I have one on the way from Morristown MINI. I hope you are correct, thanks.

 

Also check your throttle body sensor/plug and see if it's connected completely.

 

Yet another good, but often overlooked basic mataince item!! Good reminder. Mine was also done about a month or so ago.

 

I just called Morristown MINI and apparently the PCV was not sent out and they told me I will get it tomorrow
:-(

I checked the sensor plug and it is fine. Yesterday, BTW, I reset the ECU.

When I did my daily Google search for info I added Throttle body Sensor to one of the searches and came upon this thread post #6 by agoodsign and did it

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ttle-body.html

To save you looking

"There are apparently two potentiometers in the TPS system that need to be in sync with each other, on reads somthing like 1-7 volts and the other 7-1 volts in reverse (I can;t remember the exact voltage), they need to be balanced, it's a fail-safe system to make sure the ECU knows where the throttle position is. Somehow they got out of sync in the car and we just had to find a simple reset procedure for it... Turn the key to the 1 position, hold the gas pedal down wide open for 25 seconds, let off completely for 10 seconds, and start the car and let it run for a while, it'll idle rough at first but eventually it evened out."

The car did start up and idle rough and I hit the accellerator a couple of times and got the hesitation but a bit less. I got out and checked under the hood to look and listen for possible vacuum or other leak--nothing unusual.

When I got in the idle had evened out and no hesitation when I hit the pedal. Now, the time was shorter than it was before but I won't really know if it helped til the car sits overnight and I get a true cold start.

 

I got the PCV valve and put it on.

Now the car won't start at all. It turns over but does not fire. It mkes a chugging sound as it turnsover but no fire--NADA.

I'm going to let it sit and see if that helps but it looks like Sparky will have to take a trip to the garage on Monday.

 

Update

Before I tried starting it I checked my OCC. It has been on for 4 months and was empty. I removed it (One OCC line was to the Gray LIne and the other to the PCV valve-I connected the Gray back to the PCV)

The car started. It ran very rough and when I stepped on the accelerator it stalled. I restarted, let it go and it ran rough, idle dipped and the check engine light went on. I let it run for a few minutes and shut it off and restarted. Check light still flashing and it gradually smoothed out and ran fine.

I don't have a sparkplug wrench that will reach the MINI's plugs to pull them so I'll just have to have it checked at the garage this week.

I bought a OBDII but it has not arrived yet, but I suspect the codes are misses, as before.

 

CM,

1) You said the MINI was sitting for a while and was fine before hand, Any chances some little animal made it's new home in your intake air box and possibly had a meal or two of your spark plug wires ? Woudnt be the first time.......check for signs of mice.

2) Get the long socket for the plugs, got mine from Mossmini I think. Pull them and give them a check for color ect. I have been using the NGK Iridiums and not even going one step colder with mine I am AOK with JCW Box, 17% scp and JCW injectors. Have about 8k miles on them and no ping.

3) Did you get any codes for O2 sensors. The one before the cat usually goes first and is the one we are most concerned about, the post cat O2 sensor monitors the health of the cat.

Have to head out but this is all I can think of right now, get bk later tonight.

Dave

 

EDIT:
last night Pulled wires and some white residue, put on some di-electric grease and made sure connections were tight. Started right up but the same hestation and near stall when accellerator is depressed. In about 2 minutes it warmed up and ran fine.

Today I just read the codes--4 present: NA, P0303, P0303 P, P0301 P (Misfires on Cylinder 1 & 3) I/M test I/M on; MISFIRE, FUEL, CAT, O2S --all ready; CCM & EVAP-- not ready; HCM, 2AIR, AC, H2OS & EGR-- N/A

I got a set of NGK Iridium (BRKR7EIX-11) plugs.

I've had the flu/cold the last couple of days and fter reading some fo the threads about people blowing plugs by not torquing them correctly and since I don't have a torque wrench available and since I'm irritable with the flu/cold the past few days I'm taking it to the garage. I have an extenede warranty and if there is anything wrong (I'm sure they will find something) it should be covered.

Feedback would be appreciated even if someone is going to tell me I just about had this fixed

 

Update:

In the pm, the car would not start (altough it did in the am). I tried 3 times at half hour intervals with no luck, so I pulled the plugs and replaced them with the NGK plugs. No torque wrench so I put them in snugly. Went in washed my hands and it started immediately.

The hesitation was still there but it was ready to go in under 2 minutes.

I examined the plugs and they were black with soot but appeared OK. I put them in the boxes and numbered them for the mechanic to look at.

Car ran like a champ and so I wnet to the garage. They called me and asked me questions about when things were done to it told me they read the same codes that I saw before and they are thinking wires.

I suggested coil (original OEM is in the car). They will call me later...

 

They ran diagnostics again and seemed to think it was electrical and wanted to start replacing the wires. At the suggestion of Grey Raven I called Greasy's Garage in Mass. and had a good conversation with one of the guys there.

He seemed to believe that it is a fuel pressure issue due to a bad regulator (when car is cold, fuel pressure is too low and it takes a bit for the pressure to build up, so if you hit the accellerator the pressure is still low and the engine goes into a stall condition. What I was interpreting as better as it warmed up was actually more that the fuel presssure now got to the normal range).

He suggested that the pressure be guaged when cold but also that when cold starting to turn on the ignition and hold the pedal to the floor for 5 seconds to see if the stall condition ends sooner (the 5 seconds allows the pressure to build w/o bleeding it off with the engine consumption). Maybe one of you with the stall condition can try this.

I hope that I interpreted his instructions correctly here.

In any case it will be Monday before the garage can test the fuel pressure. I'll just drive the Civic and appreciete my MINI more with each mile

 

MINI of Towson finsihed with that car and could not find anything wrong. Fuel pressure was 51 at start and 41 at idle, compression was good. They did not even have a cold start problem either day. I as wondering if there was something that that inadertantly did when they ran diagnostics and checked the compression and pressure, or if it was bad gas.

I'll get it back Monday and we'll see if it is gone.

 

My MINI always had the "MINI flu" for last two years......Upon first start up of the day, the engine would chug out. Upon second attempt to start it turned over fine. It would come every Spring about May, and go away the end of October. Temps when most noticible was when it ranged from 55 to 65 degrees outside as according to my on board computer. I changed gas stations, put fuel additive in, but there was no permanent fix. Until......

I replaced the following items at 77K miles........

1) Fuel injectors were upgraded to 380's.
2) Fuel Pressure Regulator ( attached to fuel rail - made sense to replace since I was in there anyways doing the injectors )

Both of these components have small rubber O rings.....All of them were brittle and IMO would not be working properly to either seal the injectors or in the case of the Fuel pressure Regulator, maintaining proper start up pressure in the fuel rail.

Which one of these was the fix ? I can't say for sure, you decide. But my MINI starts up in the first milli-second of the turn of the key - like it was brand new from the factory.

I ran Fuel Injected VW's for years before buying this MINI, and I was always changing the injector O rings at about 40K miles due to poor idle and starting problems.

So, my best "guess" would be these O rings for anyone experiencing the " MINI Flu".

Good luck.

 

I have a 2007 MCS, 6 speed, 32k miles. I bought it about a week and a half ago. This happened to me last night and then again this morning.

Last night (20 degrees)when leaving work I started the car and as i was messing around trying to get my iPhone plugged into the aux jack the car stalled. I restarted it and it ran extremely rough for 2-3 min then ran fine as it warmed up.

Then this morning (25 degrees) I went to start the car to let it warm up. I started it and listened to it idle for about a minute, blipping the throttle a few times. Went back inside and when i came back out 5 minutes later the car had stalled and was off. Again I restarted and it ran rough for 2-3 min and then ran fine again after it had a chance to warm up.

I filled up with gas 2 nights ago so i might have just gotten bad gas because i did not have this problem until this tank of gas. I have only filled up twice since purcahse. I will fill up at another station when this tank is gone and see if I still have this problem.

 

You might find the threads on Gen2 MINI's more useful.......most of the solution's you have seen in this thread is not applicable to the r56....still, great to hear from ya, and I hope you problem is solved soon!!

 

As said previously....you might find it more useful to post in the GEN2 forum....for the turbo cars!! I do hope that the problem is solved....many gen2 cars do have a intake icing issue in cold weather...much more info in gen2 forums!

 

Attention All: Check Fuse #3 in your fuse box. It may need to be replaced. That fixed all my problems.

 

Just so everyone knows, I tried working with mini usa and they pretty much nicely told me to deal with the dealerships, they cant do anything. I have an moded 05 Mini Cooper S and my car used to stall after overnight sit. It went away once I upgraded the fuel injectors to the JCW 380cc, but on cold mornings I have to let the engin warm up for 1 min. or it will want to stall but much better than the girlfriends stock 05 Mini Cooper S. This thing will stall the first time then on every second try the car will start perfect and run like nothing happen, I am starting to think its the pressure reg. and we use lucas regulary on my car and started with hers. Know hers only stalls once and awhile but still struggles to get started on that first turn of the key. The dealership said its the gas she uses, but we get it from the same place and the same octane. I am determind to figuer this out bc of this and other major issues she had in the past, She hates this car, but I am trying to convince her bc I love mine.

 

I have a 2002 MCS that has had the "does not start first time" issue since I bought it just over 3 years ago. I have tried different fuel makes and octane ratings and there has been no difference.

I too think it might be a fuel regulator problem. I have a new one sitting on a shelf waiting to be fitted and I will post again after I fit it. BTW, the regulator is a relatively cheap component (the cheapest component in the fuel system) so it's probably worth trying before investigating further.


Cheers,

Dave

 

Dave, we have the problem on our '03 MCS and found that we can avoid it by first turning the ignition on and listening while the fuel pump pressurizes the system (or at least I think that's what's happening). It takes no more than a couple of seconds. Once you hear the fuel pump shut off, continue turning the key so the starter engages. We experienced the problem for many years, but once we discovered the above procedure, we have never again experienced the problem.

 

If you are going through all the trouble to replace the FPR, it would be a good idea to replace your injector's O rings. They are 33 dollars for a complete set.

I had same problems at 77K miles. But after replacing those components no more cold start issues EVER.

And it sort of makes sense if you think about it. Sucking in too much air through worn or broken O rings will cause all of the issues described so far creating a poor air/fuel mix and compression for proper combustion. And all the aids employed by MINI owners thus far to remedy this cold start issue such as: adding octane booster, buying high grade fuel, and no issues when car is warmed up ( O rings expand when heated ) just makes that air mix better.

And since I replaced my O-rings/FPR for the injectors in my case immediately worked for me, I really feel this is the fix. It took me a few hours to do. When doing the FPR, just make sure the retaining clip is properly installed securing the FPR into the aluminum bell housing on the fuel rail. It's sorta tricky getting both end it in the slots. I suppose you could take a quick snap shot of the FPR as it was installed from the factory to make sure you have re-installed it in the same manner some hrs later.

BTW: The FPR comes with two O-rings too and beside the exhaust manifold and catalytic converter, these rubber O rings are sandwiched between the two hottest parts of the engine, the upper cylinder head and the intercooler.

 

Thanks Gray. I'll take your advice regarding the injector o rings. Now I just have to find time to do it.

 

Thanks,

When I first got the car I tried this and other suggestions, but it didn't seem to work in my case. Maybe I'll try it again. I've sort of got used to the what was once annoying starting procedure.

 

I have read elsewhere that the computer system does a self-diagnostic, and that you should wait until the low-fuel indicator on the fuel gauge goes out before cranking the engine, or you might start having electrical weirdness happen.

What I do is plug in the key and turn it, then put my seat belt on. Takes no extra time that way, and if the fuel pump needs to do its thing first, that happens without me even having to think about it....

C ya,
Dutch

 

Thanks Dutch,

I'll try that (wait till self diagnostic warning lights go out)


Cheers,

Dave

 

Those prestart proceedures never worked for most and is only symptomatic of what I have posted before. Fuel pressure drop in the system while MINI is parked overnight.

For me. I am at 91K+ miles and it has been over 10K since I replaced my injector O rings and FPR....

So far the cold start stumble and stall symptoms have not returned.......................