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 Posted: Jan 4, 2021 07:51AM
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After thinking about this more in hindsight, I learned something that concerns me with the Mini. 

As I said before the car just died, then hours later it just works. No codes, no apparent issues. 

In replacing the fuel pump and the housing that holds the fuel filter and HP pressure regulator I noticed there are two fuel floats, Both of these are in the tank and accessible under the rear seat, one on the driver side (USA car, fuel pump) and one on the passenger side (housing). I wondered why but assumed they were redundant. 

When I replaced the fuel pump, I lost the gauge, so this showed that if one fails they both fail. The new pump was not the issue, and it eventually ended up failing in the same way.

I never really questioned the two-level sensors after that until recently. 

I cannot say for sure, but what if every time I had a failure it was at a 1/4 tank or less. I know a few of the fails came after a left turn, sometimes at speed, which would throw the gas to the passenger side. The two sensors are because the tank has a hump for the exhaust. So it is possible to starve the fuel pump yet had tons of fuel in the tank. 

I can't imagine how this was not noticed before by shops or "experts" I have consulted, BUT remember this ... if your Mini just dies, for no reason, then can restart ... with no codes or indication ... yet you have fuel indicated ... then maybe it's an issue with the fuel delivery and not an electrical or mechanical issue at all.

Cheers and thanks for the help ... if anything changes I will report here.

 Posted: Dec 31, 2020 12:30PM
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Awesome!! 

Yep, that's what I felt like ... of course, I didn't expect the gauge to not read right. ALSO, the shop got an "empty" car as well and was going to charge $550 to "fix" it ...

 Posted: Dec 31, 2020 12:04PM
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This seems relevant to post... I'll post the 2 relevant clips with their corresponding time stamps to save you have having to watch the whole thing.

First
https://youtu.be/gNSoZzy-hyA?t=209

then
https://youtu.be/gNSoZzy-hyA?t=600

 Posted: Dec 31, 2020 08:06AM
 Edited:  Dec 31, 2020 08:11AM
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I will check the MAF next time ... thanks for the suggestion.

BUT and this is a big BUTT ... yesterday we decided to bring some gas picking up the vehicle. We tried to start it and it would not ... then we added gas, and it fired right up and has gone 75 miles so far with no problem.

My theory on what happened is when we replaced the Fuel Filter housing and the HP regulator, which has a float in addition to the fuel pump, is giving me bad tank readings. The last two stalls were both low fuel levels, so I think even though the gauge said around a 1/4 tank and the trip computer said I had 70 miles left in the tank, I ran out of gas.

So I will reset the trip miles every run and make sure I fill around 1/2 to a little less of a tank. See if I can correlate the data there as well. While i would like to think this has been a long term problem, I can guarantee prior I use to run it almost dry with the red fuel light on and the trip computer saying 5 miles, so there was another problem, and running out of gas was the symptom.

I believe the problem was actually a few steps back with the fuel filter housing/HP regulator since every stall after that was at low fuel levels. I am glad I did the CPS myself since the part cost $70 and took a few hours to replace versus having a shop do it for $550.

Going to drive it a bunch here and then got to So. Cal to sell it with my son, for some reason convertibles are not desirable during wintertime in So. Oregon;-) Will keep all up to date on my findings ... since this has been an odd one.

FWIW, I did confirm when it died, the tach was still working which implies the CPS is still working.

 Posted: Dec 30, 2020 12:52PM
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Sorry about the problem. I am late to this story.
There is no obvious solution to your issue. At this point anything is possible, so here goes.

the symptoms in your case do not seem to be the MAF , but my favorite thing to do when a FI car quits is to do the easy stuff.

Disconnect the mass airflow sensor. You can run on defaults.
Or wait until it fails , and then disconnect it.
I do not know your model but MAF sensor should be easy to find and disconnect wiring plug.

 Posted: Dec 30, 2020 08:36AM
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ARRGGGGGHHHHHH ... 1500 miles and it died again:-(

The only difference here was this was the first time i used the spare key ... also it was the first time since the last repair I did not have BOTH keys in the car. 

Does this sound more like a key issue? I'm afraid to take it to a shop again since they are clueless.

 Posted: Dec 17, 2020 04:42AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cvs334

Just passed 1000 miles and no problem. I think we got it!!


Some notes, in talking with my wife and the previous owner (our daughter) it would stall randomly and fire right back, every so often. The last repair I had done, the car allowed 825 miles before it failed, then 25 for the next fail, 8 for the next, and 1 on the last fail. So the sensor was going out and may have thrown a code eventually.

Thanks for allowing a platform to work this out. Got a few rabbit trails ... but with no codes, every trail is one until you figure it out.

NOW IT'S TIME TO SELL ... 2006 Mini S Convertable, 168k miles and a ton of work just done, including a new clutch!! In Southern Oregon and can drive to the LA area with a Paypal deposit and cash on delivery.

Glad to hear you finally fixed it! Thanks for sharing.

 Posted: Dec 16, 2020 02:32PM
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Just passed 1000 miles and no problem. I think we got it!!


Some notes, in talking with my wife and the previous owner (our daughter) it would stall randomly and fire right back, every so often. The last repair I had done, the car allowed 825 miles before it failed, then 25 for the next fail, 8 for the next, and 1 on the last fail. So the sensor was going out and may have thrown a code eventually.

Thanks for allowing a platform to work this out. Got a few rabbit trails ... but with no codes, every trail is one until you figure it out.

NOW IT'S TIME TO SELL ... 2006 Mini S Convertable, 168k miles and a ton of work just done, including a new clutch!! In Southern Oregon and can drive to the LA area with a Paypal deposit and cash on delivery.

 Posted: Dec 8, 2020 12:04PM
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Hope you got it!  Agreed this should set a code. My 13 Escape failed a differential pressure sensor also with no code, it just had surging acceleration and I was able to find a good post on the net about it.

 Posted: Dec 8, 2020 11:21AM
 Edited:  Dec 8, 2020 11:33AM
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Been quiet for a while, BUT this weekend finally installed the Crank Position Sensor ... only a Mini do you need to remove the whole front of the car to replace a sensor;-) The shop that I pulled it from was going to charge $550 ... for a $70 sensor!! Granted I guess 4 hours for an amateur mechanic would be shop time plus parts. 

At 250 miles and things are well ... will keep you up to date. Considering it died 10 miles after leaving the shop, this is good.

 

Based on people I have talked with locally ... one BMW had similar stalling with no code ... also an Asian car was doing the same thing. Both were fixed by the CPS replacement. So I am hopeful.

Being a SW guy I ask why someone doesn't code this right ... If this repair works, the CPS fails and the car dies, throwing no codes. Seems to me if no CPS signal AND a Cam Position Sensor active then THROW a CPS code.

I will update in a week or so when I hit 1000 miles.

 Posted: Nov 2, 2020 08:15AM
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I have been thinking about this by reading the manual and have come up with another theory.

First, if the Crank Position Sensor was failing, shouldn't it give me a code? I have none.

So, if the machine just stalls and intermittently starts back up with no codes, could we have a communications issue with the key and the board that reads the key.

It stalled again on the way home from the shop, but this time it did not restart, that's when I came up with the key theory. 

Could not drive it on the trailer, so hoised it up. When I tried this at home with the "bad" key it fired right up with no problem.

Wonder if it's a problem with the keys and or the computer that reads the keys?

Thoughts? If so how could I test this?

 Posted: Oct 30, 2020 10:20AM
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Just remembered something. TurboDave participated in a Lemons race with me in Houston, TX. The car was a 1993 Chrysler with the mitsubishi V6 motor in it.  I caged the car and actually drove it non-stop (except for fueling up) from San Diego to Tucson to Houston (actually more like Galveston). Absolutely ZERO problems.

Got on track and the car would quit with a sputter after about 45 min. We thought it was fuel delivery, so we dropped the tank and checked for debris or silt in there. Nothing. Clean as a whistle.

Checked vent lines and so on. All good.

We then started to think it might be the brain thinging was overheating. It sits in the air box so we rigged the washer bottle to spray into the intake snorkle at the front of the car to cool the ecu when we hit the washer button on the long straights thinking we needed to keep it cool. That didn't help either, but was kinda fun coming up with that "solution".

We just ended up rinning it like that all weekend with it dying every 45 min or so and then letting it sit for a bit, and then go back out for another 45 min.

What was weird is it drove on the street with absolutely no problems even after the race. It was just the throttle on/of/on/off sweep of the pedall and non-steadystate rpms that brought on the fault.

Turns out it was the ignition module that sits inside the distributer and the ONLY way to find the fault was to put an oscilloscope on it and and check for the bad sine wave (or whatever it is called/spelled). Swapping out that ignition module pickup thingie in the distributer was all it needed. That thing is essentially the same as the crank position sensor / pickup, no?

 Posted: Oct 30, 2020 09:04AM
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The theory a friend has progressed (had the exact same thing on a BMW) ... and appears that it could be valid since I believe the crank position sensor is on the underside of the motor. Anyway, he believes a gasket is leaking and intermittently shorting out the CPS, and in turn, causes the motor to shut down. I can't say I notice the tach since once it dies, I am frantically getting off the road before I am hit.

I will give it a go and report on the results.

 Posted: Oct 29, 2020 04:07PM
 Edited:  Oct 30, 2020 09:35AM
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Normally a bad crank sensor would throw a code and the tachometer needle would jump around similar to a misfire.


If in doubt, flat out. Colin Mc Rae MBE 1968-2007.

Give a car more power and it goes faster on the straights,
make a car lighter and it's faster everywhere. Colin Chapman.

 Posted: Oct 29, 2020 12:35PM
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The shop failed to figure anything out and thought it "may" be a Crank Position Sensor ... which they wanted over $500 to replace ... 

figure I can do that myself and save the money since it's easy.

Thoughts on if that will fix my problem?

 Posted: Oct 20, 2020 11:54AM
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ARRRGGGGHHHH ... on my way home it died. After trying to debug and get it rolling on the road (had cold spray) I got it towed. Unfortunately, they had to tow it to a shop, so I think I'm giving up. Let them give it a go.

So hopefully the failure is becoming "hard" and easier to find.

I just want to run it off a cliff ... and that's not a good point to be at close to a heavy hammer!!

 Posted: Oct 19, 2020 09:57AM
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Intermittent ground connection somewhere???

 Posted: Oct 19, 2020 07:28AM
 Edited:  Oct 19, 2020 07:34AM
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Things have been looking up. Notice the past tense:-(

Was about to declare victory and move on, but then it stalled again. The last two stalls have not required towing, but have been a complete shutdown of the engine and me having to coast to the emergency lane. I am so glad I live in a rural area, I'd be dead right now if this was So. Cal!! This time I got to 825 miles since the last fix before it failed.

Anyway like the last time, got to the side of the road, would not restart on key, or bumping while coasting to a stop. Let it sit a minute and squeezed the fuel line with the ignition on, seemed to be low pressure. Anyway ... removed the gas cap with no noise or venting or sucking ... keyed it again, it fired and got me to work.

SO, I will ask again ... replaced the battery, fuel pump, the fuel filter, the fuel filter housing with the hp regulator, and the Gas Tank Breather Valve. What next, it still seems to be a fuel issue since I squeeze the line when it fails, and it's softer than when it's running strong.

Again no codes or indication on what may be happening.

I am at a loss and it's stolen the joy of driving these things. I am starting to have PTSD every time I drive the car.

 Posted: Oct 3, 2020 07:24AM
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CA
Quote:
Originally Posted by cvs334
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Moffet
Probably the computer. Over or under pressure might trigger the computer to shut down the fuel pump. A belt slip, if not major would trigger the computer apply limp mode to protect the engine from internal damage.
Honestly, if Mini's firmware/ECU programmers did this they should be shot. I understand trying to "protect" the car ... but in my case, the mini 100% shut down while in the fast lane on the freeway going up a steep pass. I had to shoot over three lanes of traffic, with no power, in a car that gravity was slowing quickly (since there was no pull off from the fast lane, only a barrier wall). A check engine light and giving me the decision to save my engine or blow it up would not have put me at risk.
...and that's another reason to have a classic Mini. No ECU and it does have simple warning lights!

I agree than sometimes you have to wonder what the programmers are thinking. My brother was telling me the other day that in his GM electric vehicle, the display panel shows helpful hints occasionally. One of them was to avoid distracted driving! Duh!

.

"Hang on a minute lads....I've got a great idea."

 Posted: Oct 2, 2020 09:15AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Moffet
Probably the computer. Over or under pressure might trigger the computer to shut down the fuel pump. A belt slip, if not major would trigger the computer apply limp mode to protect the engine from internal damage.
Honestly, if Mini's firmware/ECU programmers did this they should be shot. I understand trying to "protect" the car ... but in my case, the mini 100% shut down while in the fast lane on the freeway going up a steep pass. I had to shoot over three lanes of traffic, with no power, in a car that gravity was slowing quickly (since there was no pull off from the fast lane, only a barrier wall). A check engine light and giving me the decision to save my engine or blow it up would not have put me at risk.

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