Thanks for the tips!


I haven't had another opportunity to work on the car so nothing new to report. I was thinking about all this when I woke up and wondered why anything suggested would work as it should, then suddenly stop working when the car was shut off.


On the Vanos - Is it possible for this to become clogged, unclog itself the get clogged again?


On the LPFP - So, I measured 10V at the terminals of the LPFP connector while the engine was cranking. The voltage here should be 12V. What could cause it to loose 2V? Is it reasonable that the 2V drop would decrease pump output from 500kPa to 210kPa?

 

ttt

 

ttt

 

think of it as a electric motor with a propeller attached to the shaft and it is pulling a little plane the higher the voltage the faster prop turns the lower the V and RPM drops ..so yes 10v VS 12V makes a big difference on a 12Volt motor.

 

So, research and testing have led to suspecting the LPFP relay located on a printed circuit board(PCB) in the passenger kick panel. There are two such boards integrated together with several relays. I'm in search of wiring diagrams to narrow down which relay is the one I'm looking for. I did post on Pelican Parts asking which relay it is. The response was that the relay is not serviceable. Well, a soldering iron, soldering wick, flux, and solder should make it more serviceable. That is, unless I'm supposed to be replacing the entire fuse/relay box in that kick panel. Not sure which way to go yet. There is a write up on a 2006 MCS convertible relay, https://gethypoxic.com/blogs/technic...ertible-mcs-06. I'm not really on board with the method used within but it may just be the way to go unless I can source a new fuse panel.

 

TTT


This MINI still sits. I have moved and been around the world a few times for work/pleasure since my last post. The countless projects, they continue, but with better weather coming working on this car will be a nice change of pace. Only three engine rebuilds ahead of this project now and those are all old Chevys so those should go pretty easy. Poor Charlie has been a back burner project for over a year now. I found a functional description of the low pressure fuel system, much simpler than I anticipated. Also saw that the low pressure fuel pump relay may be much more accessible than previously believed. But, the issue should be either the relay, DME, or wiring between components.

 

I just had almost an exact symptom of what you have going on. I had exactly 10v going to the LPFP and the pump would not activate. (brand new pump) MiniToBe helped me work through and trace it it to the JBE fuse box. I replaced it with a exact match and everything ran perfect. It was definitely the relay on the JBE. I had 12v going into the fuse box and 12v at the fuel pump fuse but only 10v coming out of the JBE going to the LPFP.

 

**UPDATE**

Based on Jako’s post about the SPEG, which I saw in early 2019, I bought a new unit from ECS. The numbers on the new unit supersede the original but there is an extra socket on it that this car does not have a plug for. Contacted ECS tech support who was quite generous and patient in answering my questions. One final question, “Will the new SPEG work despite the extra socket?” The tech had to talk with his ‘guy’ to get an answer to my final question, though, and I didn’t hear from him again. No response to follow up emails. So, the car sat.

For 2020 resolutions I put this car on the priority list. About a month ago walked my wife how to change the LPFP and filter assembly, she did a fabulous job. Everything in the tank is new. Installed the new SPEG, despite concerns the internal wiring may not work out. The car did not start.

Suspecting the new SPEG, I reinstalled the original SPEG. The car did not start.

I bought the Bentley manual along with digging on the internets for wiring information. Every fuse and relay on the SPEG were tested and confirmed to be functional. I did a resistance test from the LPFP relay socket, terminal 87 in the SPEG to the positive terminal for the LPFP on the LPFP connector X691, terminal 2. The reading on my Fluke 87 was 13 ohms, not enough to be concerned about.

So, I called a buddy to run some electrical theory by him. He pointed out that he has measured that much resistance in wire over a quarter mile long and pointed to the wire as being the problem. I installed a jumper wire from the source side of the LPFP relay socket, terminal 30, to the positive terminal for the LPFP on the LPFP connector X691, terminal 2. The car started.

On to tracing wires through the car. There was no physical damage noted on any wire associated with the fuel system circuit. I removed connector X11010 to do a resistance test from its terminal 9 to the LPFP connector X691, terminal 2. The measurement was 0 ohms. Next, measured from the SPEG X11010 SPEG socket, terminal 9, to the LPFP relay socket terminal 87. The measurement was 0 ohms. Everything checks out. Rechecked the LPFP relay and confirmed it is functional.

Ancillary systems to energizing of the LPFP relay, such as the power distribution fuses/relays, were checked and traced. Those fuses/relays tested and confirmed functional. Finding that everything checked out, I reconnected everything and attempted to start the car. The car started.

For whatever reason, the car is fixed and running well although I cannot tell you exactly what the problem was. I can only speculate that a connection was corroded or otherwise not functioning properly. The story doesn’t end here, though…


Cliffs: The car starts and runs.

 

I’m happy, so glad to finally have this thorn removed from my side. I took the car for a short cruise to see how things would go, about two miles round trip. I get back and get out to raise the garage door, smell oil and see smoke. Prior to pulling into the garage I backed up to see how bad the leak was. It was B A D!! Probably a quart of oil on the ground so pulled it in and shut it down. Later, I found an oil trail all the way up my lane leading to my garage.

There was oil pooled up on top of the transmission. Internet research assured me there were three items that could cause this, common oil leaks for this car. They are the oil filter housing, the oil cooler, and the turbo feed line. I also learned Detroit Tuned sells a nice kit containing everything a guy could want to repair this leak.

While waiting for the parts to show up I learned how to put the car in Front End Service Mode. I replace the parts and changed the oil/filter. Started the car and let it idle, things are looking good. My wife and daughter looking on reported seeing smoke, so I shut it down to inspect. The oil on top of the transmission is back, just as before. Those oil leak repairs I did that took two sentences to tell you about took me two days of weekend free time to complete. I was done messing with it that day.

The following day I start digging into it again, looking for where this oil leak could come from. The internet already told me where all the oil leaks could be. Then I noticed a sensor I later determined to be the oil pressure sender. I reached down to confirm it was secured but it easily unscrewed by hand. No clue as to how it came loose. I tightened it with a wrench, put the car back together, checked oil, and took it for a short but longer than last time cruise. This time about four miles round trip.

On this trip, a couple faults appeared. One for the downstream O2 sensor and one for the knock sensor. No worries, I can replace those and be on my merry way. Parts ordered, now waiting.

But then…


Cliffs: Oil leak fixed

 

Not wanting to wait for the parts, I took it out for a spirited cruise. The car ran great. No faults popped up for miles. I became more and more confident in the cars reliability and drove it a bit harder. The entire time, as much as possible, I kept the RPM’s around 3K thinking it may help keep the O2 fault from recurring. Try as I may, I was not successful in that venture and the faults appeared again. The O2 and knock sensor. I pulled over to clear them as the drive had been fun and I wanted to continue having fun. The faults came back as soon as I started to drive. No worries, the car runs fine, just not as fun.

I get back and parked, figure I will clear the codes now while I’m there. Codes clear and all is good.

Then the service interval light comes on. I just changed the oil, so I figure I’ll reset that too following a procedure I found with the owner’s manual that is a copy from the Bentley manual. It shows me how to cycle through and reset all the service intervals so I’m doing that. Suddenly the radio goes off. It had been on since returning from the drive, so I figure it just timed out. Okay, all set. Time to put the car away. The car will not start. No crank, no tick, no nothing. The radiator fan kicks on and stays on when I take the key out. I put the key back, hit the start button, get a symbol reminding me to push in the clutch. I do that and try to start it. The fan shuts off.

All kinds of thing are happening that I cannot explain. I thought, oh man what have I done. First thought, disconnect the battery and hope for the best. Nope, couldn’t be that easy.

I haven’t began to dig into this new issue yet, figuring I would post up photos of what I’m seeing with hopes one of you will know what I have unwittingly done along with how to resolve it.

 

So, I forgot to mention that I have two key fobs and tried to start the car with both. Neither would start the car.

Meanwhile, I'm checking back here to see if anyone has offered advice. Over 400 hundred views but not a single comment. This makes me nervous because there's a lot of experience here on this board.

I called my local MINI dealer to see if I can find direction from them. No answer when I called, but the Service Director called me the following day saying he missed a call from me. Wow, I didn't even leave a message and they still called me back. Impressed. We talk, he tells me they want to change my timing chain and will do a free diagnostic on the electrical issue due to a recall. I tell him I'll work on borrowing a trailer from my neighbor and get back to him.

Not having looked into anything but in the workshops for an unrelated chore, I hop into Charlie for a quick try with high hopes and through a good educated guess begin pressing and holding a button or two related to resetting service interval warnings. When I hold both buttons on the tach for ten seconds, every light on the tack and dash comes on while the tach and speedo needles slowing rise to their maximum simultaneously and return to their respective minimums then the lights go out. I did this a couple times. I had lowered the driver window when the electrical issue first appeared and it got stuck that way because the windows stopped operating. But now after the two button hold display I just described the window is functioning again and I raise it closed and go inside.

The following day I get a call from the Service Adviser at MINI saying his boss, the Service Director, gave him my number and to call me. He discusses the timing chain and electrical issue with me as well as covering the tow. I live an hour from the dealer. I am more and more impressed by the service being offered. Skip forward to the tow truck is on its way. I go out to push Charlie out of the work shop and positioned for pickup. When I go to pop the hatch so I can retrieve the two hook and install it, the hatch doesn't pop. Instinctively, I tried using the other key fob and it worked.

My heart dropped at this as I immediately thought, "Was it just a dead battery in the key fob that kept it from starting?" I hop in to try it...the car freaking starts. Called the tow truck to cancel and called the dealer. They still wanted to change the timing chain so I drove Charlie the hour to get there and without a single fault code occurring, ran like a champ. Oh, and both key fobs popped the hatch when I was at the dealer attempting to show the Service Adviser how one does not pop the hatch.

Once again, I cannot tell you exactly what happened to cause the issue nor can I tell you what the fix was. I speculate the two button tach hold reset something. I did not attempt to start the car at that time but the window started to function and it may very well be that the car would have started had I thought to make the attempt. I'll replace those O2 and Knock sensors when I get the car home again, currently rockin a 2020 automatic version.


Cliffs: Charlie lives again.