I started another thread here about installing a water temp and oil pressure gauge in my 2008 Cooper S. I love the little car but felt it needed these gauges. I think what has transpired since the first thread supports my position.
The new gauge showed the car running hot and while burping the cooling sysem I noticed the fan will not come on unless I turn on the AC. I took the car to STL MINI and they checked the gauge against the actual water temp. Then they found the slow speed cooling fan was not coming on. They have had the car since last Wednesday and it turns out they will be replacing the ECU as it is not sending the signal to turn on the slow speed fan. Thankfully all the work is covered under warranty. No damage has happened to the engine and it seems the issue just started before I installed the gauges.
I truly think these cars should have come from the factory with these gauges and I am happy I installed them I just did not expect for them to pay off so soon.

I will say I am very pleased with the service department at STL MINI and Rick has been great to work with.

Do what you wish with this information. I just want to share my experience.

John Hoffner
PS:I do want to make a meeting or social event but so far I have had scheduling conflicts. I hope to meet some of you at an event soon.

 

Good info share John! Everyone should hear the low speed fan come on when idling for a bit, if not take it to the dealer!

I want to use torque and a Bluetooth ODB2 connection for my car, but I'm guessing the ECU won't output oil and water temp. Did you look into this before going the hard gauge route?

http://torque-bhp.com/

 

I did not look at Torque, in fact this is the first I have heard of it. I scanned their site and it looks comprehensive and pretty cool to boot.

When I was checking into how I wanted to get the information I did look at the ScanGauge II but I was not able to get all the information I wanted. I don't remember for certain if it was oil pressure or water temp but it does seem the ECU would not communicate something I wanted. As it stands I like the route I went. It is simple and I can monitor both easily with my 50 year old eyes.

STL MINI is doing there best to get my car back but the ECU did not show up again today. The Service people are great to work with and I'm certain they are doing what they can. Oh well I will keep my fingers crossed for tomorrow. I will let you know what comes of this.
The nice thing for them and me is my car is in their garage not racking up miles and the loaner they gave me is in my garage and has not moved since last Friday so no miles are piling up on it.

 

I noticed your avatar and I have to say being a MINI owner aren't you supposed to be more like "Enzo Who?" rather than embracing the Rosso Corsa

 

I love MINI's but my first love will always be Ferrari. My first model car was a classic Testarossa and my 2nd was an 80's TR.

 

Redbird I was just ribbing you. One of my favorite cars to look at is a 250 GTO short or long wheel base.

My Cooper S was not ready today. They installed the new ECU and that did not fix the problem. Now we are waiting on a factory rep to come by the shop to look at my car. I know the MINI shop people have worked on it, someone from the other shop (I assume the BMW side) looked at it and now the factory rep will. I only have positive stuff to say about how the MINI service department has been handling this issue. I do miss the little car. I still have their loaner car but is sits in my garage. I only keep it because I live a little ways away from the shop and I need it to be able to pick my car up. The loaner is a well optioned Cooper S but it has a automatic transmission and I get antsy driving an automatic so I am currently driving my 21 year Toyota truck and my M3 track car when need be.

Speaking of the M3 I will be showing it at the Soulard Oktoberfest this Saturday and if you find yourself going to the event please stop by and say hello. I have about 14 BMW showing at this event and a few are very interesting. I have registered to show a 74 2002 turbo, 72 3.0CSL and a 88 M5 among others.

 

John, Some of these gauges are rated 12 volts but rely on 5 volts. Which requires a voltage regulator to even the voltage to the gauges. Larry K.

 

I used the gauge and the sending unit that came with it as a kit. The instructions did not mention a voltage regulator but I will reread the instructions to make sure.
The gauge is running 5 to 10 degrees hotter than it should be and the gauge I bought is set at the factory. I am going to see if moving the sending unit to another location solves the issue. I might end up buying another gauge that can be calibrated by the owner.

Thanks,
John