92 replies to this topic

[BoyracerAU]

Well, this is weird!

I received a second hand ECU today. Whereas my original ECU was of the 101150 variety, the second hand one is a 101070.

I went for a run of about an hour's duration without any drama whatsoever. This would have to be the longest run it's done since the drama started!

The idle was initially high-ish (around 1,500rpm) and all over the place, but it did eventually settle down. The car was responsive and didn't miss a beat. It did absolutely everything I asked of it. I was rapt!

I got to thinking my problems were solved... I'd basically reached a conclusion... and then the misfires kicked in and it wouldn't rev above 2,000rpm intermittently. Same problem back again!

I'm thinking of taking the second hand ECU out and trying the cotton wool treatment over a heater. Who knows? Maybe the second hand ECU might've had a bit of fuel residue in the MAP sensor.

I'm also thinking of getting a new fuel trap. I have no idea what the innards of these things are like, but maybe my having blown compressed air through it, both backwards and forwards, has done some damage?

Along with the ECU, I also received a second hand Relay Pack. I'll pop that in tomorrow and see if it makes any difference.

I just can't fathom this. It wasn't so much the ECU itself that I'd pinned my hopes on. The object of this exercise was to replace the MAP sensor. As the MAP sensor is inside the ECU, this was the only way to go. I'd wondered if perhaps I'd damaged the original MAP sensor when I gave it a few blasts of compressed air (fortunately it was only a cannister, not an air compressor) a few weeks back. As the problem only happens when the car is fully warmed up, I'd decided it might be MAP related.

So anyway, the car seemed fine and went very well for a lot longer than it has done during the last few weeks but the problem is still there.

Anybody got any ideas?

[mogg]

I found this the other day in the rover mems book. If this conclusion is valid, it means you may have something going on with your throttle pedal switch, which I think is under the pedal. make sure its plugged in, ect. I sent you the full copy of this document in your inbox. Let us know

Attached Files

•  issue.pdf   887.63K   24 downloads

[Sprocket]

I found this the other day in the rover mems book. If this conclusion is valid, it means you may have something going on with your throttle pedal switch, which I think is under the pedal. make sure its plugged in, ect. I sent you the full copy of this document in your inbox. Let us know

There should be no pedal switch on these as its the single plug ECU veriety

The power is dropping from the coil and that causes the tacho to instantly drop.

narrowing down this now, dont rule out wiring faults, relaypack is your next point of elimination. Break open the cover and check everything looks ok inside, the cover comes off quite easily

Just one thing on the ECU fitted, that was an uncoaded Non Cooper ECU, is your car badged up as Cooper? it should have the ECU you have just fitted. Check the engine number is the Cooper veriety

[BoyracerAU]

Hi guys,

Today was my mother's birthday so I didn't get much of a chance to do much with the car except swap the Relay Pack. Unfortunately, it didn't make any difference. So I guess we're down to dodgy wiring.

Sprocket's right. This car is an SPI with a one plug ECU. There is no throttle pedal switch at the throttle pedal, instead there is a Throttle Position Sensor located above the throttle body. Do these two perform exactly the same function? If they do, and if they fail, then presumably the symptoms will be the same.

I wonder if my throttle position sensor can be occasionally faulty? Maybe it sticks from time to time when it's hot. Lucky for me a Mini enthusiast mate has kindly given me a spare, so it's probably worth swapping them over and seeing if it makes a difference.

The info in Mogg's link strikes a chord with me and what I am experiencing. I had read something similar before, but didn't actually find any further info on it. What actually drives the Deceleration Fuel Cut Off?

Sprocket, would either of the (uncoded non Cooper or uncoded Cooper) ECU's have any adverse effect on the car?

My car is a Tartan limited edition. I'm not sure if the car needs to be a Cooper before it can be a Tartan LE. It does have a Cooper laurel decal in the wing badge on the boot, but I know these decals are readily available from any Mini parts retailer, so who knows what it might be? To be totally honest, I wouldn't know how to tell a Cooper from anything else. I haven't gotten that far in my reading yet. It's all about troubleshooting these days.

Anyway, the engine number starts with 12A2DJ and the VIN starts with SAXXNWAX. Perhaps these numbers will mean something to someone.

It looks like I'll be hunting down an electrical gremlin and swapping out the TPS tomorrow. Not easy tasks I imagine, with my fingers crossed!

[BoyracerAU]

I've just answered one of my questions. It seems my car is not a Cooper, it's equivalent to a HLS/Mayfair.

The following is from Minimania and applies to 1.3L cars, built in 1990 and onwards:

1990 XN-----010001 On (1300cc cars only) – English Built

VIN

The general format for the VIN for these cars is:

SAX-XN-N-A-Y-B-B-D-######

VIN, First Three Positions (“SAX� in the above example)

= World Make Identifier.

SAX = MG-Rover

VIN, Fourth and Fifth Positions (“XN� in the above example):

XN = Mini 1300

VIN, Sixth Position (“N� in the above example):

= Class

N = Sport, Cooper, Cabriolet
V = Kensington
W = HLS, Mayfair
Y = City, Sprite

VIN, Seventh Position (“A� in the above example):

= Body type

A = 2-door saloon/sedan.
B = Cabriolet

VIN, Eighth Position (“Y� in the above example):

= Engine

D = 1300 Carb
M = 1300 Carb
X = 1300 SPi (standard compression ratio, 9.4:1)
Y = 1300 SPi (high compression ratio, 10.1:1)
Z = 1300 MPi (high compression ratio, 10.1:1)

VIN, Ninth Position (“B� in the above example):

= RHD/LHD, Transmission type, Final Drive

B = RHD, Manual, 3.105
C = RHD, Manual, 3.21
E = RHD, Manual, 2.76
K = RHD, Automatic
M = LHD, Manual, 3.105
N = LHD, Manual, 3.21
R = LHD, Manual, 2.76
Y = LHD, Automatic

VIN, Tenth Position (“B� in the above example):

= Model Change

A = 1300 Special Edition
B = 1300

VIN, Eleventh Position (“D� in the above example):

= Assembly Plant

D = Longbridge

VIN, Number positions (“######� in the above example):

= The sequential build number:

Starting with 010001

[BoyracerAU]

I had a mechanic drop by today to help me with another car I've been having problems with. Lucky bugger that I am.

He was very interested in the Mini and the problem I'm having. He couldn't resist having a look over it even though he was running late for another appointment.

Admittedly, he only gave it a quick look over, but he said the fuel pump was making a strange whistling noise. I hadn't noticed it because some previous owner has put a big hotdog on the back of the car and to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't know what a fuel pump was supposed to sound like in any event.

Anyway, I'm currently looking at replacing the fuel pump. I may as well, is the way I see it. I checked out a few websites and found they're not cheap to buy.

So, a couple of questions:

Where's the cheapeast place you can buy a fuel pump from?

Is there such a thing as a good but cheaper generic brand?

Does anyone think an unhappy fuel pump would explain the problems I'm having?

[ICAM]

Boyracer,

When I bough my engine, it comes together with a very rusty tank and it is totally useless. What I did was I used a carb tank but I fitted a secondhand Mercedes (Bosch) fuel pump externally in the boot it self. I will upload the pic tomorrow.

Unless U wanted to maintain the originality, this is the cheapest option you have.

[mogg]

These fuel pumps make noise, it is a very high frequency (maybe 16K Hertz?) it is sometimes noticed through the rear speakers on my car. Real annoying, but as far as I've read this is how it is supposed to be. The pump is inside the tank, go easy taking it out if you must, as there are some fine mesh filters you don't want to damage. The fuel guage can also be a delicate instrument you would do better off taking it off first. I must say, I understand your frustration, but throwing parts at this car will only make it worse when it does not solve your issue, and I do not think that this is the issue. Certainly a lot of that is due to us guessing from abroad.

I spoke to a Japanese certified mini rover mechanic yesterday, he works exclusively on these cars. The owner of the place is the Driver for the official Jack Knight Race car. Although he was very hesitant to say too much without seeing the car, he did say it most likely it has to do with the wiring with the coil and igniton system and fuel injector. He went over the list of most likely suspects and covered everything that Colin has mentioned. One thing he mentioned surpassed my imagination, he mentioned it could be a possible problem with the motor? The translation between us was rough and he may have misunderstood my description of the problem, but I think he was talking about the head..? I wanted to mention this here to see if Sprocket can imagine what he was talking about, and if that may be a possibility in your case.
Best fixing

[BoyracerAU]

Mogg, your Japanese guy was probably talking about valve clearances and tappets. I've read about this before as Sprocket has written about them. I've had my tappets adjusted, but it didn't help.

ICAM, I think I'd rather keep the car as original as I can. I just thought there might be a generic pump people use. Maybe there isn't.

Thanks both for the feedback & info, though.

[ICAM]

Mogg, your Japanese guy was probably talking about valve clearances and tappets. I've read about this before as Sprocket has written about them. I've had my tappets adjusted, but it didn't help.

ICAM, I think I'd rather keep the car as original as I can. I just thought there might be a generic pump people use. Maybe there isn't.

Thanks both for the feedback & info, though.

Any up date? How was it?
Any way, attached is my fuel pump. I 've used a merc fuel pump and plump it to carb tank. I need to re-rute the pump as to make it tidier

Attached Files

•  FuelPump.JPG   1.36MB   4 downloads

[BoyracerAU]

You're very innovative ICAM! Thanks for showing us what you've done.

Truth be told, I've made no further progress with my troubleshooting. There's a possibility that someone knowledgeable in, and familiar with, Rover Minis will be visiting Sydney in a week or so. So I've got my fingers crossed he'll be able to pop in, check out my car and sort it out. Here's hoping!

So, last weekend gone by I devoted my attention to the bodywork. To be honest, in the two months that I have had this car I hadn't even washed it. So this was the first time!

After the wash, I started in with some detailing: clay bar, paint cleaner, polish & the fourth process - wax. I've put about three hours into it so far and I've got the roof and the rear section done. They're looking good and they're silky smooth.

[ICAM]

Have you check your temp harnes sensor? Ref pic from 'SPI wont start" topic.
Can it be possible that your car is in safe mode.?
What I read from the rover spi is that if any major sensor broke down the ECU will limit the engine. Not to sure myself. Until what RPM will the safe mode lock? Anybody knows?
Also can anybody list out what are the major sensor?

[Sprocket]

If the sensor totaly fails high or low, so thats zero resistance (dead Short) or infinity resistance (open circuit) the ECU will asume a set value, otherwise it will use the reading from the sensor, therefore the sensor has to totaly fail. These are around 20c for the air and 70c for the coolant temp. if the lambda sensor fails, The ECU errs on the safe side and runs the engine rich to prevent damage. If the throttle position sensor fails thats it.

[BoyracerAU]

I think my temp gauge behaves normally, so based on this I'm guessing my coolant temp sensor is okay.

The only thing I'm not sure about is how long a Mini should take to reach operating temp. Mine takes about fifteen minutes to get up to a smidge below the halfway mark and then it pretty well stays there. Occasionally, it'll drop a little way and that's when I know the electric fan has kicked in. The fan duly cuts out at whatever point and then the temp works it's way back to it's usual spot.

I have yet to get a new thermostat. It's on the cards, though. They don't cost too much and I guess at least I'll know where that's standing once it's replaced.

[Sprocket]

Are you saying the cooling fan cuts in when the gauge is near the half way mark?

The Genuine Rover fan switch, brings the fan on at 102 degrees C and switches it off at 97 degrees C, that is up near the red.

If the rad is one of the aftermarket replacements, and has a screw in switch that looks like a big brass nut, the temperature range is all wrong for the SPi and will cause rich running condition.