Thanks in advance for your patience with a new mini owner
2002 Mini (not S) with a SES light on. I am using an Actron Scanner, that I know works.
When plugged into the Mini it cannot see the car .. (says it must be connected to read or clear codes). I have held the connector from the back and made sure I have a good seat between the two connectors.
Has anyone had an issue with the scanner not being able to "see" the car? and how did you fix it?????

I should add .. I have cleaned the connector with electronic contact cleaner, and tried it both with the ignition on and off ...

 

Is the scanner ODB or ODB2?

 

sorry, should have said ... obd2

does anyone know what pin carries pin to the scanner? and what the voltage should be???

 

i had a similar problem with my f-150 . turned out to be a short in the altinator . when you have a short i guess it can effect the computer . the guy doing my state insp. asked if i had a short and i said yes that's why the battery disc. . it was reading no comm. between computer and machine . i found the short and comm. was restored .

 

dont like the sound of that one ... charging system etc seems to be working fine though... a short could be anywhere though ... airbag light is also on but I doubt that is related .... thinking of seat connectors on that one, but I do need to read the code on the SES indicator ...

 

Easy check to see if maybe your reader is just incompatible withthe car or not working....go to an autozone or something....see if they have any luck pulling a code.

 

I just came from Autozone ... they couldnt see the car either ... off the wall, but ./......
I have reason to think that a previous owner may have done some mods ... if he modified something and disconnected the obd2 port .. any ideas where it might have been done???
I have found 8 volts at the aft outboard pin, so there is power to the connector (on the car) but nothing powering the scanner. What all pin locations should be filled in the vehicle side of the connector?

 

All obd2 connectors are the same....so you units manual might tell ya!!

 

i doubt the fact that my short was in the charging system had anything to do with it . i think it was because it was such a big draw . see what you've got for a draw with engine off and everything off . i'll compare my cooper to yours to be sure it's not just normal .

 

i have the exact same problem with my r53 now.. i dont know what it is. My actron scanner will not read my car and i went to auto zone and tried theirs with the same turn out. I have no idea where to start and what to do at this point.

 

OBDII is a standard for the connector, but not necessarily for the readers. In many cases, you have to get a code reader that is specific to your car. I recently bought the Peake MINI-specific scan tool from http://www.mossmini.com/. Type in part "103-225" in the search field. It runs about $140. From what I can tell, it is compatible with all R50/R52/R53/R55/R56/R57 models from 2001 to 2010.

 

I have a $40 scan tool from Harbor Freight -don't even remember the brand - but it sees my MINI and my Audi with no problem.

I'd try a different brand first before trying to figure out if things were modded.....if you can find someone with a reader that works in their MINI and try it in yours, that might answer the question....or try yours in another MINI, if it works there you have your answer....

 

As far as the last comment ... I tried my reader in another mini & it works ... I tried his reader in my mini... and it doesnt ... it seems to be particular to the car. With one other car in the same situation, I think its the car, not the reader.
I also did a pin out on both minis and had approx the same voltage reading at each pin on both cars... both grounds read fine to ground ..
No solution yet, but still looking.
I'm wide open to ideas..

 

I seriously doubt a modded car, by the virtue of having been modded, would not have a functional ODB2 port...if the computer for the motor under the hood looks stock (next to the airbox), then it is likely a wiring issues...perhaps a fuse issue so nompower is getting to the scanner...
I do remember reading a few threads like this....try using google to search this site...it will bring up the older threads that the site sarch will not get

 

you need to start with the basics. check ALL your fuses. more than likely you have a blown fuse which is linked to the OBD2 port.

 

Do you have an aftermarket radio? If these aren't wired correctly, it can
prevent the ODB2 port from working.