Mini Mess

Hello John, I’d venture to guess that this car was regularly driven with the gas tank close to empty. The gasoline inside the tank acts as a cooling agent for the fuel pump so regular ‘low tank running’ will cause the fuel pump to operate at a higher temperature for too long. I’m assuming the pump eventually overheated and ramped up the amp draw, leading to its demise. — Dave

With a faulty ground, many bad things can happen. The high current finds a way to pass thru control modules and whatnot. I had a problem with a oil pressure control valve open circuit and with a thermostat open circuit, so these may be not consequential faults. Coding the DSC and EPS should take care of the rest.

Hello John, If it were jumped backwards, you would have far more issues. This vehicle sounds weather worn neglected and run until it broke down hard and had to be repaired. As my sister would describe this vehicle, it is a “Hooptie". It is not that old, but for Mass. it's an antique. LOL Sounds like all you have left is the power steering and engine light left to resolve.

Thanks for the input. Why would the DSC and EPS need to be recoded? Do they just dump their info? Can the coding be done with an Autel?

I use different tools, but Autel may be able to do the coding.

Hi Kirk, I noticed quite a few You Tube videos available for coding using the Autel products. I have had good luck on many different makes, but not sure about the Mini's.

Glen, I am thinking the same thing. Bad ground…. need jump start. One incorrect jump start and the magic smoke gets released.

Hi Darren, That begs the question: What is the difference between a Puff and a Pouf?

Thanks for all the help folks. I only fixed three of her five problems so I have been deemed incompetent. She will be taking it to a different shop. See ya! Thanks again. John

Hi John, Got to enjoy the entitled people who grace you with their presence. She may have done you a favor, as long as it runs, she'll drive it until it breaks again. Hopefully you wrote “Declined any further repairs” on the invoice. These kinds of customers love to play the ‘victim’ in their own drama.

That scan looks very odd. Why isn't the EPS on the controller list? Do you have another scan tool? Does the EPS communicate? I would suggest scanning that vehicle with a …/Autologic Bluebox, Assist Plus, DrivePro ES or ISTA.

Good eyes Nelson. You are correct it did not show up on the scan and the KOMBI was complaining about not seeing it. The EPS module was my initial focus, but I was taking too long so, It was drivable and she wanted it back. Don't want to pick the pepper out the fly poo but am very curious what the sequence was for this cascade of failures. Did power back feed from the bad ground or did Mr helper…

To answer your question, first it's a Mini, second it sounds like it is a very neglected Mini. I would bet someone jumped it backwards. I've seen that do nothing, blow fuses, or fry several modules and anything in between. I'm not a fan of the Mini brand and will not work on any that are more than 6 years old, except the original ones, those are sort of okay to work on. Glad you got paid for…