Engine Drivetrain 1st Gen Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: THE Code....... mis-fire on #4 !!

I think

misfire #4 is due to piston ring issues because of the very thin space between the pin and the ring. If this is the case, a compression test will let you know, and then you dig into the engine (and wallet!) for the fix!

Hope I'm wrong....

cheap things to check first.... Plug wire and plug. Cause it's a wasted spark ignition, it's probably not the coil, but you might want to check the coil terminal for corrosion. Also, you can move the injectors around to find out if it's a fueling issue due to a bad injector.

Matt

 

I've gotten misfire on 3 and random misfire codes before - always seemed to be plug / wire / terminal issues for me. Haven't seen the misfire on 4 code before on my car, though.

 

Thumper, stock coil pack and wires work the best for us

 

I'm happy for you!

this was probably the least expensive of all the possible (other than some corrosion and a little emry paper!)

Cool!

Matt

ps, and yes, I too have given up on my red plug wires and aftermarket coil pack.

 

Yeah... MINIs eat wires. Never had a car that I felt like I needed to replace wires on before... why is that?

 

No heavy mods on my Justa, went 100k on the OEM wires and plugs. After I changed them out, there was no real difference.

Mark

 

we've tried a few of the aftermarket ignition coil/wire system, find the stock one to be quite capable. Even our 600whp turbo R53 is still running on the stock coil pack and wires. If you are having inconsistent sparks, then that can lead to poor ignition which can lead to misfires.

 

First a few myths.

Not all spark plugs are the same

With any engine performance modification a careful and knowledgeable choice of changing heat ranges and type of spark plug design must be made individually with each engine. No such thing as a common choice.

A single electrode spark plug on a modified engine does not have a standard spark plug gap.

Spark Plug Wires wear out on an average of 2 -4 years or 30k-40k miles or sooner

OEM (stock) wires are not the best wire for a modified performance engine.

Coils are not rated in hp!!!
So many misuse the electrical terms when talking about coils which is "energy" and "power"(electrical). Nothing to do with engine HP(Horse Power)

Not all after market coils (on ECU controlled BMW/MINIs they are more electrically categorized as transformers not coils) are really better (performance rated) than oem coils. Read the design specification not the advertisement.


While there has been much testimony about failures and mystical problems of applicated aftermarket performance ignition components from many. I have observed that very few have the proper equipment to test and annualized for those problem and fewer yet that know how to annualized and sort out possible electrical problems and universally conclude it must be an inferior product reverting back to oem parts with out really knowing what the cause of the problem was and possibly never resolving it?

This information is not to expose anyone but rather make aware of basic automotive electrical facts.
I realize my posting that the standard order is in the reverse order of normal engineering study and the conclusions are stated first rather then mechanic's analyzation of how resolve an issue or choose a replacement electrical component.

In my performance experience, as well as my theoretical education in the automotive performance field, I have come to realize that inadequacy in ignition has caused less than expected performance out of an engine. And because it is ignition these inadequacies can not be readily seen on a dynometer.
My practical experience has shown me that more than half the time, poor ignition reducing a vehicle performance the driver is never even aware of it. And unfortunately most shops do not even have the experience or knowledge to improve or really know how better the engine could be running if the ignition system were truly working for and not against them.

If you are one that chooses to go the easy route and continue to use oem ignition parts and the common chosen spark plug on you modified MINIs engine then that is your choice. But try not to expand fiction from empirical facts.

As for BMW (not necessarily MINI) miss fire codes there are both mechanical and electrical reasons why that would appear. I have seen this question posted in a few forums lately and most are the same copied responses given. In most cases a trained Automotive Electrical Technician or BMW trained Technician with the vehicle present is needed to do a diagnostic of the code.