Hey all,

It's pretty unfortunate that my first post here is going to be a troubleshooting post. Huzzah. Fortunately you all here seem to be super knowledgeable about these cars. I have an intermittent CEL. It's a yellow reduced engine power CEL which you can see here: aKitpK7h.jpg

Took it to autozone, and the guy with the scanner couldnt pick up a code. Not sure about that, considering the CEL is on. So I popped the hood and went hunting for anything obvious- a loose hose...anything that might cause something like this. I found this: DkBT2f1h.jpg

It seems to me that there should probably be a clamp or clip on this hose to keep it in place. I'm not sure that this is what's causing my problem, and if anyone can give me a few hints or tips that may help, I'd appreciate it.

Background: 2007 MCS 6spd HT. 50k on the odo, just bought it 3 weeks ago. IUqCSDlh.jpg

Thanks!

 

Update:

So I've been able to figure out when the car will throw the CEL. Normally, I will be driving along at a lower RPM, keeping it out of boost, and the car is fine. Drives normally, but anytime i go into boost the car builds and boosts fine, but when i let go to slow down, boom CEL. While I was in there I think i heard the death rattle. Still at the very beginning stages... Time for a new tensioner. I'm also going to run the car back to the dealer after the weekend to read them the riot act.

 

Give us a picture on the engine zoomed out a bit. Where is your air filter?

 

Everything is stock/in the stock location, except there is an unknown aftermarket exhaust. I'll try to post a picture ASAP but I'm out of pocket right now.

 

http://imgur.com/a/HInXo

Found a link in my fb chat history. There should be a pic in there

 

Autozones etc. wont be able to read the codes, they're MINI/BMW specific so you'll have to have either a dealership or a local euro shop with a Bavarian Technic tool read the code for you. Long story short though, you're experiencing limp mode. The ECU is seeing something wrong boost related and essentially turning your turbo off. Could be that the PCV line in mention is too loose (mine originally had a ziptie on it, not kidding) or a number of other things. Faulty Diverter Valve, Carbon Buildup, Boost/Vacuum leak elsewhere, or, worst case, Turbo Problems. Best of luck to you, search for "Code P2885" "Limp Mode" and stuff like that to find some other threads involving this pain in the a$$ of a problem.

 

But yeah, as he mentioned, I'm really hoping the picture you took is with the airbox assembly removed. Cause otherwise......yeah.

 

That's exacting what I was getting at. LOL But from the other pictures, I see that he had removed the airbox, etal. to inspect things.

 

Sumrexnox:

If you haven't removed things, then your car is missing the rest of your airbox assembly.

So yes, that small hard plastic hose from the valve cover to the y connector on the turbo air intake line should have a u-shaped plastic clip to hold that piece in place. That tube is venting PCV from the valve cover to the turbo air line.

The large end of the turbo hose, ( waffle pattern), should have a large plastic tube that connects to the end of it. The other end of that connection attaches to the top half of the air cleaner box which you don't show. Those hoses need to be connected.

The electrical connector that is just hanging there plugs into this connection and is for your MAF sensor.

 

Yeah, as you all have guessed, I took the air box out to poke around back there. It's all back together now, all the things I unplugged are back in. Still experiencing the problem. I'm going to try zip tying that hose on. Thanks for the help all, and if you think of anything else please lmk! Thanks!

 

I figured, and btw did not mean to offend you in any way at all you just never know on these forums
But yeah, try to secure that hose the best you can, they sell very small hose clamps that might be worth trying (hard to get in there but do-able).
If your problem is still there, get the code checked by a Euro shop or someone that is positive they can read the actual codes of a MINI. It's way easier to solve the problem with an accurate code. But as I said after that you'd wand to check your diverter valve (the most common cause), then check for carbon buildup, a boost/vacuum leak elsewhere, or turbo issues.

 

No offense taken. I appreciate the help!

I'll look into those if I can't seem to fix the problem. After reading through countless troubleshooting threads on here I'm scared shitless of what this car is going to do to my wallet. Sucks that it's just so fun to drive. Is there a good generic code reader I can get my hands on to keep around? I don't want to have to buy an expensive one and I don't want to take my car in every time it throws a CEL, which seems to be common with these cars.

 

If you have an android phone/tablet buy the torque app and a Bluetooth dongle for reading and clearing codes. When you tried to run the codes last time was the engine running. When I use torque to clear the increased emission code for my downpipe it won't pick up the code unless the engine is running.

 

N/a

 

Thanks! I'm currently in Las Vegas, several thousand miles from the car, and I haven't been able to touch it since Friday. I'm going to run it to the stealership when i get home. It seems to me to boost fine when it boosts, but I've only had it for 3 weeks. Thanks for the comment!

 

If this is the case, Way Motor Works had a used one for a reasonable price. And they are straight forward to install yourself.

 

Thanks. From the horror stories that I've been hearing about these cars, I may just have the timing chain/tensioner update done, and then do the vacuum pump myself, along with some other reliability mods. I wonder if there are any beefy aftermarket parts from a company with a good rep i could buy to use, instead of the stock timing chain/tensioner part, which seems to be of an inferior quality/design due to all the failures.