Did my oil supply/return lines today. Connected the battery back up, and cranks but does not start. I can smell fuel through the intake.

Got a code of P2C9C DME Relay Max. Anyone have this issue?

 

* MINI DTC P0687 (0x2C9C) - ECM Power Relay Control Circuit High
Basically, the relay for the ECU is over voltage; causing a spike.
Have you cleared the code to see if it automatically returns?

- Erik

 

Thank you Erik. This came out of nowhere too. The car sat for 2 weeks (waiting for parts) in the cold weather so the battery was a little slow in cranking. It slow cranked but just wouldn't fire. Hooked up my AccessPORT and saw the code and cleared it. Tried again after putting a jump box on it, code arose again. Car has a trickle charger on it for the night. Possible the relay is bad?

 

Wait till the trickle charger has put enough juice back into the battery to try to fire up the car again.
It could be as simple as a voltage issue. Wait for a good charge and attempt it again.

- Erik

 

Good morning Erik,

The car spent the night before last on a trickle charger. The trickle charger reported that the batter was charged. The little 'eye' atop of the battery was a shade of green from the angle I was at.

Car was unlocked, pump primed, starter spun but not as fast as it usually does, car fired for a second and stumbled for a second longer and then the cranking just got slower and slower. Set the battery on a charger again for a couple hours then put it on 'Start Engine' and the engine just cranked slowly with no fire.

I have a new battery on the way today. And I ordered a new relay from Mini (just in case the code was truly for a relay).

I believe you are right, if the ECU is not seeing the correct voltage it will not fire the ignition system. I am wondering it the relay code I am seeing is a result of the low voltage or an actual relay problem...

The next question is which relay is the code related to? There are two (light blue) relays that correlate to the picture of an engine with a electrical bolt through it on the bottom of the lid to the box.

Any thoughts?

 

Have you actually checked the system voltage? With the engine off and no other loads, you should be seeing over 12.5V.

 

Good afternoon,

I will have that answer shortly. A DMM was not within my possession yesterday....

 

The battery has 12.5 volts as of right now. What do you suggest?

 

If that was measured with the car not running (especially if it had been off for several hours), then I suggest the battery is not your problem.

If that was measured with the engine idling, then I would suggest your charging system is the problem. Most of the time, the system should be just over 14V when the engine is running.

DMMs are handy little devices. Even a cheap $20 Rat Shack one is generally good enough for any automotive use. (Uhh, at least with the older cars I've worked on. I haven't really worked on the MINI yet.)

 

The voltage was measured with the car off (remember this thread started because the car wont start ) and posted a 12.5-12.7v but during cranking it was discovered the battery dropped voltage and amperage considerably, bad battery.

New battery was placed into the car and the car cranked much better and even fired, ran for a couple seconds (at a low and stumbling RPM) and then would not start again.

Same code (P2C9C) continues to be popping up. Ran to my Mini dealer and swooped up one of the DME relays and will give that a try tonight....

"DME (Digital Motor Electronics) relay is a two-in-one type relay and is used to fire the DME control unit (ECU) while the secondary relay gives power to the fuel pump and heater element in the O2 sensor, most failures in the injection system are related the DME relay"

Where is the 'smilie' for fingers crossed? Thank you for your help

 

To wrap this chapter in my Mini's life up I replaced the battery and replaced the DME Relay and cranked her up. She cranked for a couple seconds and then I pushed the start/stop button to stop. Nothing. Then I pressed it again and something just told me to let it go, after about 6-7 seconds she fired up and puffed a little smoke out the tailpipes. Clearly she was angry.

I checked all my work and let her warm up after a long slumber. Took her for a drive and all is well in the world again. A huge thanks to bluefox280 and slave to felines for your support and suggestions. Very much appreciated.