mini acting up - Coil pack blowing

[Merlin]

Smur89 If want to get the mini up to my garrage I will have a look for you,
my number is (086) 816 0774 my garrage is just off the Nass road
regards
Paul

[smur89]

Brought it back to the garage who fixed it before and told them what happened and that I expected after shelling out 550 that it'd be sorted, that I wasn't throwing anymore money at them. They're having a look at it again and will send the ecu off again under warranty if needed.

Paul, thanks for that, will get it down to you if I can't get it sorted with these lads for free
Cheers, Shane

[Merlin]

Good Man shane Thats the way to do it, Best of look with geting it sorted I hope every thing works out well for you,
regards,
Paul.

[smur89]

So, aparently when they sent the ECU off last time they didnt fix anything related to the ignition. All that needed fixing was something to do with the emissions. The people who did the ECU said that it was the garages fault and they must have done something, then said that if they didnt use a Rover branded Coil pack that it would cause problems. But are happy to take it back for testing if needed. But that means sending it over to england, and getting it back which will take a week, and is a wasted week if the ECU comes back as being ok.

Garage had said they thought one of the triggers in the ecu for the ignition had overheated and welded itself shut. There is no pulse going to the coil, it is a constant negative. But this isnt what they fixed in the ECU, so why did it run OK for a month / ~300 miles?

Garage want to try the ECU in another mini and see if that blows the coil pack. So that they can say that its deffinately the ECU. Not using a rover brand coil pack sounds a bit odd, i dont think that would matter too much?

This is where im at at the moment. Im down the country tonight in studio, so wont be getting any updates on the car until then. He hopes to have tried the ECU in another mini by then. And if its the ECU, he wants to look for a second hand one to fit.

Anyone any opinions or advice on this?
Might be worth my while selling the cooper once its sorted and buying an SPI or Carb mini!

[woody]

Not using the correct coil pack is a valid point, like the differance between ballest and non ballest coils, they look the same on the outside they do the same job but if you use the wrong one for long enough chances are you'll damage some other part of the ignition system because they have different electrical characteristics. This becomes more critical when dealing with pure solidstate devices like ECUs.Unless you know the technical spec of the other coil you don't know how good a match it is for the origional. Mechanics tend to come from a mechanical backround rather than an electrical backround which is making faultfinding more difficult for them .

[smur89]

Thanks woody. So might the coil non rover coil pack have damaged the ecu or would it be a case of sticking in a new rover coil pack and being ok ( if the coil pack is the issue)

[woody]

How many miles since last service?
What plugs and HT leads are you using?

[smur89]

not sure how many miles since its last service, ive driven it about 4000 though. unsure about the other things too!

[smur89]

Rang for an update today. They're putting in a new coil pack today, they think the wrong spark plugs were in it so changed year out too, and they'll leave it running for a while out front today. Hoopefully I'll have it back today

[smur89]

New spark plugs and new coil pack in and mini is running fine.

Garage was speaking loyd Hutchinson about it and he said that if it happens again it is most likely an intermittant ecu issue an I would need to buy an aftermarket ecu and put it on a rolling road and have it remapped. Going to collect it after work at 5:30