last night, my 06 "s" model is leaving a stop light and goes into "limp mode", the check engine, EML and alternator lights all come on, as well as my temp gauge is high. After getting to a parking lot, adding coolant, and let the temp get back down to normal, car starts, EML light is off, but the check engine light and alternator lights are still on and I cannot make it out of the parking lot without going back into "limp mode".

Any thougths before I go have the code pulled? I initially thought alternator, but why would it go into limp mode?

 

Sounds like your Harmonic Balance (crank pulley) broke.

 

Check your belt and all pulleys.

 

+1 on checking the crank pulley, hopefully it's not a throttle body/wiring harness issue =((

-Jorge

 

While towing the car home today, I stopped by Advance and pulled the code off of the car and had the alternator checked.

The alternator checked ok and the code was a P1688 which comes up as a supercharger bypass valve.

The belt feels tight, but I have not yet gone underneath to inspect the harmonic balancer. Browsing around some other sites this afternoon I have found several instances of the same scenario that I described earlier with the same error code which turned out to be the harmonic balancer.

 

so after inspecting the harmonic balancer, I did not see any breaks or cracks, but I did notice one very small cut into the block behind the pulley. Although the belt was tight, I was able to slide the pulley back towards the block. While I have read enough on this forum and others to be convinced that the balancer needs to be replaced, I still struggle to understand how the car went into shutdown mode while the balancer was still intact. Placing my order tomorrow.....will probably go with the ASI from Summit.

 

I'm suspecting I need to replace my pulley as well as timing chain tensioner due to rattles and noises under my hood.

Would love to see a pic of your balancer when you get it out if you don't mind posting.

Hopefully the pulley is all your car needs. A slipping pulley under load will cause a sudden drop in boost from the supercharger which would present itself as boost loss similar to a boost leak or stuck open bypass valve--hence the stored fault and the vehicle going into limp mode to 'protect' itself from causing further damage.

 

The car went into limp mode because the Crank pulley is not in tact. The front will not look "broken". The middle of the pulley is made of rubber and thats what is in fact seperated which is why you saw the outter piece of the pulley grinding on the timing case cover. That is probably the noises you were hearing. And 1688 is the fault it stored because you have no boost, the inside of the pulley is spinning full speed and the outside of the pulley is not. Thus you have no boost (1688) the alternator doesnt spin (battery light) and no power steering due to the battery light. You also will not have coolant flow because the SC spins the water pump. I doubt you need a chain tensioner. They VERY rarely go bad in the R53.

 

Any thought on the ATI 2% vs. the standard ATI? Is there a noticable performance increase worth the extra $$

 

This exact same thing happened to me last week. It read codes 1688 (elec throttle system, air mass calculation error) and 0441 (tank ventilation, solenoid valve blocked).

I had the fuel tank vent valve and boost control valves replaced. I also had other work done (control arm bushings, belt tension pulley, and coolant temp sensor) for a grand total of $2000!

Well, today is the first day I have driven the car, and it is having the same problem. and What to do?

 

already getting nervous...I've heard horror stories of the harmonic balancer and I have barely had my 06 R53 a month...how many miles did yours fail at?

 

I finished the replacement of the Harmonic Balancer, as well as a replacement belt. I went with the ATI standard and had no trouble with the installation. The internal rubber component was completely boken so that any rpm's from the motor would cause the slipping to start. PICs of the broken (stock) harmonic balancer are attached.

MiniTrish - I did a ton of digging on this site and a couple others and what you are describing will be the same problem that I had, which was a failed harmonic balancer.

Submitaweasel - My 06 "s" had 102k when it went out. From the research that I did, it is not a question of "if" but a matter of "when" for the 06 and earlier models.

My only issue now is that I have a low rpm rattle that has appeared.....tomorrow night's task in the garage!!!

thanks to all that provided input.....

 

 

i had the same thing happen but mine was just the belt shredded and it had to happen on a canyon run with absolutly no turn offs.... what an experince. at first i was like damn... i just blew this baby up with a christmas tree in fromt of my face. not the most fun thing to change that belt either.

 

The "when" question is what is bothering me. Luckily, if mine lasts as long as yours I've still got 60k miles before I have to deal with it

 

I think these fail more on age than miles.....that and location/weather that dries out the rubber.

Hard to say for sure, but my buddy's '06 failed just a couple of weeks ago with only 55K on it.

 

For those interested the best price on ATI pulley i have seen is Summitt racing at $349

 

I hope that's not the case for mine...I've got classes starting up next week and already have work on the MINI I need to finish before those... I'm going to cross my fingers that my harmonic balancer can last until next summer.

 

Completely agree.....of the numerous post that I found on this issue, there was no common milage at all. Actually, there was one guy that only had 30k on a weekend driver (05 or 06).

I would strongly recommend a pro-active replacement whenever you have a saturday to do this as this is not a very difficult job if you have everything that you need before getting started.

 

Thanks sibertj! Just confirmed with my shop that was indeed the problem. Glad it is all resolved now and I can return to much more enjoyable activities, like driving around starry-eyed in my mini.

 

hey, i just had a similar problem with my sl55 amg, and it turned intoban nightmare. the tech who replaced my crank pulley didnt tie it to the specs, and advised me it as tight as possible. after 10 miles of driving my pulley got loose and spon and damaged my crank and the keyway. we replaced it again after one month of hand grinding for a new keyway and still my pulley has a vibration which is causing all my pumps to fail. please make sure after you remove the pulley, you replace the seal behind it. make sure the keyway is in its groove and the pulley slides into the keyway, than using the special tool to hold the pulkey from spinning you tie to specks, check on you tube they have sone great videos, cause if its not tight enough, ur gonnaa go through hell, now i replaced altenator, all pullies, but for some reason, my powersteering wont work unless i rev the car over 1000rpm, and my battery light is on non stop. i need help cause we cant figure it out why at idle i have no powersteering and the battery light warning wont go away, and the coolant isnt flowing right cause the car overheats and it kills my power, i am not sure it the SC is shutting off or what is going on, but its killing me cause i spent 10k for a stage III 70mml clutchless pulley anf its only fast for 5 minutes until my temp rises and than its slow as a hybrid 4 cyl, if anyone can give me any advice on what to do i need ur help please.