Hey folks,

Something happened again for the 2nd time in a month, so I'm looking for some advice.

On a rainy night, I was accelerating hard in 1st gear, and around 4500 rpm, the engine completely shuts down, and all lights come on. I drifted into the breakdown lane, turned the car off, then on. Everything seems normal, car running fine, except the SES light stays on. I continue my drive home completely normally. Next day I decide to rev-up the car, still a bit wet out, same thing happened. I found that I could accelerate all the way to redline, as long as it slowly, so the problem seemed only to occur under hard load. I tested to recreate the problem several times again, but the problem didn't return, so I figured, optimistically, it was a one time event.

One month later, with no issues (and mostly dry weather) since the first event, it was raining again. I went to pass a car, downshifted, revved-up to 4500, and ......... again, engine dies. Turn car off/on everything fine except for SES light. This time I drive to Autozone and they read a P1688 code, no other code.

Others have written that a P1688 could be related to the harmonic balancer. Could rain, and/or a wet environment cause the harmonic balancer to misbehave?? Also, how should I test to see if it is the harm balancer, and lastly, is it difficult to replace?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Blue

 

at mini, they "bent" it (my main pulley) with a crowbar. it seemed to "flex" easily, so they changed it.

otherwise, id have it coded at mini... the codes are not easy to use as diagnosis.

 

How many miles on the car? Could be a crank pulley going bad or a faulty bypass valve...

 

This code happens when there is a sudden change in barometric intake pressure. I've mostly seen this code pop up when the harmonic balancer is damaged and warranting replacement. Usually, the outer ring on the balancer will separate causing a severe shift in intake pressure. Less commonly I've seen where the harmonic balancer will "walk" on the crankshaft or the aftermarket underdrive pulley is loose and "walking" on the supercharger input shaft. It is certainly possible that belt slippage could cause this code if the crankshaft spins but the supercharger doesn't- or vice-versa. I would start by checking belt tension/condition (should be nice and tight) and while you're there, inspect the balancer and supercharger pulley for the aforementioned damage, and belt tensioner (the shock absorber part of the tensioner often gets worn out and leaks). Lastly, I've seen sticky bypass valves cause this code. Theres a DIY somewhere on the interweb on how to check this.

If your find your balancer damaged- pelican parts has a DIY on how to replace harmonic balancer. Otherwise, its roughly 1.8 flat rate hours at your local shop or mini dealer. Also, stick with either a stock OEM balancer or buy the ATI super damper- stay clear from the underdrive/non-fluid filled.

my $0.02

 

Again, Jake nailed it. I agree with him 100% minus the fact that I havent seen MANY bypass valves sticking, but do see them on occasion. The best way to check your balancer is to get a large screwdriver (preferrably a pry-bar if you have one), make sure the vehicle is OFF lol, and stick the pry bar behind the balancer and move it back and forth. There should be no play, if it is moving back and forth, you most likely found the cause of your fault code. Good luck with your MINI!

 

Not sure i would do that because the delicate aluminum panel behind the damper is the oil pump.

 

Hey guys,

Brought it to the dealer, to have them look at the serpentine belt and harmonic balancer. Correct answer ???

X -

In the end it was a seized waste gate.

Getting the car back tomorrow so I'll put it through its paces and see.

Thanks for all your guidance/advice/recommendations.

Blue

 

Any issues so far?

 

Yeah, my bypass valve was definitely hosed. As a little background, for the past year, I've been performing an experiment to improve my mileage through better driving habits, so I never tached the car up beyond 3K rpm, and thus I never noticed that I wasn't getting any boost.

Now, with the repaired bypass valve, it's got that good ol' kick in the pants acceleration. Feels like a new car again !

Blue-