Excellent!

Gotham (Guam) will be safe once again with the Batmini back on the road!

 

Glad your back on the road, maybe see you out motoring soon.

 

I'm so fricken glad I didn't buy an M3 from Prestige BMW/MINI (of Guam).

They said my car was ready to go. When I go to pick it up they try and throw out a disclaimer "Oh, it still has a rough idle in the mornings... Cold start". Ummm. I didn't have this problem before I had the gas pedal issue. I've never had a 'cold start' issue. "Oh, well you do now".

So I get in my Mini and DSC, SES, and other lights are lit up on the dashboard. So I walk back inside and basically give them a WTF. "We told you there was a rough idle, thats causing the codes". So I asked to see what codes were still present, because if I'm getting my car back NOT fixed and paying them ~ $250 for their diagnosis, then I expect to know WTF is wrong. Service rep is very hesitant to give me a copy of what they have, and allows me 2 of about 10 pages of codes and troubleshooting paperwork they have. "This is whats important" he said as he hands me a sheet full of DME/ECU codes.

So the short version is: They didn't fix anything, and handed me a piece of paper recommending a new ECU/DME. The car shut down on me and gave me the same problem I had before I took it in when I was pulling out of home depot... Luckily 2 restarts and it was able to run until I got it home. Looks like I need to order a computer PLUS have them program it on top of the $250 they just hit me up for.

 

They wouldn't give you the codes???? If they did, what are they?

The short version, they don't know what's wrong & how to fix it.

 

They had pages and pages of paperwork staples to my work authorization form. But they would only give me the paperwork with the ECU/DME error codes on it. I don't have it handy (it's in the MINI, outside, covered, and the house is shuttered for the incoming typhoon in 12 hours so I'm not going out). Will post what I got on Sunday (saturday night your time) if I have internet still.

 

Parma is passed, Melor is next. Batten down the hatches.......

 

Lets hope the storm dies quickly & hope for the best.

 

I don't think we'll have much problems from Melor, she'd projected to pass above Saipan, with sustained winds of 130mph. Her forward speed has increased which is good since it should sap some of her strength. May get some wind and rain. Keeping the typoon shutters closed just in case it makes a wobble to the south is a good idea. Sorry to hear about the troubles you're still having with Batmini.

 

Looks like Melor missed Guam completely. It's sunny outside, though we do still get sun, rain, sun, rain, wind, sun, rain. But it's actually normally like that here during the rainy season. Just a little more wind from a different direction. Will post up the codes later on today.

 

Ok, this is what they gave me:




I think the first page at the bottom left says it all. Ground. Somewhere theres still some corrosion or something causing a short to ground. I have access to a micro-minature electronics workbench at work. Wonder if I should have a go at the ECU myself, cleaning corrosion where-ever I can find it. Whats the worst than can happen, I'd have to order an ECU which I probably going to have to do anyway...

 

Sounds like a plan. If it is intermitent it may be just corrosion or moisture somewhere, the guys at BMW can't find.Have you thought about wires chaffing somewhere? Sometimes electrical wiring problems are the the hardest things to find. As an aircraft mechanic I know that's true. Have to deal with it often enough. Many of the auto mechanics at car dealerships are technicians (Not Mechanics), all they know how to do is follow a trouble-shooting trees to find a problem, they don't know how to think outside the box. If they can't find the problem, they will 'shotgun it' (mechanic jargon for throwing expensive parts at a problem hoping something will fix it), "Hey it has to be the ECU" if that doesn'tfix it, we'll throw another expensive part at it! Best of luck Wagnbot, hope you can the find the problem soon. If you need help PM me.

 

Facing the pedal on the left side, almost midway up, there is a tab, press down on the tab with a flat blade screw driver while moving the pedal assembly to the left (put your right hand between the pedal and center hump, brace the back of the hand while extending the fingers to push towards the left); this is a simple operation.

Be sure to clean and tighten the ground strap stud, bolt, and nuts on the right side motor mount; I've seen some wacky behaviors with that one. Also, there is a ribbed cylindrical connector on the left side next to the transmission mount, twist and pull apart, brush the ends, spray with contact cleaner, twist and press together. This one can cause multiple dash lights and fail safe mode.

 

"I think the first page at the bottom left says it all" Yup. All the codes are related.
Is there a Radio Shack near by? If so buy some contact cleaned. Before using the cleaner get yourself a piece of 600 or higher wet & dry paper. Clean the contactrs with the paper then the cleaner.

If possible check to see if the throttle module is grounded to the floor, I don't believe it is BUT...... I think that's where the problem is. Other than the rotating pieces & breaks, the gas pedle gets the most use. You could unplug it & see if your Idle returns to normal.

Not too sure why you are getting a 138. Is there an oil catch can, Alta, M7 on this car? VGS mod? If so there's a leak. If the leak is big enough it could cause the other codes. You might be able to start the car, or not, if not, it will run from the cold start fuel ( primer ) & quit. At this point, the ECU won't see anything the throttle is telling it.

If the fastners are over tightened installing a BPV the plastic mount for the throttle body will crack or break & you will get a slew of codes, if the engine starts & runs long enough.

Keep us posted

 

Apologies for my lack of response. I've been overworked and then bedridden by the flu, and now I'm back at work catching up. I've recieved the AutoEnginuity BMW software, but haven't even had the time to install it on my lappy yet. Only thing I have done is tried to give the Batmini a go this morning before my wife drove me to work, and yup... 2000k rpm limit. Hopefully I'll be able to dig into more troubleshooting on Sunday.

 

No apology needed, just get better.

2K sounds like limp mode, how many lights are on?

 

I think I found my issue:


Full size here... Up is up, very top circle is corrosion on the ECU cover.

An electrical component on the opposite side of the board exploded or is deteriorating and leaking a corrosive dry chemical substance. It's likely a capacitor or something which may not impact the ECU much if at all, but the corrosion on the other side on other components and the legs of an IC chip are likely causing the majority of the problem. Damage is beyond 'cleaning'. Looks like a new ECU is in order.

Also, while I was able to peel back the sheet metal ECU cover for this looksee, the board assembly is epoxied with about 1cm thick beat of weatherproofing material. It won't budge away from the other half of the ECU housing without further damage to the board, which I may do after the new ECU gets my Mini up and going again.

 

looks like toast . the mc chip took heat too . could send it to a board repair facility so it could be a back up . while it's out you may wanna have a look at all the connections / pins going to it . look for direct grounds with little or no ohms .if it's the board's ground then fine but if not you gotta find the source or you may be buying another ecu . seems like it was moisture as the history you gave was rainy season ? but just to be safe when you get the bentley check the pins . typically the ground wires on these are the browns . so i'd say if it aint brown and it's got low ohms , you wanna investigate it .

 

As it happens to turn out, I work at a repair facility. We repair submarines, including electronics. So I took the board into work today and asked a co-worker to look at it. He had some neat tools to deal with the epoxy and was able to remove the board and plug from the shell.

He even had a bit of a gasp when he saw the extent of the damage and said "I don't know what I can do, but we'll see". The front side looked far worse than the back side (above). Unfortunately I didn't bring a Camera to work today. Long story short, he cleaned up the front, the pins leading in (a couple were covered in vertigre), AND the back of the board. He said it is 'oxidation' not your typical corrosion. Now look again at the picture of the back. See that set of 12 pins towards the lower left center... That oval shape is oxidation. Now seeing that, looking at the IC chips on the left, and the ones on the right, you can see that the ones on the left all have that around the base of the legs. He cleaned up MANY connections on the front and the back using an acid brush and some isopropyl.

After about a half hour of cleaning with chemicals and various dental looking tools, he handed it back and said that was the best he could do without any component disassembly.

Back into the Batmini and.... Works like a charm! I'm hesitant to say FIXED at this point, but the throttle response is back on spot. I'll need to pull the ECU and crack it open again to properly re-epoxy it... But I'm pretty confident I will no longer need a new ECU. WOOT!

FYI for anyone else who comes across this in the future. He did recommend that when I go to reseal, tossing in a couple small dessicant bags, which sounds like sound advice. Will absorb the moisture. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's those little bags you get in packages or with new shoes that say DO NOT EAT.

 

wow, that's awsome . i thought for sure you had some components cooked .
i'm gonna look at mine !!! lol . so you a shore facility for sub support .? i was with p-3's a loooooong time ago .

 

"DO NOT EAT" sombody must have

You have a small oxdized hole in the housing that needs to be fixed. The aluminum oxide, from the housing, is the probable cause of the short, it doesn't take much.

 

HOLY CR*P BATMAN!!

Nice fix. I was an ETN a looooooooooong time ago as Herbie said.

 

It's good to have friends....

Matt

 

No, I'm on a submarine tender for sub support.

Based on the oxidation/vertigre on the pins, the moisture is/was penetrating on the pins themselves. I am going to try and seal the ECU cover better with some silicone as well...

Nuke? Ack! Oh wait... That's underwater navigation... So you were really a Quartermaster?

Aye.