2nd Gen R56 Cooper S Help - DSC, ABS, Brake warning lights all on

Discussion in '2nd Generation: 2007+ R55 through R61' started by dchernikoff, Jul 20, 2016.

  1. dchernikoff

    dchernikoff New Member

    Jul 19, 2016
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    I just got a 2009 Mini with 112K miles. I knew it had problems when I got it, so got the seller to knock off a few $K on the price. Now I gotta figure out how to fix it or just ignore the problems I can ignore...

    What I'm seeing is the DSC, ABS, and BRAKE warning lights on the Tach are all lit yellow. (Well, they were but now they've gone out).

    When I got the car, the brake wear sensor for the front right wheel was broken -- the cable to it was completely severed. The shop replaced it, and replaced the 7-year-old battery, thinking that the low voltage was triggering the DSC faults. But no luck, the indicators are back. Now they are thinking that the severed brake wear cable might have shorted out the DSC, and the entire unit needs replacing. The DSC costs $1000, and one shop quoted $1000 in labor (another shop said $500 in labor).

    So two questions to the experts on here:

    1) Is it really a burnt out DSC? Or could it be something else like the speed sensor?

    2) What's the risk if I just ignore it and not get it fixed? If it just means that DSC is disabled, I'm fine with that. If it also means that ABS is disabled, well I can probably deal with that too (I drove cars for years before either was invented, I know how to control skids and pump brakes to keep them from locking in a panic stop). But if it means that things will go wonky if I stomp on the brakes, then that's a different issue...

    Thank you all for any advice! I'm going to a second shop to get an alternate opinion, but wanted to hear what people here thought as well.

    -Dan

    [​IMG]
     
  2. Qik

    Qik Well-Known Member

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    What's your brake fluid level looking like? What's your pedal feel like?
     
  3. DneprDave

    DneprDave Well-Known Member
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    It is unlikely that a broken brake wear sensor would kill the DSC, the circuit is supposed to fail open when the break pads wear down to the sensor, just like when the wire is cut.

    It is probably a wheel speed sensor that has failed, if just one sensor fails the DSC and the ABS will stop working and the lights will come on.
    Did your mechanic scan for codes from the OBD2?
     
  4. dchernikoff

    dchernikoff New Member

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    Brake fluid is full. Pedal feels normal. Basically the car runs and stops fine, only thing that indicates a problem is all the warning lights...

    He did run the OBD codes, and says he got one that indicated "replace DSC". But I don't have 100% confidence with the skill or integrity of the shop, so I'm getting a second shop to run the codes too.

    -Dan
     
  5. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

    Jun 4, 2009
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    I'd bet a stale donut it is a wheel speed sensor that is dead. I had this happen to my R53 with the same symptoms. Yes you can drive like that, but I think you'd be much better off fixing it. Your abs & dsc are not presently working. You need someone who can read the code. A generic code reader won't do. A dealer or BMW/MINI shop will be able to.
     
  6. DneprDave

    DneprDave Well-Known Member
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    What was the code exactly?
     
  7. dchernikoff

    dchernikoff New Member

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    The shop is a licensced BMW/Mini repair shop -- they have access to the Mini service websites, etc, and were able to read the codes. Here they are:

    Before they replaced the broken brake sensor, they got:

    CONFIRMED CUSTOMERS COMPLAINT, NEXT PERFORM VEHICLE SHORT TEST, VERIFIED ALL
    CONTROL UNITS RESPONDING. INTERROGATE FAULT MEMORY OF ALL CONTROL UNITS. NOTED
    THE FAULTS BELOW. ADDITIONALLY, PERFORMED TEST PLANS FOR FAULTS STORED AS PER
    FACTORY DIAGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT.
    1) FAULT CODE: DSC, 5DAE, BRAKE FLUID TOO LOW
    2) FAULT CODE: DSC, 5DE6, BRAKE PAD WEAR INDICATOR, REAR: SIGNAL IMPLAUSIBLE
    3) FAULT CODE: DSC, DE04, WHEEL SPEED SENSOR, SIGNAL, FRONT LEFT, FAILS
    4) FAULT CODE: DSC, 5E05, WHEEL SPEED SENSOR, SIGNAL, RIGHT LEFT, FAILS
    5) FAULT CODE: DSC, 5E2C, CONTROL UNIT SUPPLY
    6) FAULT CODE: DSC, 5E30, DSC CONTROL UNIT, VOLTAGE FAULT, UNDERVOLTAGE
    7) FAULT CODE: DSC, 5E31, DSC CONTROL UNIT, VOLTAGE FAULT, UNDERVOLTAGE
    8) FAULT CODE: DSC, 5E32, DSC CONTROL UNIT, VOLTAGE FAULT, UNDERVOLTAGE
    9) FAULT CODE: DSC, 5E5C, DSC BRAKE PAD WEAR INDICATOR, FRONT, BRAKE PAD
    10) FAULT CODE: DSC, 5E5D, DSC BRAKE PAD WEAR INDICATOR, REAR, BRAKE PAD
    FOR DETAILS ON FAULT CODES ABOVE, SEE PRINTOUT.

    Then the replaced the sensor and battery, topped up the brake fluid, drove it around, and got:

    DURING QC ROAD TEST QC TECH NOTED DSC/ABS LIGHT CAME BACK ON. CHECK AND REPORT.

    CHECKED DSC FAULT MEMORY AND FAULT CODE 5E2C CAME BACK, PERFORMED TEST PLANS
    FOR FAULTS STORED AS PER FACTORY DIAGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT AND TRACE TO FAULTY DSC
    CONTROL UNIT. RECOMMEND AND PROGRAM DSC CONTROL UNIT AND THEN RECHECK.

    Thanks for your help guys!

    -Dan
     
  8. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    If everything is working fine and you just hate the light just take out the Speedo and put a small piece of 3M black electrical tape on the back side of the Speedo light.

    Stupid warning light issue resolved for a couple of bucks and 1 hour of your labor. :rolleyes::lol::ihih::Thumbsup:
     
  9. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    Well from the real live BMW diagnostic codes, clearly everything is NOT working right.

    The question I'd have is did any other codes recur after driving, or just the 5E2C code as the notes say.
    Possibilities are:
    * bad DSC control unit as they say (which will most likely prevent ABS from functioning - you can test it by braking hard in a safe location and seeing if ABS kicks in. On a gravel road or parking lot works well for testing)
    * one of the fuses supplying power to DSC unit is bad (there may be multiple fuses, I'm not sure for 2nd gen cars. At least some power is getting to the unit, or it wouldn't be reporting the errors
    * intermittent / dirty connection to the DSC unit. I've had this problem before, main harness connector that plugs into DSC got wet or corroded, I cleaned and reinstalled and it resolved the issue
     
  10. dchernikoff

    dchernikoff New Member

    Jul 19, 2016
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    Great info and ideas -- thank you so much! I may print this out and show it to the tech next week when I take the car in. I would SO love this to be something simple like a dirty connector! I'll let everyone know what the new guy says.

    -Dan
     

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