15 replies to this topic

[Charlotte]

Ok, keep it simple please as I'm not techie or mechanical in any way.

I first noticed that the mini was stalling with my foot on the clutch the other day, boxing day I think. I put it down to the car being cold. It's happened now every day since then, and this morning after it happened I had real trouble starting it back up. The engine was turning, but it wasn't catching.

I'm also concerned that the engine isn't revving as fast as it should be. Is it normal to only be doing 1500 revs at 30mph?

Advice, please. Normally I'd take it straight to the garage, but I can't get through to them today.

[THedooBZ]

when u have started the car up look at what the rev counter shows, anything below way below 1000 and that could be the cause maybe. just a case of adjusting ur accelerator cable, really easy jobby.

but then again it could be the weather it has been cold the last few days. what mini is it, could be leads for example or feul mixture on older models.

[Charlotte]

Rev counter very low, definitely under 1000 - every time I've had to slow down today I've been afraid of it stalling (not good at motorway junctions :gasp: ).

It's a '99 paul smith mini, takes unleaded petrol, has seen quite a lot of active duty lately with a trip to essex and to wales just before chrimbo. Last time it was at the garage the mechanic said he'd do something to the spark plugs next time I brought it in, but I wasn't too sure what he meant, was just glad to get the car back after the MOT.

[THedooBZ]

ah sorry iv looked at your welcome page. ok so its a mpi like mine, now it could be simple or more in depth. as i said before check the revs on idle on your car they should be around 950 - 1000 rpm any lower and thats your cause probably. but if its higher then that would not affect it.
when mine became i wee bit temperemental i bought new spark plugs , ht leads, air, fuel and oil filters, generally a full service i did this pretty much as soon as i got the car. i managed to get about 9 months hassle free driving out of it but no its poorly again but this time its major.

so as i say check your revs and adjust your accelerator cable if neccesary. other than that if you havnet done so treat it to a full service, id also reccommend getting the haynes manual for your car as it gives all the info for everything on your mini, being that u havent already done so.

[Charlotte]

Arse, might be time for a service then :sad: this car has cost me a lot of money this year.
I have got a Haynes manual, but it's like trying to learn Greek. Give me metaphysical arguments about the nature of the soul and I'm fine - give me a car manual and I flounder. Plus the Haynes for the standard mini doesn't cover all the paul smith bits (whatever the difference may be there).

Thanks for the advice - always appreciated.

[THedooBZ]

not sure that the paul smiths are much different internal wise that the normal sportspack coopers, just u get nicey nice interior. money wise iv got to admit mine is costing me quite a lot. shame i havent got the cash to attack everything in one go.

do you know of anyone which could help you with your car , maybe someone who has owned a mini or has worked on them, this would be a great advantage as you could get them to do the service for you. doesnt take long honestly and not 2 difficult but it does help to no your way around the vehicle. also the garage will charge a hell of a lot to do it and probly not change everything that needs doing.

anyway before we jump in the deep end adjust your accelrator cable.

to do this open the bonnet,

1 you will see the air filter assembly (big plastic box with 3 screws in it, will probably say injection)

2 undo the screws securing this and remove it.

3 you will see the accelrator cable coming up and towards where you took the air filter off

4 it has an adjustable screw thread. with the engine running turn this anti clockwise to tighten the cable. ( i find it easier to pull the cable out of its holder where the screw thread is and adjust it espicially when really slack)

5 adjust until the revs show 1000ish then when happy put back together.

hope thsi is of some help to you and good luck :wink:

[Charlotte]

I know the air filter (point to me), and I've been told it doesn't actually have the screws in it any more :gasp: - I think they went missing around the time of the last service I took the mini for at Stour Valley Rover. I'm not taking it back there.

I'll get the car home and have a fiddle with this. My friendly mini expert should be back in the Midlands after the chrimbo break by now, so I'll give him a quick call tonight to see if he can pop round tomorrow.

You've been a great help, cheers again.

[THedooBZ]

no worries were all here to help :grin:

[Sprocket]

There is someting wrong with the information in this thread. I'm not too familiar with the MPI but more the SPI. The principle is the similar. The idle speed is not set by the throttle cable but rather the ECU opening and closing a valve that bypasses air around the throttle. The ECU tries to maintain a set idle of 850 rpm when warm. Granted if the throttle cable is not adjusted right, the Idle control will be incorrect, the ECU will still try and maintain 850rpm, usualy quite successfuly. The chances that the throttle cable suddenly became that maladjusted is slim and fiddling with it will only make things worse.

Things to do first, as already stated is change the air filter, spark plugs and more importantly the fuel filter. The fuel filter often gets overlooked when it is not serviced by a Rover dealer. Also maybe worth considering changing the Oxygen sensor if there is no evidence that it has been replaced, but leave this as the last job and only if the above fails to rectify the problem.

There are a host of sensors on the engine and discrepancy in readings from any one will cause difficult running conditions. If all the fixes above still fail then it will require a diagnostic plugging into the ECU to determine the fault. May actualy be worth doing this before changing the oxygen sensor to see if it is actualy faulty.

The correct spark plugs for the MPI are NGK BPR6EVG but the BPR6ES are just as good, the oxygen sensor is Bosch 0258 003 193. Don't buy the sensor from a dealer or Minispares, they will charge you up to £100 for it when you can get it from a motor factors for around £50 - 60. Oh and my advice, from experience, is, do not fit a cheep aftermarket universal sensor, fit the original bosch item. Follow the link below to find you local Bosch dealer, who will no doubt have the NGK plugs as well.

http://www.boschauto...oduct&intType=1

To help us to help you, when was it last serviced by the Rover dealer? Does it have a full dealer service history? Which services were done by the dealer? and How many miles on the clock?

Remember do the cheepest simplest things first. Good luck. Let us know how you get on.

[THedooBZ]

iv got to admit the mpi is a bit of a pain in the arse. to much stuff going on in there. i had mine put an the rover diagnostic and it came up with nothing evn though i no mine had a problem, luckily i knew the guy so he did it for free!!!

i dont think u can remap the ecu either which is pretty crappy, just a money making idea thats all.

[Sprocket]

iv got to admit the mpi is a bit of a pain in the arse. to much stuff going on in there. i had mine put an the rover diagnostic and it came up with nothing evn though i no mine had a problem, luckily i knew the guy so he did it for free!!!

Thats the problem with garages these days. You know there is a problem with the car as you drive it all the time. The diagnostic should be used to give you the live information, it should then be up to the mechanic to use this information to find the fault. But no most just believe what the diagnostic tells them, so when the ECU says its fine, bad running getts ignored( its missfiring for f%&* sake) Sensors can still read temperature, but might be way out, yet the ECU does not throw up a fault and most mechanics ignore this for some reason. The biggest problem with injection systems is they tend to cope with minor faults alowing them to multiply, in the end leaving you with a trail of faults that in total eventualy cause noticeble bad running. There was five faults onthe injection system when I took ownership of my SPI. Most were ony evident when the car was cold.

I bought my own diagnostic for the SPI and it has been well worth the money. Its taken me since july to get the engine running the way it should most of the time ignoring it like the mechanics( thats working on it on and offover the period gathering a mass of information). I found little bits of information from various sources that match some of the symptoms.

If you do not have the access to a diagnostic and the mechanic who does, still cant find the fault (usualy the case these days), then its a matter of YOU proving and replacing parts one at a time, using an EDUCATED diagnosis untill the problem is solved

Its just the way of the world these days, there are fewer and fewer that realy know how to fix anything

Edited to make it simpler

Edited by Mini Sprocket, 30 December 2005 - 08:08 PM.

[Charlotte]

Mini Sprockett - hey, keep it simple here! :cheese:
Fortunately one of my mates is a petrolhead and is currently pondering the situation as I type, as I couldn't get hold of the garage today. I'll speak to him first and get some ideas before I part with any money.

Thanks for the tips though, it's a starting point!

[minimadjonesy]

just a quick question as it may be a simple thing!

when you have your foot on the clutch, is it still biting?? if your clutch is not set properly then it could be on the biting point and will bring your revs down!

Do the revs fall when you're in neutral?? i.e no clutch and no gear selected? if so then get your clutch adjusted!

Just to throw a dumb possibility in there guys!!

[Sprocket]

Oh and the biggest gripe I have with a garage, particularly the dealers, is they charge you for parts that they swapped out to find a fault (that they still could not find), even though there was nothing wrong with the original. If there is nothing wrong with it put it back on! Oh Oh and another, they never give you the old parts either and when you ask, they say they have been put in the bin. They are my property and not for them to throw away( and no one say anything about dirty oil ). Maybe I'm being funny about it but I don't trust any garage these days to do things right, and thats from experience, lots of it :nugget:

I do every thing myself and have not stumbled yet :smartass: Just takes longer, but at least its right

Soap box session now over :nugget:

[Sprocket]

Mini Sprockett - hey, keep it simple here! :cheese:
Fortunately one of my mates is a petrolhead and is currently pondering the situation as I type, as I couldn't get hold of the garage today. I'll speak to him first and get some ideas before I part with any money.

Thanks for the tips though, it's a starting point!

I am a complex kind of guy in every way :nugget: and I though that was simple. Any simpler and the problem won't get fixed