Not sure what to do about this one. It started about 2 months ago when I got a CEL for p2188 "rich at idle" and a misfire in cylinder 1. Seemed easy enough so I swapped the coil pack with #2 and the misfire moved to that cylinder. At that point my coil packs had about 60k on them so I figured why not and went ahead and swapped all of the coil packs and spark plugs with new ones. Cleared it and all was well for 50-100mi then it threw the CEL and I Still had the p2188 but no more misfire. At this point I started to log data to see what was going on. My fuel pressure is around 1100psi at idle, my maf reads .60 lbs/min at idle, my map reads 13hg at idle. Now here's the kicker I decided I didn't have the proper software to read all of the codes so I took it to Orlando mini and they pulled a rich code AND a lean code as well as a failed evap pump and vaccum pump. I replaced the vaccum pump and the evap and those codes disappeared but the rich and lean codes remained. At this point I asked them to check my timing and they found it was out of spec. Hoping this would solve my problems I paid them to repair it with a replacement chain, guides and tensioner. no beans. Still had the same issue so I ask them to reprogram the ecu. They call me and say it's ready to pick up about a week later. I get the car about 10mi down the road and the CEL comes on again. Damnit! I do not get a reduced power CEL but when these codes pop up it does reduce my power and I basically have no boost until I clear the codes.

Any ideas what what would cause rich at idle but lean off idle?

 

Oh yeah and when I picked it up from them the water pump went out. They wanted 500 bucks to change it! I thought that was rediculous so I purchased one and installed it myself. In hindsight 500 was fair. Lol

The engine is stock.
has new spark plugs
new coil packs
new timing chain and tensioners
new water pump
new vaccum pump
new evap leak detect pump
smoke test showed no leaks
leakdown test was good

 

It's a 2009 r56 with about 75k on the odo.

Any ideas are are greatly appreciated!

 

Following for info.

Has the car ever had a carbon cleaning done?

What code reader are you using at home? If I'm reading that correctly the dealer pulled codes that your home reader didn't detect?

 

Hey sickcrewcab,
i was actually messaging on your thread for ideas as well. It seems we both have an issue with fuel trim at idle. I've done a bunch of tests and I just can't think of what to try next apart from replacing all of the sensors and just throwing parts at it.

Im using Bosch uscan reader and it only showed a rich code but when we hooked it up to the dealers scanner immediately after I scanned it they pulled several more codes.

It had had a carbon cleaning about 5-8k mi ago.

 

I'm in the same situation at both you and sickcrewcab!

 

It really seems like an air leak but I just can't track it down.

 

What are these additional codes that the dealer tool pulled?

Just having a rich condition code doesn't give much to go on, these cars are under fairly tight scrutiny when it comes to air metering, so an unmetered air leak almost always give more information than just one code.

 

i don't know the exact codes but I recall the first time I had them scan it there were codes for the evap leak detection pump, the vaccum pump, and unmetered air code and a too lean off idle code. None of these showed up on my scan I only see a too rich at idle code.
After I replaced the vaccum pump as well as all vaccum lines and the leak detection pump I reset everything and drove about 20mi before the cel came on again. I took it back to be scanned again and they only pulled the rich code and the lean code but the unmetered air code was gone along with the vaccum pump codes and evap codes. They cleared the rich and lean codes for me assuming it could have been from the repairs which didn't really make any sense but I had to leave so I went straight to my house about 7mi away because the hurricane was on its way. Next day the irma hit the coast and I ended up going on a 500mi road trip to get away from the storm. About 100mi in to the trip the cel came on again. Now I only have a too rich at idle code and the too lean off idle code. My o2 sensors are functioning properly, my maf and map sensors test fine and after 3 smoke testing sessions I cannot find any leaks in the pcv, intake or anywhere. Also my fuel pressure is significantly higher than you guys so my next guess is fuel pressure regulator.

 

There is no replaceable component of the fuel pressure regulator, there is a rail pressure sensor which is used to control and maintain rail pressure.

Who told you there was a vacuum pump code? There is no monitoring of the vacuum pump, it only provides vacuum to the wastegate actuator and brake booster. You may have still had a problem with some of the vacuum lines, as there are certain areas that are exposed to oil leaks and cause the hoses to either collapse or fall off.

I would still start with getting a quality scan tool back on the car and pull the codes, if you have verified that there is no vacuum leaks, timing is good, VANOS is clear, and that sensors are reading within parameters then I would almost wonder if your primary O2 sensor is failed. They tend to get oil damage due to spilled oil and give you all sorts of problems.

If you clear the codes and start the car from a cold start (sitting all night) how does the car run before it goes into closed loop? If the car runs fine before it hits closed loop, but then starts to run poorly once it hits closed loop then I would even further push the idea that it's a failed primary O2.

 

orlando Mini told me there was a vaccum pump code now I'm suspecting they may have been misleading me with their bs. Which sucks because I'm only using them for diagnostics. I should clarify about the o2 sensors though. I originally thought that was the issue as well but they show that the engine is running rich or lean respectively when the conditions are recreated and they both test with proper resistance. There are no vaccum leaks that I can find and all of the lines have been replaced. Honestly the car seems to run fine most of the time and there is no discernible difference at idle in open or closed loop. Occasionally after a long drive it will have a slightly rough idle but other than that my only symptoms are no boost too lean off idle and too rich at idle.

 

I was talking about the sensor that sends fuel rail info to the dme to regulate pressure I know it doesn't have a traditional fuel pressure regulator.

 

Thanks for the ideas guys! I'm going to take it to another shop today for more diagnostics as I'm tired of busting my knuckles on this damn car. I'll let you guys know what they say.

 

Hopefully you will get somewhere with the new shop. I know the feeling of being tired of tracking down this issue.

 

Change your first o2 out yet? If not.. I would do so.

 

Thanks for the info corn juice!
I've been trying to narrow it down so I won't have to replace things that aren't broken but I dropped the car off for the last time today and we'll see what they say tomorrow. I maintain the crap out of it premium gas, oil change every 5k miles, check the oil every two days, new spark plugs every 20k etc and detail it once a week. Since I've owned this thing I've thrown over 5k at it in parts and repairs not to mention my time for things that should have been better engineered. I've tested the o2 sensors several times and so did the mini dealer and everything has seemed fine but you never know.

 

So last friday I decided to pull the valve cover on my girlfriends mini just to verify timing one last time before I take it to the dealer. The valve cover always had some small oil seepage on it, and wasn't sure if it was spilled on there or if the cover was leaking. So since it was off I decided to give it a good wash with some degreaser so I can tell in the future if it is seepage. Decided to flush out the PCV system with the same degreaser (not easy since it doesn't come apart). Not much crud came out of it. Dried it all out and put it back together. Its now been 14 warm up cycles and 300 miles and the P2188 code hasn't come back yet. Usually in 3 warm up cycles and 50-70 miles it throws the code like clock work. Crossing my fingers that its fixed for now so I can get the smog done. Guess I'll be ordering a valve cover shortly.

 

I really hope that solves it for you!

I was supposed to hear back from the shop today but they haven’t called me so I’m going up there tomorrow and I’ll let you guys know what they say when I hear back from them.

Keep us updated!

 

Update:
I swapped the upstream o2 just in case and I still have the same issue. Also pulled and cleaned the valve cover and no change. My short term fuel trim is still -15+ at idle. FML

 

And yes I swapped it with a brand new rediculously over priced oem unit. Too bad I still owe money on this thing or id just set it on fire.

 

Oh yeah and the shop said they couldn’t figure it out either. They recommended the upstream o2 as well even though it tested fine for me and several others.

 

The hose that comes off the back of the valve cover that routes down to the throttle body. Remove that hose on the throttle body and make sure there is no build up or blockage on the inlet into the throttle body. Those hose inlet is pretty big compared to the inlet hole into the actual throttle body. When I cleaned the valve cover i took my air compressor and made sure that was clear. Couldn't really see in there, but it had plenty of gunk in it.

 

Sounds like a faulty vanos sprocket or they are reusing the cam sprocket bolts and things are not staying in sequence when engine is under load. With the cam tools in place and the sprocket bolts finger tight- set the chain tensioner and then go back and final torque the new sprocket bolts. You have addressed the parts list- now it’s technique and finding a wrench that will work with you to finesse the final install.
youre not alone. Don’t give up!

 

thanks for the input! , that’s actually one of the first things I did when this started happening. It was gunked up but I could get air through it and I cleaned it anyways.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

 

Thank you for the words of encouragement! The peculiar thing is that the same issues existed before and after the timing chain replacement. I’m willing to try anything though. I’ll see if I can rent the timing set and try that this weekend.