I sure am glad I re-upped my AAA right before I bought my Mini, there's $50 wasted. :(

Gotta love Cake!

 

Cake is awesome

Chris, consider it payback for Gnarles Barkley last week

 

It could very well be a mechanical/electrical issue but have you tried turning the car on and off several times? I know I have read of others encountering electrical grimlins that simply go aways after a couple cycles of the ignition... Good luck.

 

^^ I did; Alas, it made no difference.

 

How about the Throttle body control module or the engine wiring harness?

 

Called him back -- He said he hadn't had a chance to get back to it. So I can call again tomorrow morning... *sigh*

 

Can you ask around here on NAM for a local mechanic recomendation in your area? One that works on Minis There's got to be someone else who lives near a giant clump of cat hair who can help you out

 

I guess he's emptying that Guiness instead of looking at your car.

Steve

 

Yea not sure where the giant clump of hair is, but I'm sure a NAMer could direct you to a BMW/MINI non dealer garage.

 

bamatt and motor_on -- Good idea (why didn't I think of this???)

 

We're here to help. Just let us know.

 

Because PARTSMAN109 (Joaquin) is unquenstionably fabulous, I now know that my car is throwing random misfire codes for 2 cylanders...

 

Sounds like a trip to Hartford. Good to hear that you at least know what's wrong, and I hope the fix isn't too crazy!

 

^^ the guy at the garage will tell me exactly nothing about my car. I grow annoyed as I (and the huge chip on my shoulder) am beginning to feel like I'm getting the brush-off because of my gender...

I understand that this is probably untrue, but the beginnings of those feelings are creeping slowly in.

Either way, I do think I'm going to Hartford -- just a matter of how I'm getting my car there. Will call garage tonight and see if it's driveable. Will get AAA membership, just in case it's not.

PS -- rumblings about the problem potentially being attributed to the purge valve...

 

Your problem could be just a defective MAP sensor, when that sensor is defective car starts but refuses to idle or idles very poorly and no power.
MAP sensor about $50 labor about 1 hour to diagnose and replace.
Also contrary to the internetism a good MINI dealer is still the best place to the the car diagnosed.

 

Not wasted. If you are in a friends car that breaks down and said friend does not have AAA, you become the hero (can't do that with you MINI RA card)

 

OmToast, it could also be the plug wires you changed. Be sure that they are pressed on all the way, you should feel a click as you press them on.
Another thing I'd try is putting the original wire plugs back on.

Hope you get this sorted soon, good luck.

 

Checked, double-checked and re-double-checked the plug wires when I was stuck... they're in there.

 

weaksauce....maybe it's a bad coil. Maybe someone closer to you could let you try theirs to see if it helps. Coils just take a few minutes to swap and could def. cause misfiring.

 

I have the stock coil off my silver car if you want to try it. Can't do it tonight though, my 4 year old is "graduating".

 

Mr. Mechanic thinks it's the coil pack...

 

Perfect time to just spring for a Screamin Demon Coil Pack.

Hope that works for ya. I know of a few locals having had the same problem.

 

That was a thought... I have so very few mods, though, that I can't imagine reaping any benefit.

I have, for all you fine forumheads, a call for explanation:

The mechanic said that the computer was showing random misfires on all cylinders -- for whatever reason, the mechanic also said he didn't believe the computer. He thought it was misfiring on 2.

1. How / why could he know this?
2. If it's misfiring on all 4, a coil pack makes sense to me as there's 1 coil pack causing across-the-board misfire. But why would a bad coil pack only cause misfires on 2 cylinders (assuming Mr. Mechanic is right)? I will be the first to admit that, while I have a very basic understanding of car bits, what I don't know about ignition systems is alot. (actually, it's everything: I know absolutely nothing about ignitions)

Apropos of that, I must ask: in the coil pack, are there 4 ignition coils (1 per)? Or is there some kind of regulatory "brain" that distributes voltage from a single coil to each chamber?

I'm so confused!!!


A huge, huge thanks goes to Partsman, who went way above and beyond to give me a hand and make sure my car was and would be well taken care of!!! MINI people are the absolute BEST -- I can't imagine owning a Honda and being the recipient of such kindness and assistance And many thanks to everyone else who's offered suggestions, hypotheticals, explanations, and little sad faces.

NAM rocks

 

I found this which kind of sounds like your problem
Question: ... Total loss of power. I talked to my brother (who worked as a mechanic for several years). He came and looked at the car. He found that #1 cylinder wasn’t getting fire. His first suggestion was to replace the ignition coil. We did that with no difference. He had disconnected the injector, no difference. We switched the spark plug boots, again no difference. He then suggested that we get some injector cleaner. Did that, no difference. But the car did run. Just very rough because it was only running on 3 cylinders. The other day, the car just stopped. Quit! Again my brother came and looked at the car. He is stumped. We have replaced the fuel filter, crankshaft sensor, spark plugs. We have checked before the car quit running the compression and it was fine. It’s getting fuel, getting fire except at #1 cylinder but will not run. Turns over fine. Tries to start but won't. Also when we have this last trouble, before it stopped running, it did backfire. And while trying to get it to start, it has backfired too. Any suggestions?

[ Answer: You are close to the cause of your problem. It is not the ignition coil but the ignition coil housing. http://www.2carpros.com/topics/coil.htm

Dunno if MINI has an ignition coil housing?

 

^^ Similar, but my car will start with no trouble. After it starts, however, it launches into a really rough idle.