mini acting up - Coil pack blowing

[smur89]

The mini is acting up again.

When i start the car (sometimes need my foot on the accelerator) the rev counter stays flat.
Sounds like a lawnmower and is thudding along, you can feel it thudding as you sit there. When i pop off the spark plug leads a white smoke comes out of them.

I drove it to work this morning and was fine. Hasnt been running as well as it usually is, but i put that down to it needing a service. Started it up to go home for lunch and it started thudding and no revs. I drove it home, no power in it. Changed the spark plug leads, but no joy with that, still the same problem.

Any ideas?

Its a 2000 MPI..

[dustyMini]

moisture getting into the spark plugs prehaps. spray of some sealent got rid of it for me(cant remember the name of it)
Happened to mine once when it was a wet couple of days.

[kona]

I have the exact same problem, down to the white smoke...... cam eout of number 1. Putting oil in the dashpots helped alot but its still there. Im still thinking its fuel rlated but I dont have the time at the moment to get stuck in.
Ive checked the timing and its grand. Im starting to think it could be the electronic module, Does yours have electric ignition?

[mustard]

I have the exact same problem, down to the white smoke...... cam eout of number 1. Putting oil in the dashpots helped alot but its still there. Im still thinking its fuel rlated but I dont have the time at the moment to get stuck in.
Ive checked the timing and its grand. Im starting to think it could be the electronic module, Does yours have electric ignition?

its a 00 mpi, coil pack...

[smur89]

Im going to have a look at it on Saturday, Al the Mod is going to come and help me with it (also going to service it)...
Ill let you know how i get on on saturday Kona.. have you replaced the leads, coil and spark plugs? going to do the spark plugs next, BERT said he has some for me (cheers bert, will give you a shout on saturday if i need em)

So, cycling to work in the morning!

[kona]

Oh didnt realise that yours is a Mpi.....makes it even stranger as mine is far from Mpi, but has the same symptoms.
I changed the leads, plugs, rotor arm, dizzy cap, The only thing I can point my finger at on the electrics side is the Coil and the Electronic module.
Ran a pressure test and Everything is fine, so that rules out Head Gasket and rings and the rest.
I tested the coil with a Multimeter and its within the limits given in the haynes manual.

Its a mad one, It also does it when you go around corners, and not even ones that cause much roll, sometimes moving the wheel is enough. Mad problem altogether.

[smur89]

Oh didnt realise that yours is a Mpi.....makes it even stranger as mine is far from Mpi, but has the same symptoms.
I changed the leads, plugs, rotor arm, dizzy cap, The only thing I can point my finger at on the electrics side is the Coil and the Electronic module.
Ran a pressure test and Everything is fine, so that rules out Head Gasket and rings and the rest.
I tested the coil with a Multimeter and its within the limits given in the haynes manual.

Its a mad one, It also does it when you go around corners, and not even ones that cause much roll, sometimes moving the wheel is enough. Mad problem altogether.

Oh my problem is constant.. have no car til i get it sorted either!

[smur89]

replaced the coil pack... was running fine for 3 or 4 seconds, then failed again... turned off the engine, another 5 seconds later.. BANG..and smoke....

I said id leave it to someone else at this point and gave a garage a ring. Towed it up to your man and left it with him.

He's after ringing me there and said that the autofactors gave me the wrong coil pack and that it had blown a hole in itself (the bang and smoke)... so he's gonna leg it down to them tomorrow and change it out.

[StevenR]

Hopefully you'll have it sorted soon Shane and its noting too serious

[smur89]

So, he went down and changed it... put in the new one and the same thing happened, it cracked. He said he asked a few people and they said id have to buy a rover brand one because of the voltage required, the other ones cant handle it..?

Anyway, rang paul minifix to see if he had a coil pack and he doesnt, but is going to price one for me. Also gonna ring around for me and see what might be causing the problem. Said i should have an auto electrician look at it because it sounds like its surging and blowing the coil pack

[gareth]

Call Rab in Ards Rover Centre. He is the best there is in Mini Mpi's and Spi's and is an authorised Rover after sales parts agent.
He has the Rover diagnostic system and has usually an answer for most problems you can come accross.

Contact him on 048 91813337.

He is in Darragh Lane, Newtownards. Just over the boarder.

[smur89]

thanks gareth, its a bit far north for me to travel with the mini.

Need an auto electrician near enough to dublin... preferably one who would work outside normal business hours.. possibly one who would call out!

[smur89]

computer isnt showing up any faults on it..

guy in the garage has a wiring diagram and is just chasing the wires to see if theres anything obvious i think at the moment.

[gareth]

thanks gareth, its a bit far north for me to travel with the mini.

Need an auto electrician near enough to dublin... preferably one who would work outside normal business hours.. possibly one who would call out!

Be worth giving him a call. He might be able to give some advice.

[smur89]

Faulty ECU...

Originally quoted 250-400 to get it reconditioned. He said then on the phone there was a crowd in England who would take the old ecu off me and send out a new one for 150pound.

Looking online on minispares, the new ecus ordered in are 300pound.

He's calling the 150pound place now and getting back to me. Waiting on a call back from him

will call that fella up north and see wht he's got maybe..

[smur89]

No luck with the trade in for 150.

Rab is to get onto me to see if he has an ecu for me.. 50 for a second hand one 300 pound for a new one he said.

His email is classicminispares@yahoo.com if you're looking to get in touch that way.

[gareth]

If you don't get luck on a second hand one with Rab try Donal In KC Systems. He repairs ECU's and other Auto Electronic items like keys and digital speedos etc. He refurbed an ecu and remapped it for me for the Vectra. Very reasonable pricing too. His number is 087-2519943

[smur89]

RAb was saying even if he does have one with the same part number, it night need to be programmed in.. The garage don't have the rover computer to do that. There's no way I can get up to newtownards with the mini, and i wouldn't be able to get up there during working hours anyway...
Pain in the..

[skelly]

if you need to get it on the computer up with rab id stick it on the tralier an take it up for you a sat morning,
rab has a mini of mine up there so wouldnt mind a spin up give him a few pound of the bill an see how the cars comin along
danny
0872138819

[smur89]

wow, danny, thats sound. I told rab the symptoms and he said, yeah, i needed a new one, had heard of it before. I went with sending it off to get it refurb'd. I think its the best option right now. Rab never got back to me about the part, i rang him back and said he hadnt checked yet (had asked me to email him so i sent it off my work email so ill see if theres anything in the inbox in the morning.)

Spent a tener today ringing around places to see who could sort me out. For future reference, Ryan's in Blanchardstown are the only place i could find who still had any rover gear left.

Thanks again Danny.

[smur89]

Rab didnt have an ECU for me, so i sent mine over to the UK to get it reconditioned on Tuesday, gonna ring them today and see if they have any update for me on it..

Hopefully will have it back next week.

[smur89]

So.. Ecu is repaired.. Though they said there was some other problem in the car that caused it. Garage just rangto say the found no fault in the wires going to the ECU and suspect that it's the rev counter that's fed from one of the wires going to the coil pack...

Hopefully will get the Ecu back today. Can't do anything til I get that..

[smur89]

Back on the road.

New ECU, coil pack, and disconnected the Rev counter. Have bought a new set of clocks on Ebay and will swap out the Rev counter and be back to 100% again then.

[smur89]

bought the clocks but never installed them, so have had no rev counter for the last while.

Today, coil pack blew after showing symptoms of what happened before earlier this morning.

i cant afford to get it fixed, especially after paying 550 last time to get it sorted. pissed off at this point, might have to get rid of it.

[daniel garry]

dont get rid, u'l end up regretting it!
did it cost u 550 to get the coil pack changed??