Engine Drivetrain 1st Gen Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Help with my catch can

  1. Vernon29RW

    Vernon29RW New Member

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    #2 Vernon29RW, Apr 22, 2010
    bump for a new day....anyone got any ideas??
     
  2. Metalman

    Metalman Well-Known Member
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    #3 Metalman, Apr 22, 2010
    I would like to help you but I'm not familiar with the Alta catch can. No instructions with the unit?

    Normally a catch can of "good design" has baffles built inside (are these rings the baffles?). This creates a pressure drop and also allows the gasses to condense out of the air stream. Another requirement has to do with the location of the catch can. You want it to be located in an area that is cooled by lower temperature air than what is coming hot off the engine. A cooler catch can helps with condensation in the summer. Be careful of the location in the winter. You don't want to have an ice block (water vapors forming a plug) in any of your CC hoses causing undue back pressure. I don't know how your hoses are routed but you want to stay away from big "U" bends which will allow "dinosaur snot" to settle in the low areas, causing blockage or poor vapor movement.

    Hope this helps:D
     
  3. BThayer23

    BThayer23 Well-Known Member

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    #4 BThayer23, Apr 22, 2010
    Is your motor mount blown? Redline in second could be causing some sort of vibration that might loosen the electrical connections. Electrical gremlins are tough to diagnose without hooking the car up to advanced diagnostic tools. The DSC pulls information from all over the place.
     
  4. ScottinBend

    ScottinBend Space Cowboy
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    #5 ScottinBend, Apr 22, 2010
    Yea...we really need a rough diagram of how you have the occ installed.
     
  5. drksilvermini

    drksilvermini New Member

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    #6 drksilvermini, Apr 22, 2010
    Regarding the DSC, that has happened to me twice. And it happens all the time to my buddy who has a 19% pulley on his. I'm not sure what causes it but wanted to let you know you arent alone...
     
  6. imspencerwithanr53

    imspencerwithanr53 New Member

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    #7 imspencerwithanr53, Apr 22, 2010
    It could be your steering positioning sensor. It is located by the front driver side axle and sometimes will be thrown off which will cause you get you DSC light. Check to see if it loose! That may be it.

    And for the Foam rings that ALTA supplies with your catch can act as a baffle if you want to use them...
     
  7. Vernon29RW

    Vernon29RW New Member

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    #8 Vernon29RW, Apr 22, 2010
    @metalman, interesting point about the "snot" collecting. I routed it just like Alta recommended in the instructions.

    @BThayer, no the mount is ok, already had blown it over a year and a half ago and had it replaced before any of this started happening.

    @ScottinBend I'll try to draw a quick diagram with MS Paint but its pretty basic straightforward. one hose going from PCV valve to inlet of CC, then outlet of CC to hard gray tube under IC going to SC. Catch can is mounted in the box where the ABS block is located by the firewall on pass side.

    @imspencerwithanr53 that's interesting too...steering position sensor. HMMM its mounted on the frame rail or suspension?? Also you said the foam rings act as a baffle and to use them if I want to?? So you dont HAVE to? That's what got me confused during installation. I think ALTA said something similar to that in the instruction manual. Just a little vague that's all.

    Thanks for all the replies everybody. I was getting worried nobody cared :( :lol: :lol:

    Steve
     
  8. BThayer23

    BThayer23 Well-Known Member

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    #9 BThayer23, Apr 22, 2010
    Good call on the steering position sensor. Now that I think about it, BlimeyCabrio's software found a steering angle fault when I was having issues with my DSC. We cleared the fault and it's been better since then.
     
  9. Metalman

    Metalman Well-Known Member
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    #10 Metalman, Apr 23, 2010
    Why not put some of those baffles back in and see if they help fill up the CC with more surface area that helps with the condensation collection?
     
  10. Vernon29RW

    Vernon29RW New Member

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    #11 Vernon29RW, Apr 23, 2010
    yeah I'm going to just wasn't sure if it was something I should or should not be doing, thought I'd check with some people on here that have it already installed in their cars and are using the foam rings, that's all. Thanks everybody for the help.

    As far as the steering angle position sensor, what you guys are saying makes sense but like I said it only sets the light when I rev to redline in second gear only. It also won't set if I dont hit redline either. If I shift at say 6000 to third the light wont come on, only when I make sure I go all the way to redline. Its very strange! I also have another problem with the car that I've talked about on NAM before about this severe hesitation I get and I'm starting to wonder if it has something to do with the DSC. The hesitation almost feels like when the DSC kicks on during slippage where you just lose power momentarily. Problem is when the hesitation is occuring the DSC doesnt light up, neither does any other light for that matter. I had a spark plus blow out on me last year. Had a time-sert bushing installed and ever since then I've had this severe hesitation. Can't seem to figure it out for the life of me!! I think I'm just gonna have to have it looked at by a Mini shop like Helix or something. It really makes driving the car unpleasureable!
     
  11. ScottinBend

    ScottinBend Space Cowboy
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    #12 ScottinBend, Apr 23, 2010
    Sounds like you have the CC installed correctly. Same place as I do and I get about the same crud as you do......about half a can every year. I empty mine at every oil change. I wouldn't be to concerned that you are not getting more crud. Some engines allow much more and less blowby.

    The foam rings just allow you to filter out more of the blowby, the only real test on whether you need to do something else is to remove the IC and check for residue. If you find little to no residue then the CC is working just fine.
     
  12. Vernon29RW

    Vernon29RW New Member

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    #13 Vernon29RW, Apr 24, 2010
    oh ok, so that amount is ok? Well I thought I had something wrong because the amount was so little. I thought maybe the can wasn't really doing anything at all and it was just recirculating back into the engine. That's good to know about the amount Thanks!! Do you get a little oil on the hose around the PCV valve? I'm not using a hose clamp on the silicon hose that Alta supplied, maybe I should consider throwing one on there? The hose seems pretty tight around the PCV valve but maybe it needs to be tighter.
     
  13. ScottinBend

    ScottinBend Space Cowboy
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    #14 ScottinBend, Apr 24, 2010
    I actually ditched the silicone hoses and replaced them with some rubber hose. Didn't trust the silicone to stand up to the oil and such. And I only have a clamp on the connection to the grey vacuum line under the IC as it isn't easy to get to.
     
  14. Vernon29RW

    Vernon29RW New Member

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    #15 Vernon29RW, Apr 25, 2010
    I think I'm gonna do the same thing as you Scott. I dont like the feel of those silicon hoses and I'm wondering are they porous or something and that's causing that oil condensation to gather on the outside of the hose like that around the PCV valve. I'm gonna switch to rubber and throw a hose clamp on there and see what happens. Thanks everyone for all the help!!

    Steve
     
  15. beaner

    beaner New Member

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    #16 beaner, Apr 25, 2010
    I don't know if the steering angle sensor has anything to do with your DSC light or not. I do know that it is located on the upper steering column, just above the universal joint and not on the drivers side axle.

    Greg