Mini niggles - Advice
Discussion
Hi,
I have just got my mini back on the road for a week now after not being driven for some six years. It's been to a garage, had some body work done and the engine seems to run fine.
I have noticed a couple of little problems which perhaps a good service would iron out.
My car is 1992 Cooper Si 1.3 injection and I have noticed that on start up it will idle at 1000 rpm which will slowly rise to about 1500 rpm once warmed up. This appears to be far too high?
What would you say the idle should be? 800-1000 rpm?
Is there an easy way to adjust this or is it down to the ECU?
I have also noticed that after only a distance of about five miles of normal driving the temperature rises to the maximum on the dash.
There is oil and water in the engine. The water has gone brown though over time and could do with flushing out and new coolant going in. Would this make much difference to the temperature problem?
Any thoughts would be appreciated. I'm not mechanically minded but I have a Haines manual of lies which might help me out???
Cheers
Jamie
P.S. Do you know any good mini tuners in the South Hampshire area (more power would be nice)
???
I have just got my mini back on the road for a week now after not being driven for some six years. It's been to a garage, had some body work done and the engine seems to run fine.
I have noticed a couple of little problems which perhaps a good service would iron out.
My car is 1992 Cooper Si 1.3 injection and I have noticed that on start up it will idle at 1000 rpm which will slowly rise to about 1500 rpm once warmed up. This appears to be far too high?
What would you say the idle should be? 800-1000 rpm?
Is there an easy way to adjust this or is it down to the ECU?
I have also noticed that after only a distance of about five miles of normal driving the temperature rises to the maximum on the dash.
There is oil and water in the engine. The water has gone brown though over time and could do with flushing out and new coolant going in. Would this make much difference to the temperature problem?
Any thoughts would be appreciated. I'm not mechanically minded but I have a Haines manual of lies which might help me out???
Cheers
Jamie
P.S. Do you know any good mini tuners in the South Hampshire area (more power would be nice)
??? your temperature problem would be the first thing to sort out on that list! flush the lot out and dont forget to change the thermostat too, if it has been running that hot, either the stat could be clogged or stuck. it may be fine but for the small cost, id stil change it! if you have other means fo checking temperature it mite pay to make sure the gauge is reading correctly too 
Had a couple of similar problems with injection cars being returned to service at my local mini emporium over the last couple of months. In one car having been stood the coolant had separated/evaporated and the antifreeze had crystalised out. This had blocked the water pre-heating pipe in the inlet manifold which is where the ECU temp sensor is, consiquently the ECU never knew the engine had warmed up and kept the start enrichment on (i.e. choke). This made the car run rich all the time, not good. A quick dose of cooling system flush (see thread in Technical > Engines & Drivetrain) followed by fresh water/antifreeze mix sorted that one.
As I alluded earlier the ECU temp sensor is under the inlet manifold which is awkward to get to on a two post lift from underneath and virtually impossible from the top unless you remove the manifold....... Remember to de-pressurise the fuel system if you are going to do this, or be prepared for a petrol shower !! Engine and exhaust COLD is highly recommended !! The sensor isn't expensive but like all things Injection Mini it's a PITA to change !!
The idle on the single point injections is controlled by the stepper motor to the side of the inlet manifold under the air cleaner. From memory they do have a mechanical adjustment on the linkage, but I'd be cautious about adjusting it. The ECU does an open/close/open check on the stepper motor when you first switch the car on, so get an assistant to turn the car on while watching it with the air cleaner off to see that it does the test ok.
I'm putting my money on the temp sensor not seeing temperature correctly though and the "choke" being on all the time is causing your fast idle.
Phil.
Edited to add : Tuning the injection cars can be tricky because the Rover ECU is very clever and doesn't lend itself to remapping. That said the usual early mini tuning steps reap some benifits, so tubular down pipes or LCB exhaust mani, decent cat-back exhaust (RC40, Maniflow), ported cylinder head, better air filter etc all get you some more without upsetting the ECU. These mods along with some 1.5 ratio rockers is basically what the Si kits were from John Cooper Garages and others, but they often fall short of the claimed 86/90bhp in the adverts, but the exact figures are meaningless as it does improve the car no end. My tame mini fixer has done a couple of cam changes to SW5-07 on SPI and MPI minis and that makes a nice drivers car. When you first drive it after the SW05 cam change you think "oh, well that was a waste of time and money", but it's a mild cam with good idle and pull away qualities so it's not in your face like a 286 or something, but when you open it up a bit on the open road the mid range torque is fantastic !!
Edited again to add: if you are buying a modified head be sure to specify road valve springs !! Lots of "modified heads" come with race spec springs with huge poundages. This combined with high ratio rockers is a sure fire way to bugger up you cam, especially if the car has modern "weasel piss" 10w40 oil !! A nice old fashioned 20w50 with lots of ZDDP is what you need !!
As I alluded earlier the ECU temp sensor is under the inlet manifold which is awkward to get to on a two post lift from underneath and virtually impossible from the top unless you remove the manifold....... Remember to de-pressurise the fuel system if you are going to do this, or be prepared for a petrol shower !! Engine and exhaust COLD is highly recommended !! The sensor isn't expensive but like all things Injection Mini it's a PITA to change !!
The idle on the single point injections is controlled by the stepper motor to the side of the inlet manifold under the air cleaner. From memory they do have a mechanical adjustment on the linkage, but I'd be cautious about adjusting it. The ECU does an open/close/open check on the stepper motor when you first switch the car on, so get an assistant to turn the car on while watching it with the air cleaner off to see that it does the test ok.
I'm putting my money on the temp sensor not seeing temperature correctly though and the "choke" being on all the time is causing your fast idle.
Phil.
Edited to add : Tuning the injection cars can be tricky because the Rover ECU is very clever and doesn't lend itself to remapping. That said the usual early mini tuning steps reap some benifits, so tubular down pipes or LCB exhaust mani, decent cat-back exhaust (RC40, Maniflow), ported cylinder head, better air filter etc all get you some more without upsetting the ECU. These mods along with some 1.5 ratio rockers is basically what the Si kits were from John Cooper Garages and others, but they often fall short of the claimed 86/90bhp in the adverts, but the exact figures are meaningless as it does improve the car no end. My tame mini fixer has done a couple of cam changes to SW5-07 on SPI and MPI minis and that makes a nice drivers car. When you first drive it after the SW05 cam change you think "oh, well that was a waste of time and money", but it's a mild cam with good idle and pull away qualities so it's not in your face like a 286 or something, but when you open it up a bit on the open road the mid range torque is fantastic !!
Edited again to add: if you are buying a modified head be sure to specify road valve springs !! Lots of "modified heads" come with race spec springs with huge poundages. This combined with high ratio rockers is a sure fire way to bugger up you cam, especially if the car has modern "weasel piss" 10w40 oil !! A nice old fashioned 20w50 with lots of ZDDP is what you need !!
Edited by Phil Hill on Friday 10th July 10:07
Edited by Phil Hill on Friday 10th July 10:12
Hi,
Thanks for the advice.
I've been to Halfords and bought a two step coolant system cleaner. From the good advice you've given me, I'm sure that the engine is not overheating and that it must be the thermostat which is caked in muck. I have noticed that the temperature gauge occassionally fluctuates between normal and red hot.
I will need to look at my haynes manual because I've got no idea where to start. Mmmm, much learning I have!
Once it's all cleaned out, maybe I'll get a better reading on the temperature and normal revs??? Fingers crossed...
As for the tuning, I've already got a very old maniflow exhaust on there and a K&N. I would love some more pops and bangs though, like the ones I saw at Goodwood FOS last weekend. Those little beauties flew up the hill. Great stuff. I'll leave the modified heads for now until I know what I'm doing.
I bought my Cooper Si from a nice old chap when I was a teenager. I thought it was just a standard Cooper, but I now realise it's had 'stuff' done to it. Its got a numbered plaque by the drivers side door about the John Cooper garages and I've also got bundles of paperwork about extra bits that were put on the car whilst at the garage.
Can anyone tell me more about this as I'm interested to find out more...?
Is this a car I should really mess around with or just keep it as is?
Thanks all.
Thanks for the advice.
I've been to Halfords and bought a two step coolant system cleaner. From the good advice you've given me, I'm sure that the engine is not overheating and that it must be the thermostat which is caked in muck. I have noticed that the temperature gauge occassionally fluctuates between normal and red hot.
I will need to look at my haynes manual because I've got no idea where to start. Mmmm, much learning I have!
Once it's all cleaned out, maybe I'll get a better reading on the temperature and normal revs??? Fingers crossed...
As for the tuning, I've already got a very old maniflow exhaust on there and a K&N. I would love some more pops and bangs though, like the ones I saw at Goodwood FOS last weekend. Those little beauties flew up the hill. Great stuff. I'll leave the modified heads for now until I know what I'm doing.
I bought my Cooper Si from a nice old chap when I was a teenager. I thought it was just a standard Cooper, but I now realise it's had 'stuff' done to it. Its got a numbered plaque by the drivers side door about the John Cooper garages and I've also got bundles of paperwork about extra bits that were put on the car whilst at the garage.
Can anyone tell me more about this as I'm interested to find out more...?
Is this a car I should really mess around with or just keep it as is?
Thanks all.
Cooper Si had a K&N filtercharger air cleaner element, mild steel cat back exhaust, oil cooler i think, and a modified exchange cylinder head with high lift 1.5: roller tip rockers, and badging, and your plaque to show it is fitted by JCG and it the approval rom Rover, and the cars were often registered to JCG first, then sold to you.
The JCG cars have been reputed to make a bit less power than claimed, but when you consider the basic car never was any more accurate, the % of power/torque increase is probably consistent.
The JCG cars have been reputed to make a bit less power than claimed, but when you consider the basic car never was any more accurate, the % of power/torque increase is probably consistent.
Hi all... (AGAIN) I've got a new 'niggle' (having managed to sort the other ones out).
It's to be expected that since my mini has been sat for quite a few years that I'm going to experience some problems, but now the thing won't even go. He's been running fine for the past few weeks.
I got home fine the other day, but when I went to start him the next morning he wouldn't turn over.
I've noticed though that when I turn the ignition, I'm not getting the fuel pump whine, so I guess the engine is not getting any fuel???
I've had a quick look in the boot where the fuel pump is (?) and I can't see any loose wires. I'm thinking that maybe I went over a bump and something has disconnected???
Any ideas on this one would be lovely
Cheers
It's to be expected that since my mini has been sat for quite a few years that I'm going to experience some problems, but now the thing won't even go. He's been running fine for the past few weeks.
I got home fine the other day, but when I went to start him the next morning he wouldn't turn over.
I've noticed though that when I turn the ignition, I'm not getting the fuel pump whine, so I guess the engine is not getting any fuel???
I've had a quick look in the boot where the fuel pump is (?) and I can't see any loose wires. I'm thinking that maybe I went over a bump and something has disconnected???
Any ideas on this one would be lovely
Cheers
My 1994 mini had exactly the same problem, one minute it was fine then for some reason it wouldn't turn over, completely dead. In the end I kept bump starting it until that didn't work anymore and then used a screw driver through the front grill. We thought at first that the engine relay module was to blame and indeed when we swapped the mod the little blighter worked fine 2-3 times then unfortunately it burnt out again. Still haven't found out the cause but the nice car guy down the road has added an extra box of tricks in engine and now she's fine again (he's in bournemouth by the way). I know this is probably no help at all but at least you can know that there are others that have been in similar situations, if you find the cause I'd love to know!
1st, press the pump reset button (near the wiper motor) - it normally takes a knock to trip these, but bouncing over a kerb can set them off.
2nd, unplug the wires going into the black box on the brake servo - this is the engine relay box, it has two plugs and controls most of the 'engine only' live feeds - they get wet and corrode (you an get into them with a screwdriver) and spray some contact cleaner in then reasemble.
tim at mini mail sells a box that replaces this if yours is rusty
the pumps very rarly go wrong (unless the filters get clogged of the tanks are run dry - but you need to remove the tank to check this.
there is a wire you can cut on the ecu plug to manually override the pump (so it can run all the time) but that is not for the novice to get involved in.....
2nd, unplug the wires going into the black box on the brake servo - this is the engine relay box, it has two plugs and controls most of the 'engine only' live feeds - they get wet and corrode (you an get into them with a screwdriver) and spray some contact cleaner in then reasemble.
tim at mini mail sells a box that replaces this if yours is rusty
the pumps very rarly go wrong (unless the filters get clogged of the tanks are run dry - but you need to remove the tank to check this.
there is a wire you can cut on the ecu plug to manually override the pump (so it can run all the time) but that is not for the novice to get involved in.....
Cheers Guru,
I'll have a look tomorrow. One thing I did forget to mention is that on the brake fluid reservoir pot (?) there is a grey plastic screw cap with a black rubber bung in the top. There are two wires coming off of it and one of the metal plugs has corroded and snapped off. I'm now unable to reconnect the wire. Could this be a cause for the running problem or is it another thing to add to the niggle list?
On closer inspection of the wiring under the bonnet, it's shocking. There are a few wires that appear to be homeless. Not sure where they're supposed to connect or if they do anything important??? I'll save these niggles for later appeals for help
I'll have a look tomorrow. One thing I did forget to mention is that on the brake fluid reservoir pot (?) there is a grey plastic screw cap with a black rubber bung in the top. There are two wires coming off of it and one of the metal plugs has corroded and snapped off. I'm now unable to reconnect the wire. Could this be a cause for the running problem or is it another thing to add to the niggle list?
On closer inspection of the wiring under the bonnet, it's shocking. There are a few wires that appear to be homeless. Not sure where they're supposed to connect or if they do anything important??? I'll save these niggles for later appeals for help
Ok, I got the AA out in the end. The diagnosis is the shocking state of the wiring where previous owners have made an absolute hash of it under there. Turns out that the fuel cut off switch has been totally by-passed and the subsequent wiring effort was done poorly. I've had to do a temporary bodge job on it now to try and keep the thing running for now. My list of things to do is getting longer and longer.
The AA man said I need to get an Automotive Electrician to spend a bit of time (years) sorting it all out. I was dreaming of some new alloys, semi-slicks and old school arches, but these things will have to wait a bit longer
Stay tuned for some more 'niggles' which I'm sure to post on here soon.
The AA man said I need to get an Automotive Electrician to spend a bit of time (years) sorting it all out. I was dreaming of some new alloys, semi-slicks and old school arches, but these things will have to wait a bit longer
Stay tuned for some more 'niggles' which I'm sure to post on here soon.
Apologies for the hi-jack of the thread guys, but a colleague has a similar problem with over revving.
From his description it is a 1300 mpi and when started will tickover at 1000rpm but as it warms up the revs will not drop below 3000rpm. Another colleague thinks it could be the throttle position sensor or maybe airflow sensor.
Any ideas?
From his description it is a 1300 mpi and when started will tickover at 1000rpm but as it warms up the revs will not drop below 3000rpm. Another colleague thinks it could be the throttle position sensor or maybe airflow sensor.
Any ideas?
Had the fast idle problem too on my MPi. The solution for my car was the temperature sensor fitted to the thermostat housing. The short term fix was to fit and remove the sensor a few times (if you can clean the contacts with a fibreglass pencil or similar, so much the better), but ultimately I ended up changing it. The short term fix lasted a few weeks, the replacement has eliminated the problem.
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