off the headlamp switch will not turn off the lights. You have to cycle the lamp switch again or turn the ignition back on to turn off the headlights. Not sure how many models this applies to but mine is a 2002 S with HID lights.

 

A few I just learned while screwing around in NCSExpert (for R53):
-after the ignition is off, if you pull the brights twice it will go into 'follow me home' mode, which will leave the headlights on for X amount of time (which can be set)
-there is also a setting to roll down the driver's side window when you press unlock twice. It rolls down when you open the door! (super cool)
-holding the unlock button will roll your windows down and open the sunroof, but this can also be modified to only roll down the windows. Super useful in FL. I'll be looking further into the programming for this, as I think I can make it roll down both windows and just pop up the sunroof (unresearched, so we'll see)
Bonus: -auto up can be enabled in NCSExpert, although it depends on build date as to whether it will work for both driver and passenger side

 

It's so coincidental that you had mentioned the high-beams (brights) thing and the sunroof and windows completely retracting/roll down all the way.
I had just upgraded my pre-facelift Xenons with OEM facelift Xenon projector headlights. There was a problem with the driver side low-beam not working. While I had the ignition turned off, all the windows completely up and the sunroof closed I lifted the hood to check/reseat the headlight wiring plugs. I unplugged and re-plugged in each of the main headlight connectors. Closed the hood and to my surprise = all of the windows were down and the sunroof completely retracted.
I thought I was just being forgetful....or crazy
However; this happened each time I unplugged/plugged in the headlight wires.

That's a new one for me

 

There have been a few posts where the auto roll down and sunroof opening happened while parked and the car getting soaked by rain causing electrical issues and BCM damage. I’ve had it happen once, but luckily no rain or theft. Not sure if it was other keys pressing against remote in my pocket or just a random MINI electrical glitch, but that’s something I’d like to code out in the future.

 

Something else I do know and don't know about my Mini....
During the colder months (Nov - Feb), my car alarm will go off and reset several times until either the engine cools down or the wind ceases to change direction.
It's not so much as annoying to me as it is, perhaps to my neighbors.

Although I do have INPA, NCSExpert and NCSDummy installed on one of my laptops (when the car was tuned), but I've never and don't know how to use it.

I wonder if there is a sensitivity setting that can be adjusted for the alarm/immobilizer?

 

I don’t remember any sensitivity settings, but I also wasn’t specifically looking for them when I coded my alarm. If I get ambitious this weekend, I’ll drag my old laptop out and take a look at my files.

 

Maybe a bad sensor that triggers when it is cold?

 

I wondered about a sensor as well. I think it just disables the interior motion sensor if you double click the lock button, so you could try that and see if it still triggers for no reason.

 

It's 30° this weekend!!!
That's kind of you to offer - but man, I wouldn't wish braving those cold temps on my worst enemy...just to have a look for curiosity sake.
However if you do happen to spot something (alarm sensitivity), through any of the apps; I would be greatful if you could share some insight.
Thanks!

That's not a bad suggestion.
My Mini has lived most of it's life in sunny FL and the SW. The alarm never went off during those years and only if the car was bumped of jarred when locked and armed.
It was only in the last few years after having moved 500mi N that the siren would go off when temps fell below 50°. Within those first 3years, during the colder months, that the alarm went off constantly to the point where the audible siren finally stopped working and only the lights would flash. I finally pulled the alarm out and took it apart. I discovered that the small wire connected/soldered from the board to the siren had detached. I soldered it back in place and all was good again. Well, that is; for me and my Mini...Probably not so much for my neighbors....
I digress.
To your suggestion: I think I'll try and add some sort of thermo insulator around the immobilizer/tilt sensors to see if that might actually work.
Thanks!

 

Ahh - I was typing my previous reply when you posted.
Yup - I'll give it a try.
Thanks again.

 

8 deg F when I got up this morning. Never got about 15 deg. And there was a wind. I stayed in today.

thermo insulator - Won’t hurt to try.

However, I was thinking more along the lines of something inside the sensor is broken and the cold is causing 2 things (plastic vs metal, maybe) to contract at different rates causing it to think it is feeling a vibration from the car. Or something along those lines. I would think something like insulation will just slow the process of cooling off, but given enough time, it will be at the outside temp. But maybe getting there more slowly will work for you? Don’t know.

 

Ha. It was in the teens when I woke up this morning. My condo has a bunch of single-pane windows that don’t seal well, and this heat pump is struggling.

No worries about the cold though. I always read and save the files I plan on modifying, both to verify that I have all the latest changes I’ve made and to make sure I can communicate with the car. No need to sit out in the cold to look through them.

I didn’t see anything in my BC1 file that indicated sensitivity. It could still be there somewhere since my version of NCSDummy is old though.