2nd Gen R56 Cooper S R56 DME Failure Questioned

First time post and new to the forum but grateful that I can ask the "EXPERTS".

I have an 07 Hardtop S with 70K located in Oh.

2011 had the timing chain cold weather mod done.

Four weeks ago at 20 deg F, I started the car in my garage, warmed up for a min then drove three blocks for fuel (premium always). It started but would not go above 1K or it would act like it was misfiring and then stop with a half full yellow check engine light.

Towed it to mini for the High Pressure Fuel Pump recall but once installed it did not fix the issue. Mini then:
* Cleaned the fuel rail and pressure was correct.
* Removed intake to check for carbon - little found.
* Tested Mass Air Flow - checked out.
Assembled intake and the mini started right up and ran fine. I gave the tech permission to drive it home and cold start in the am (20 deg). Started fine and they ran a diagnostic check which came back clean.

Fast forward after two weeks of daily driving with no issues...yep it failed again with the same symptoms. Towed it to a local BMW mechanic who pretty much retraced the steps of the mini mechanic. He now believes that the DME is bad.

Sorry for the novel just to get to this question but I always thought that when a DME went south, it stayed south and did not heal itself. I found Go DME in Texas that will run a diagnostic DME scan for $75 but I question if this should be my next move. BTW, Mini wants $1425 for a new one and emphasized that there is no refund or return.http://www.motoringalliance.com/forums/images/smilies/mad2.gif

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

 

I live on the outskirts of Canton in a city called Massillon (The home of Football). No kidding, every baby boy born at the Massillon hospital receives a stuffed football in their crib (starting them young!). Unfortunately though the closest mini dealer is the east side of Cleveland (60 mi) but at this point I'm out of warranty so not too much of an issue anymore.

 

CHKMINI is correct, the computer ECU or now according to Mini is called the DME is somewhat of a mystery when it fails. So far I've found GoDME in TX and RPM Motorsports in Victoria Canada who will recondition a used one.

I was wondering if anyone else has really had to replace their DME/ECU/Computer before and what type of symptoms did they have. I have a feeling that tomorrow (Mon) the decision will need to be made to pull the trigger on one.

Go Tigers!

Thanks,

 

DME is DOA

I'm not too sure what is more dead my DME or this thread

I received news back from GoECM today that my DME was in fact bad. They contacted Mini and received schematics to t-shoot it and then discovered that the problem was the processor. Bad news because it cannot be replaced. Now it's Hello $1425 new DME from Mini with no refund or guarantee! However the report from GoECM did provide a higher confidence level now that the DME was the culprit of my problems.

And the saga continues...once I receive the new DME (three days) Mini stated that they need to program it to my car (3hrs at $110). Fortunately my BMW cert mech can also do this.Had a deep sigh on this because another $275 to tow it back up to mini in Cleveland was adding up.

All in all I'll have close to $3K invested in this little "mini" ordeal which is really sad for a six year old car with only 70K miles.

Man I hope this is the end to all of this and I can say "lets motor" :fingerscrossed:

 

Hey, I just found the perfect accessory for my mini...a tow hook!

 

2/2/14 Update on the R56 DME:
Sent the questionable DME to GoECM in TX and they confirmed that the processor had failed and was not repairable. Contacted Mini and purchasing a new DME. $1516 later, a new DME was installed but found that it needed programmed to the car. Once completed, it still would not start but we noted zero RPMs on the analyzer during cranking. According to the remaining default codes, they are now pointing to either a failed Crank Shaft Sensor and a Throttle Sensor. Ordered a new Crank Shaft sensor and hoping that will put an end to this not-so-mini problem (or repair bill).
This is the first really major issue I've had in almost four years of ownership and to be honest I'm not quite ready to put a For Sale sign on it yet but I think I'll keep my tow hook in the glove box.

 

Going on week seven and still cannot get it to start. Decided to call mini dealerships in LA, San Fran and NY to see if I could talk to a tech. Found one in LA and he really helped on the error codes.

New DME was programmed and now no injector pulse or spark.
Replaced Crank sensor - no change
Error codes:
2BD2 = Internal driver / DME
2B4A = Throttle sensor (high side)
2B4A = " " (low side)

According to tech even with the throttle sensor unplugged car would still start and idle around 1800 RPM.

Suggested putting old DME in to see if it would at least get spark and fuel.

BTW: the tech said that in his five years he has only seen two DME's fail.

Doing point to point wiring ring outs now and if we cannot find cause I'm going to tow it to Cleveland mini dealer where at least they will have access to BMW engineering.

The saga continues...

 

Well after nine weeks and $3,200 later, a DME wire was discovered shorted to the intake. It appears that after seven years of vibration the shielding around the wiring harness and the wire's jacket wore thin and shorted to ground. Glad to finally have it back and running. Classic Mini in Cleveland were great to work with and I would highly recommend.

The saga Ends...