28 replies to this topic

[minisilverbullet]

I think you really need to get your hands on code reader/diagnostic tool!

 

yeah they are a bit expensive ( i just sold mine for 200 pounds)

 

But the good thing is that they dont fluctuate in value. I think I bought mine for about 200 last summer, used it to fix my spi and then sold it on. 

[spiguy]

it is very unlikely that the lambda (O2) sensor would cause that degree of rich running. In any case, just disconnect the O2 sensor plug to eliminate it as a possibility.  with it unplugged, the ECU assumes the reading and will fuel quite happily. On my car if I disconnect the O2 plug, I can barely notice any difference at all. Removing it won't tell you much - you will just look at it and wonder..

 

Hate to say it, but the only thing I have seen in personal experience that causes massive overfuelling is vaccum line issues to the ECU MAP sensor.

 

One other possibility I suppose would be if the injector was on constantly, maybe due to a wiring short, faulty injector,  or fault in the ECU so that it was being held on all the time instead of pulsed. That should be obvious looking at it when the car is running, as you should be able to see a sort of puff puff puff (although quite fast) as it sprays, if it's literally just pouring out then it could be stuck on.

[ryomini]

Yop

 

hey spiguy thanks alot - yep I may just need to either swap out my ECU or get it fully tested

Yep I think I'll run it with the air filter off and watch and listen closely to what is going on

 

anyhow

 

* BIG UPDATE*  with pictures - yummy

 

so geezer gets up early, has 3 shredded wheat and goes into Edd China mode, then decides to discover the Mini - strips the car right down to the steering wheel !

not quite

 

I'll comment here and post all the pics together at the bottom

now I know how eezy peezy it is to get the cat out (and to think I just ordered a socket, maybe for next time eh) I can change it whenever needs be - Yep yep will deff being looking for the super cool code reader - boy would love one of those Japanese real time sensor displays but not rich enough today

 

Questions

1. my rad fluid is green and gritty - I want to flush it and put an anti rusty additive in there - how do I drain the rad - I don't see a drain plug anywhere near the bottom

2. The picture of the thing that looks like the bottom of a steak bashing hammer (yeah you know what I mean) it comes from the bottom of the throttle body - is it supposed to RATTLE like a baby's rattle -  I was curious and stripped it but gave myself a hernia trying to put the clip back on - huh.

3. what about the state of the LAMBDA sensor - it's kinda sooty -

 

what I did was take the mani off - very easy, some from underneath

then pull the yellow bit off the plug

then push the very fiddly black plastic retainers while gently pushing the pin (and not bending it)

till you have all 4 wires free

put on a 22 ring spanner and hit it with a hammer like it was your mother in law - think it took me about 6 good smacks to shift the blighter - it costs about a 100 quid and there you are smacking the life out of it with a 2kg hammer !

 

cleaned the throttle body

cleaned the lambda - soaking in carb cleaner and periodically wiped down with a towel - now looks grey

cleaned up the mani and decoked as much as I could and got cancer too breathing it in - oh no!

 

tommora will try to flush the rad refill and reassemble - at least I have a clean base to diagnostic from

 

can't imagine what state my CAT is in - would a coked up CAT effect anything ???

and spiguy thanks for the tip - I will try unplugging the lambda next run out if the problem is still there

(so if your lambda is ko you can just unplug it and drive like normal - no need to change it ???????) it that so that is a very easy fix

that's all for now

 CIMG2479.JPG   248.35K   2 downloads

 CIMG2481.JPG   245.82K   2 downloads

 CIMG2482.JPG   242.94K   1 downloads

 CIMG2483.JPG   249.24K   0 downloads

 CIMG2484.JPG   244.25K   1 downloads

 CIMG2485.JPG   245.07K   0 downloads

[ryomini]

 CIMG2486.JPG   295.41K   0 downloads

 CIMG2487.JPG   332.82K   0 downloads

 CIMG2488.JPG   265.52K   1 downloads

 CIMG2490.JPG   268.93K   2 downloads

Edited by ryomini, 24 June 2015 - 08:13 AM.

[minisilverbullet]

The "steak hammer" is the 

TEMPERATURE PRESSURE COMPENSATOR SPI TPC

 

 

http://www.minispare...ck to catalogue

 

to drain the rad you need to remove the bottom hose on the radiator (really fiddle). 

[spiguy]

Does your car have the thermostatic switch on the bottom front of the radiator? I think it does as I am sure your car still uses the side mounted radiator. I mean parts 2, 3 and 5 in the following picture :

 

 

If you do have this, then this is by far the easiest way to drain the system. It is just a bayonet type clip that holds the thermostatic switch in the radiator. Rotate and remove the clip, pull the thermostatic switch out and all your coolant will pour out. (remove the rad cap to allow air in of course).

 

You can then shove a garden hose in the rad cap and flush the radiator through (again coolant will exit via the thermostatic switch hole). You could also remove the thermostat housing and thermostat, and flush through from there which will flush the block and head. Then you could disconnect the heater take off hose at the thermostat housing, and with the heater valve closed flush from there - that should flush the heated inlet (assuming you have it all re-assembled and plumbed in!). Then you can attach to the heater hose after the heater valve and flush from there, which should flush the heater.

 

So if you have that thermostatic switch in the radiator, then it's all very easy without having to mess about with the bottom hose.

[spiguy]

Just to answer a couple of your other points - the PTC heater should not be loose fitting. As for the O2 sensor, if you require to pass emissions testing where you live, then you can't just disconnect the O2 sensor. It will not pass without a working closed loop system. As for whether you could leave the O2 sensor unplugged, if you *don't* have any emissions requirements, then probably yes you could. I can't say how this would affect performance througout the rev range of the engine, however under medium to heavy acceleration the O2 sensor output is ignored anyway, and the ECU just follows it's fuelling map without adjusting it in relation to the O2 reading, so in real terms the O2 sensor will only really affect light to medium throttle driving. If you don't have emmissions testing, and were planning on leaving the O2 sensor unplugged then you would need to keep an eye on spark plug colour and mpg to make sure the car wasn't running too rich or lean.

 

I have read that with the O2 sensor disconnected the fuelling is a little richer, however having tried it on mine I didn't really notice any difference, and my O2 sensor appears to be working fine (I have a code reader with live data).

Edited by spiguy, 24 June 2015 - 11:01 AM.

[Blatherskite]

Did you ever change/check the coolant temp sender? We had an issue some years ago with a loose connector that gave a "full choke" effect in a warm engine. Worth a look?

[ryomini]

Hey guys

 

superb thanks for the help, really keeps me at it, I was getting bogged down

@silverbullet - nice mini by the way, so WHY did you sell your code reader if they are so handy ?

 

@ spiguy Yes I do have the switch on the bottom front of the rad and yes @ silverbullet the rear hose looked so inaccessible I didn't even think of trying to get a driver in there and pull the tube off from the bottom - yep forgot the rad is alu so I will have to add the right kind of additive, maybe not even necessary

anyhow my mani is clean, my lambda is clean, my drive way is soaked in rad fluid and tomorra maybe my rad will be rinsed and propa like

 

@spiguy does that TPC rattle - it's kinda weird, I picked up the throttle assembly and thought that some debris from the rad had got in there, plus my circlip pliers pulled the wrong way so putting it back in was silly fun by myself

 

cheers a million for the feedback, dying to use a code reader, missus not 'appy at all, but at least I can start diagnosting again from this base - I know what I'm looking at now

haha to all you guys who have to drain the rad from other end - fiddly was what the man said

[minisilverbullet]

 

@silverbullet - nice mini by the way, so WHY did you sell your code reader if they are so handy ?

 

 

 

It was great to have it last summer when i needed it, my mini is running perfectly, I checked with code reader just before i sold it. I thought it was better to have 200 pounds in my pocket than a code reader sitting gathering dust. 

 

I guess if i need one in the future, i can always buy one. 

 

That being said I have bought a usb cable and will try and modify it as per http://alum.wpi.edu/..._interface.html

[ryomini]

@spiguy Yop if you are reading this

 

about the INJECTOR - when I start the car and run it with the airfilter box off there is a LOT of petrol on top of the throttle petal, like it covers the top of the petal valve and you can see it's very wet, I don't hear any puff puff and when you shut off the engine it's still a little wet until it evaporates

 

everything else seems normal.  There seems to be a lot of petrol in the throttle but as I don't know what  a healthy one looks like it's hard to tell

 

I will try a short run with the airbox on and feedback

 

(is the only fix for a faulty injector a new throttle body ??????? )

 

@silver fair enough 200 is 200 but a code reader is handy when you need it, looking forward to having one one day

[ryomini]

 

Final post

hehehehehehehe

ehehehehe

ehehehe

ehehe

 

 

eehehehe

 

ehehehe

 

naoshita

 

(PS could have done it in 5 mins if I had paid more attention to sprocket and spiguy, but had to do what I had to anyway so nothing was in vain)

[minisilverbullet]

And the solution was..........

[ryomini]

Oh now you want the solution ;)

 

unplug the lambda at the back of the engine bay - car runs like a dream all the time

still seems to run a little rich - I will pull the plugs in a few days to look at them

 

I have ordered a new lambda but will only install it for the MOT

 

is there ANY way of leaning out the spi mini ???????

 

I think I saw one poster who had 'white' plugs in his mini - that is my dream, my mini has never run lean, wish at least you had the option to lean it out a little, is there no way to 'trick' the ecu into doing this

 

feels great driving down the street and knowing that you are NOT going to stall at the next junction - whoopee