1st Gen R50 Cooper Most liked posts in thread: Urgent help needed!

I thinking maybe in the 1500 to 3500 range the pedal was faulty but maybe the 02 sensors control different rpm's? I'm hoping tonight the rain holds off and maybe moving the sensors will move the problem. I'm just hoping it is not the EMU that is faulty..$$$$$$

On another issue I forgot to mention the clutch pedal barely disengages the clutch. I have to push the pedal all the way to the bulkhead to get gear selection. I don't have carpets so with them I would not get the clutch to work. This happened Friday night too! Both the slave and master are new.

 

I didn't rain! Hey Batrugger. I read your post too after searching LOL so I did a compression check. 210psi for all cylinders. which I believe is ok. plus this was an overnight issue. The day before I drove 4 hours straight.

So last night I swapped the MAP , swapped the 02 sensors around, changed the plugs back to the originals and seeing as I had a spare, I swapped the throttle pedal= same issue. Of course I didn't swap the latter all at once. I did one at a time. Now I'm starting to run out of options.

I just get the P0300 error. I read that when the EMC defects a miss fire in a cylinder, the injector for that cylinder is close and the 02 sensor are put into open loop. I sure this is what is happening because the cylinders change and the spark plug goes a very light grey suggesting the cylinder does not have fuel due to the EMC shut off that cylinder. So maybe this not a fuel issue but more a sparking problem? The only thing I did not change is the wires as I don't have any. The wires are red so most likely an after market set. could bad wire be the issue?

 

what is the value I should be looking for? I thinking maybe the fuel I have is bad too! I might go buy some more locally.

 

Thanks, I heard that the OEM coil pack and wires are the best. I'm going to get the wires as I'm sure the red wires are some autozone junk. When I first got the Mini the engine was on 3 cylinders (burnt valve) so I bet the previous owner tried to fix the issue with cheap wires.

 

Searching around I found several cars with the same issue. One was VW GTI which had carbon on the valves and Mini with a short in the wires going to the coil pack.

What I remember is the engine went on 3 cylinders and ran ok for a few minutes after a re-start, then as the day progressed the misfire occurrence increases. Maybe the crappy fuel made deposits on the valves? I'll take the inlet off and check. Also I've ordered some wires from the dealer here. $60 delivered.

 

raining like crazy tonight. I don't think I'll be working on the problem today.

 

It stopped raining so I got some new wires from the dealer. I fitted them and the problem is still there. What's interesting is the error code came up a cylinder for the first time! P0301 and not P0300. So I did a series of start,3 cylinders, pull the plug lead to find the cylinder, stop the engine, clear the code, repeat. what was interesting is the plugs get coated in a brown residue each time I pull the plugs out. I clean them, refit and then got #4 misfiring 4 times in row. Before if was random.

Is the spark/fuel loading less below 3500? I hear a popping through the exhaust just before the engine goes on 3 cylinders. Maybe at 4000 and up the fuel/RPM and spark is strong enough overcome the problem? I have a feeling the fuel in the tank is bad too! also I ran all my injectors with the crappy Gatorade fuel so maybe all of them are bad now.

I did take off the intake manifold, nothing strange in there.

 

I'm currently working with Total to see what can be done to gian new parts because I think I've ruined all my injectors as the mixture on the wideband gauge is all over the place. 13.2, 14.3, 15.7 at idle. It used to be 15.3 to 15.6

Regarding the fuel. I used the fuel pump to drain that side of the tank and then took out the pump and filter to gain access to drain the remaining fuel, There was a very small amount of fuel inside the tank. So to be sure I'm going to drain this fuel out too and add some from a local gas station. Also I brought some injection cleaner and some carb cleaner.

I was going to take the intake off and spray the carb cleaner into the ports, leave it a day and try to clean the brown film but I was worried if the cleaner gets into the cylinders and ultimately into the oil. Maybe a soaked cloth would be better.

 

I've pretty much gave up on the problem until I can replace the fuel filter, 02 sensers and injectors. I've to a point where I have the fault on #3,4 cylinders but swapping injectors does not help because I think all the injectors are bad.

I drained all the fuel out over the weekend and replaced it with local fuel. The strange thing is a ton of crap comes out into to container. Surely the filter should catch that? So until I can replace the filter etc I'm not wasting any more time.

I have a meeting with Total CR today so I hope they will do the correct thing and replace are the parts.

Another interesting thing is the Gatorade fuel is now clear but with several droplets of water in the bottle. I'll let you know how the meeting goes.

 

I was under the impression the meeting was regarding an insurance claim which I had supplied documents for but when in the conference room it apparent this was a well set up bully boy corporate meeting of 3 executives to harass and intimidate a concerned customer. To be honest I was disappointed with the whole meeting and the accusations that I had fabricated the whole story to discredit Total and receive money. I was amazed and totally surprised that a well-respected company like Total would take that approach.

Regarding the Mini. Game over for me. I cannot find the problem with the limited equipment that I have so I'm taking it to BMW to have them hook up the engine to their computer. I think in the long run this will be the cheapest and quickest way to have the Mini back. Also I leave for the US on Saturday and return a week before the next rally.

 

The BMW tech says they can't find the problem and want to return the Mini. They say it is an electrical issue some place.....which leaves me screwed!

 

The dealer still has the Mini. They requested my other set of injectors so I hope they have a plan.

Total want to send an insurance guy to check the Mini. I don't trust them and think this is a plan to say the engine issue is not related to the fuel so without me there they are not looking at the Mini.