Would buying a CAS, DME, and KEY from another Mini cooper (same year and model) work on putting it into my Mini Cooper ? I believe I'm having issue with both my CAS and my DME.

 

I'm not sure which model the R36 is, but if its second gen like my R56, then no it won't work, you will need to have the vin numbers changed in the new modules.

The way it was explained to me and a lot the resources I have looked at have stated that the MINI (bmw) has integrated vin numbers in all of the cars modules which need to match for said modules to work.

What issues/diagnosis have lead you to believe both your CAS and DME are messed up?

 

How would I know which gen I have ? but putting my mini cooper on the scanner continuously gives me "Engine ECU internal fault" and a cluster of other things. Also every issue that I've read on the problems CAS gives you, ive had them happen to my car before it completely stopped working back in October of last year.

 

Nevermind, I have the second gen R56 being my 2008 MINI COOPER

 

Judy,
What codes are you getting on your scanner, Mini (bmw) are difficult to read with a standard scanner as they use different codes and a lot of the DME, CAS codes are considered Generic thus tend to not lead anywhere, but if you can provide a list some folks might be able to help out more.

When you try and start the engine does it crank? do you have spark? fuel?
Some more details will be needed to help you figure this out.
What caused the issue originally? where you doing work? battery go dead?

Minis are notorious for getting all kinds of errors when their batteries are low or dead.

 

I have a post on here that shows all of the codes the scanner was reading, it was recent and it reads "R56 won't start" which has a bit more background on all of the issues I've been having with the car since I bought it. Basically whats happening right at this very moment is that it cranks/ turns over constantly but refuses to start no matter what we do, and it keeps killing the battery almost instantly. I should say that when it was starting before hand, the only way we got the car to turn on was jump starting it. When we put the scanner to the car we had the battery hooked up to a battery charger so at that time it wasn't dead. We thought the issue with the car originally had been the CAS due to everything we've read online about what my car was going through like not wanting to turn on when the car had been sitting under the sun and only turning on in the mornings or nights just fine. Let me know if you want me to post those scan pictures on this post as well

 

to correct my brother @Jay Bacon , you can use the set on your car as long as they came from the same car. Also, make sure the transmission is the same since the ECU will be looking for a clutch signal.

To your original issue, you need to narrow it down to two things, electrical or mechanical. as for mechanical, you need to check the compression and timing. as for the electrical, you need to check for spark and fuel.

if your car has a sunroof, check for water intrusion that might've effected the fuse box on passenger side.

where are you located by the way?

 

Okay, thats awesome to know! But I do hate having to waste that amount of money without knowing if that is truly the problem. As for those, I'll have to check which one would it be and the fuse box has been checked for any form of corrosion due to the sunroof but there isn't any, nor is there any on the FRM either from what we can tell. I'm located in Florida

 

yeah sometimes it is not economical to swap parts just to test :(

it is a base model or an S? auto or manual?

did you check the mechanical portion of the diagnosis, like compression and timing?

 

Yeah definitely not especially during these times !

Its a base model, auto

and yes, that has been checked and it just seems like the problem is electrical but honestly i've about hit a wall with this car

 

If you want, you could send me your set and I can test them on my car. if it doesnt check out, I might be able to help you source out the defective module.

 

That would be great actually. I will be checking one more time to make sure I at least know if its mechanical issue or electrical.

 

Sounds like a plan...send me a PM whenever you're ready.

 

Awesome, I will do. Thank you so much for your help

 

Judy, didn't you say when you jumped the car or hooked it to a charger the car would start or has that since changed?
Reason I ask is as mentioned before a low battery can cause some wanking issues with the car. Check the voltage, charge it and in a day or two check it again for voltage drop, the change should be negligible over that short a period.

Is the DME Communicating with your scanner at all? Your key battery isn't dead (ruling out minor things before you dive into a DME job which believe me ain't fun)

For simplicity so others can follow this can you please post the codes you have read on this thread also, makes life a little easier for those trying to help.

I personally (currently dealing with a bricked DME) would suggest you check for fuel and spark if you haven't. If your DME is communicating I would check the crank sensor (easy job and lots of YouTube videos how to do it) (cheap part vs DME/CAS), then confirm timing and compression. (compression tools can be bought at 99% of car parts stores, (take an old plug to match up the thread). Timing, is easier to check with the right tools but can be checked relatively easily without...
Take off Right side wheel, remove wheel well liner, (you now have access to the crankshaft bolt, or harmonic balancer pulley). Once off place 18mm socket on bolt with ratchet, remove plugs 1 & 2... place wire or rod in each plug hole, rotate engine with the ratchet until both are level, climb under car, go to opposite end of crankshaft where the gear is (Drawing a blank on the name right now) there will be a hole above your head where you would insert the timing tool, but if you don't have it you can use a mirror to look at see if its lined up, chances are if you can see the hole clearly your timing is okay. If you cant, rotate the engine until you can (note there are 2 holes both will result in pistons to be at correct timing if you are in time.) (crank to cam is a 2:1 ratio meaning 2 rotations of crank = 1 Cam).
Good luck let us know how you make out!