Hi all,
Newbie here. Bought the JCW with only 63 400kms on it this past May and absolutely love it...except for the horrible runflats which I ditched for Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s (yes, I carry a patch kit).
It's been running great until yesterday when I was cruising down the highway. It kicked me out of cruise, the "engine malfunction reduced power" light came on, and I pulled over. Now it's shown that message before maybe three times, but after cleaning the Vanos solenoids (codes thrown suggested that) I haven't had it happen. And when it did before, simply shutting it off and restarting always reset it. This time, however, it wouldn't restart. It cranks but won't turn over.

Things I've done:
checked for codes...none
charged and load tested battery...less than a year old and putting out good voltage
inspected intake for blockage...replaced air filter while I was at it
pulled coils and plugs...no indication of damage or strange wear; plugs are Champions? Really?
tried to start it with a blast of intake cleaner...no joy
swapped relays...good (even tested to double-check)
scanner says fuel rail pressure is 9850bar, about 1600psi

So I have fuel (at the rail, at least...haven't verified injector function), I have air (or nothing to prevent it getting where it needs to be) , but no indication of spark.
Anyone have any "Oh, that exact thing happened to mine!" stories before I start digging into the DME?

Thanks in advance!

 

Need to pull BMW/Mini specific codes. Generic code readers will only pickup generic OBD codes. Half power engine light will not give you a generic OBD code.

 

Thanks for the quick reply.
CEL is not lit. The app I use shows most of the BMW codes. That's how I arrived at Vanos issues before.

 

Update:
I have no power at the coils, no power at the relay, and no power at the DME connector terminal.
Checked every single fuse in the JBE, and all are good. And after unplugging the JBE connector to inspect for damage, now I have all kinds of electrical weirdness.

Guessing I'm in for a new JBE. Seems pretty shoddy for such a low-mileage vehicle to have such a major issue without any damage to explain it.

 

Update:
I had no power at the coils, relay, and DME because the vacuum pump had detonated, knocking the intake cam way out, but fortunately not taking the engine with it. Unlucky and lucky at the same time. I should have pulled the valve cover earlier, but I was stuck on the electrical issues and without enough tools (never enough tools!) and experience to test further, so I took it to a specialist.

So although a failed JBE would have been pretty sad at 112 000kms, a blown-up vacuum pump is equally poor.
But I have my little bomb back and purring, and I'm hoping it'll stay that way.