30 replies to this topic

[Crawfish]

Hi 

First of all I must apologise for being very non technical when it comes to cars and have to rely on professionals for anything but the most basic work on mine.

 

I have a 1993 fuel injected Mini Cooper which I understand is referred to as an an SPI. I have had the car for nearly 20 years and love it /try to look after it .

 

the car is in very good condition with low mileage for a car of its age ,but I have had an ongoing problem with it occasionally stalling (especially at roundabouts and traffic lights) when braking /revs dropping, When it happens the car cuts out immediately with no spluttering -it used to start first time afterwards ,but now it is taking more and more attempts to get it going again

 

I have taken it to several garages and nobody seems to be able to get to the bottom of it or diagnose it ,as the problem doesn't happen all the time and it annoyingly never happens during garage testing.

 

Other than this the car runs really well ,starts first time and is otherwise immaculate

 

Any basic ideas as to where to start with this to get it fixed as its preventing me using my beloved mini!

 

Many thanks

Crawfish

[cal844]

Have the garages checked for air or vacuum leaks? Also ask them to check the live data for fuel trims if possible

[Crawfish]

Thats great I now have something that I can start with - if that doesn't fix things I can move onto the next suggested possibility.

 

You guys are going to know a lot more than they do about minis and whats more likely to be causing the problem

I think they have just checked the basics (hoses attached properly etc)

 

The reply from the garages so far is "it could be so many different things causing it that I don't know where to start".

It doesn't help that the problem won't happen during any testing

Many thanks

Crawfish

[Bobbins]

It's an SPi ... renew the 4 thin vacuum hoses related to the injection, air filter and ecu, and replace the fuel trap. Do a search on Minispares for "vacuum" and it'll be obvious, there's a long black, short black, yellow and red. They need doing every few years or if you get tick-over/stalling issues.

 

Plus if you become a TMF+ member you'll get 7.5% discount at Minispares.

Edited by Bobbins, 01 April 2019 - 03:16 PM.

[RedRuby]

As said I would certainly be looking at the vacuum pipes and connectors as it is the usual culprit and is cheap and easy to rectify. Have a read through the attached as it has useful info for SPi’s. Good luck.


http://www.theminifo...oint-injection/

Edited by RedRuby, 01 April 2019 - 05:10 PM.

[Crawfish]

It's an SPi ... renew the 4 thin vacuum hoses related to the injection, air filter and ecu, and replace the fuel trap. Do a search on Minispares for "vacuum" and it'll be obvious, there's a long black, short black, yellow and red. They need doing every few years or if you get tick-over/stalling issues.

 

Plus if you become a TMF+ member you'll get 7.5% discount at Minispares.

Bobbins and all of the above member replies all sound really consistent and a great starting point, plus hopefully not too expensive!

 

Red Ruby I will read up on the SPI thread and bookmark it too, thanks so much gents this is brilliant :)

[Crawfish]

It's an SPi ... renew the 4 thin vacuum hoses related to the injection, air filter and ecu, and replace the fuel trap. Do a search on Minispares for "vacuum" and it'll be obvious, there's a long black, short black, yellow and red. They need doing every few years or if you get tick-over/stalling issues.

 

Plus if you become a TMF+ member you'll get 7.5% discount at Minispares.

Hi there 

is the link below all that I need to order -as it sure looks like it might be?

 

https://www.minispar.../fuel trap.aspx

 

many hanks

Crawfish

[Bobbins]

Yes those look like the correct hoses.

[Bobbins]

And don't forget if you become a TMF+ subscriber you'll get 7.5% discount ... which will pretty well pay for itself on your first order even if you only get the trap & hoses!

[Crawfish]

Yes those look like the correct hoses.

Excellent -unfortunately they didn't have them all in stock ,so have had to buy from elsewhere-Now to work out if I can do this myself or take it to a garage to do it ! Currently trying to find a video as to how to do it

[Bobbins]

Because they're colour coded you just swap like for like. Remove the complete air filter housing and it will all be clear, IIRC the yellow one attaches to the underside of the housing. The red hose is a bit of a sod to get onto the rear of the inlet manifold but nothing too complicated. Soak the hose ends in some hot water for a few minutes to soften them before fitting.

 

Don't disconnect the throttle cable otherwise you'll need to set it all up again.

Edited by Bobbins, 02 April 2019 - 10:24 AM.

[Crawfish]

Because they're colour coded you just swap like for like. Remove the complete air filter housing and it will all be clear, IIRC the yellow one attaches to the underside of the housing. The red hose is a bit of a sod to get onto the rear of the inlet manifold but nothing too complicated. Soak the hose ends in some hot water for a few minutes to soften them before fitting.

 

Don't disconnect the throttle cable otherwise you'll need to set it all up again.

 

Thanks Bobbins ,Im really not remotely mechanical, so what might seem easy to you, would be a mission for me

Removing housings and disconnecting throttle cables I would leave to professionals :)

I will have a look at it and if anything looks really remotely straightforward I will soak them in hot water before I change them

 

Cheers again

Crawfish

[Crawfish]

OK.... I have all the relevant parts (including a new radiator as the old one needs changing as its leaking) does anyone here know of a reliable and preferably keen Mini fan mechanic in the Herts /Essex area who would be good to contact to get this work done? 

 

Cheers

Crawfish

[Crawfish]

Hi again 

I have the Mini in the garage at the moment and running into a problem with where the yellow cable goes.

The mechanic isn't sure where it goes to and from ,there's a reference above to the "underside of the housing", but can someone be more specific, as that is a bit vague.

 

please can someone let me know as soon as poss if they can help us with this.

 

After googling I've realised that my mini has a different air filter to standard,would this mean that the yellow lead wasn't needed anymore? 

 

The air filter I have now is much smaller

(sorry can't post a pic as car in garage)

 

 

 

Many thanks

Edited by Crawfish, 08 May 2019 - 04:18 PM.

[cal844]

You need the SPI air filter housing so you can connect the yellow vacuum hose