Try removing your tachometer. The car runs fine without it.

The tachometer communicates on the CanBus and gets into a “can’t stop talking” mode and every other communication message is broken. Try removing your tachometer.

For free, it is worth a try,
Peter

 

Peter, can it still be a faulty tach even if the tach seems to be functioning correctly???? I was going to buy a new ECM for $1300.00!!!! And not even sure THAT'S the problem

 

I'm going NUTS!!! all of a sudden ALL these problems! Now the engine is misfiring, barely made it home. When I started again later it was better but NOT RIGHT! I will reconnect the tach because that did nothing. My mechanic thinks it's internal. I'm hoping it's not the ECM......I'M SO FREAKING BUMMED!!!!

 

Before you pay $1500 for a new ECM, there are options. The ECM is coded by the factory so they can't be swapped between cars (and to help the dealer make more money). However, you can buy a used ECM and send it to a place like RPM Motorsports, who can code them to fit your car.

When I called RPM, they said "don't throw money at it and look more carefully". Does it get worse when it rains? Have you checked the Battery, the BCU, and the grounds near the drivers knee? The BCU gets rain soaked easily if there is a busted sunroof drain. Mine had a hand full of poorly done electrical junctions. I bought an ECM and you can have it as I never sent it to get recoded but it may not match your car.

I'm sorry removing the tach didn't fix it but doubt it made it worse. The tach doesn't do anything but talk on the CanBus and listen. When you plug it back in does it get better?

Peter

 

One other thing, I read a guy describe water coming out of the harness at the ABS unit. The ABS, ECU, Kombi, BCU, and Tachometer all talk on the CanBus.

But like the brake master cylinder, the ABS unit sits under an open grille at the base of the windshield and rain water pours all over it (and the sun bakes it). Since the wiring harness makes a loop under it, water can collect in the harness. Mine was dry but I still tied a plastic bag over the ABS unit and wiring harness to divert water away and around it.

BTW, I pressure bled my brakes and the master cylinder reservoir popped apart. The sun had burnt and weakened the white plastic reservoir. I got a new one and put aluminum tape on it as a sun shield.

Good Luck,
Peter

 

I don't know if it got better when the tach was put back in because I brought it right back to the shop. I mean WTF? I brought this car to a reputable specialty German and exotics motorcar service garage! Many Bentleys, Rolls, Mercedes and Porsches in the garage! I just CAN'T BELIEVE a solution hasn't been found already!!! It seems there are a LOT more unlucky pissed off mini s owners with the same issue than you guys thought! What really pisses me off is BMW knows about it too and apparently don't give a sh*t!!!! A recall should have been done!!!! Or at the very least a quick troubleshoot and fix for THIS EFFEN PROBLEM!!!

 

Sad that BMW doesn't offer a solution. I bet there is an engineer that wrote the software that is so sensitive who knows why it flakes out and how to resolve it.

BTW, does it get worse if it rains?

Peter

 

Not that I noticed.....can you believe I haven't gotten my car back yet!!!!! its been in the shop for a month now! They finally removed the ECM and bought a used one. They have both been sent to a place that apparently copies the main codes from the original ECM from my car then can paste that data to the "new" ECM. Of course my description is in laymen's terms. I questioned the copying of the data from my "original" ECM (I learned after they pulled it out that it was replaced once already in 2017!) I was concerned if there was faulty data or some other crazy sh*t they would be copying that right back to the "new" one! He said "no, they only copy the original car data making the ECM believe its the original and all the operating data is the same from car to car". I hope they know what they're doing!

 

Update on my mc06
by disconnecting the wires from the tach gauge, it seems that the lights flickering in every gauge it disappear.
i check the voltage across the terminal and I only get 13 volts in one wire and in some wires lest than .4 volts and some wires with not voltage at all.

Idk if I would replace the gauge because it could another bad lemon with the same problems.

good luck

 

I had a similar issue with mine. I did some research, all the lights on my tach and cluster started going crazy and the car going into EP MODE. I disconnected the Tach and walla!!, everyting went back to normal again, I ordered a used tach from eBay and boom!, everything seems to work just fine.

 

To sum up everything for this sporadic gauge response and electrical nightmare, it looks to be the tach that is causing the issue, donno if anyone will see this in the future but spent 2 hours trying to piece things together to figure out and narrow down possible issues. went through other posts and found that the ipod link to the radio would short and cause issues but mostly the tach was the main culprit. due to age and heat cycles, the tach would miscommunicate and with it being part of the CAN it would not communicate to the rest of the system and make lights flicker and needles jump because it is not talking.

I have a 06 mini cooper s. i just swapped the gauges for a chrono gauge set, and now just started having this issue. started in the cold and not raining. Going to swap old gauges back to see if issue still occurs.

 

2 hours?

I bet I spent $1,000 and 100 hours trying to solve it. Then randomly read a forum post about the Tach. Years later, I am still running with a used Tach off eBay.

Ha ha. At least there is an answer.👍
Peter

 

Same issue with guages randomly dying or going crazy in my sons 2006 S . Replacing tachometer fixed the issue.

 

My tech was doing this freak out thing at one point. Battery was bad, replaced and all has been well for years now