9 replies to this topic

[Keafie18]

Hello all, 

 

Mini SPI 1996 failed its MOT, most problems are fixable. see below. 

 

the one problem i cant really fix and the garage dont seem to be too helpful is the idling problem.

 

I have had serious problems with the mini and it just feels so rough around the edges and does not run well. 

 

Any help would be appreciated. it often stalled when out on the road and is running very very rich.

 

I dont know if the problem is anything to do with having a decat exhaust.

 

I have a video which shows what its like at idling but not sure how to share on here. 

Attached Files

•  Picture1.png   151.47K   7 downloads

Edited by Keafie18, 08 September 2023 - 04:28 PM.

[sonscar]

No cat should have been automatic fail visual inspection cat missing.Try fitting one,Steve..

[J808]

if your idle speed is high, and you say the mixture is rich, is the car getting up to temperature? as the ECU will be running it rich at a higher idle speed to get the engine up to temperature. Do you have the diagnostics cable? if so what is MEMS showing the readings as?

[MatthewsDad]

As above, running a Rover mems check is a cheap and quick means of getting some data to work from. The app is available via Google Play etc. and the cable is available on eBay. There's a risk of chasing round in circles looking for the source of the problem without something to work from. A missing cat won't help an spi pass it's emissions test.

[Designer]

Hi,

Am I missing something here or just being very stupid (no need to answer that ). Not knowing any details regarding Spi's or Mpi's ( I run an old fashioned Carb engine) surely all the default settings are based on a Cat being fitted. If upstream and downstream Lambda sensors are fitted and there is no Cat between them the ECU is not getting the correct information to run the engine correctly. I had a Cat failure on a Renault which caused it to fail an MOT for exactly the same reasons as stated in the Fail certificate above.

[Bobbins]

Fit an exhaust with a cat.
Renew the various vacuum hoses around the engine.
Go through the list of other fail items, in truth there's a few of them you should have been aware of meaning realistically the car was not ready for testing and you might as well have kneeled down outside the test centre and started to pray, it simply wasn't ready for test.

[madazv8]

If all is well in the vacuum circuit, then have a look at the water temp sensor.  This plays a big role in how the car fuels also.

[68+86auto]

It sounds like there is a vacuum leak. Note how there is no fail indicating a rich mixture, there would in a rich mixture scenario be a high CO content failure. Instead the only fails reported are high idle speed and high HC (hydrocarbons), both symptoms of a vacuum leak.

 

https://www.crypton....issions/HC.html

 

https://www.crypton..../emissions.html

Edited by 68+86auto, 09 September 2023 - 12:05 PM.

[Keafie18]

Thanks all for the replies. 

 

Yes it does seem obvious that the right thing to do is fit a CAT so I will start there and see what happens, I do realise some of the stuff was very obvious, the wheel nut and fog light and numberplate lamp I had planned on sorting the day before the MOT but the stuff didnt arrive in time. 

 

I was hoping my tightening up of the cable would have fixed the handbrake issue as well. 

 

Thanks for all the suggestions though, has given me something to work on and we'll see what happens from here. 

[Designer]

I would suggest you remove the post code from your details. 

Just put your town, country, county but not exact details.

That is definitely a Mini under the blue Tarp.