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J.Tilley
Member
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Posted: Monday October 8th, 2007 11:11 pm |
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HI all,
Firstly on the weekend while leaving work i pulled out of my works gates crusied round the corner in 1st then put it into 2nd, then began to put my foot down as i always and have done for 2 years now, then suddenly the car just seemed to be taken over . It was as if i was trying to drive with the handbrake on so i put the gear back into neutuel, then back into 2nd and still nothing, by this time i was coasting to a stop so i pulled over and it died, i turned the ignition off, then started it straight back up, AND IT WAS FINE.
Then again this morning the same thing happened, and again it started up again fine, and has been ok all day. I have read somewhere that the ECU can interfear if it feels it needs to but i have driven it alot harder before with no bad results.
So can anybody help?, I have recently had the gerarbox conditioned about 200miles ago. Would that be anything to do with it?
John...
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Graham Bichard
Member
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Posted: Tuesday October 9th, 2007 07:03 am |
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John,
I'm not too clued up on the ECU, but if this was an older mini it sounds to me like it could be a fuel problem. When was the fuel filter last changed (located at the rear on the subframe)?
If it hasn't been done in a while it might be worth changing it if only to rule it out.
Graham
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J.Tilley
Member
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Posted: Tuesday October 9th, 2007 10:57 am |
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Ok cheers Graham.
Im off to the local mini specialists after i type this so ill see what they think, and ill mention that to them becuase to be honest im not sure when it was last changed 
Thanks for your help
John
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hawaiianblue
Member
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Posted: Tuesday October 9th, 2007 02:03 pm |
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Well it does sound like a fueling problem to me too. Possibly muck being sucked across the pump gauze then when you switch off it unblocks its self. It could also be an ignition problem, wet plug leads for example cause much the same effect. But as it's in consistent it sounds more fuel orientated.
With regards to the ECU, it does, like all EFI cars (of any make) have a 'limp mode'. Basically if the ECU fails or it doesnt receive a signal from a critical sensor (crank position sensor for example) it switches to a sequential fueling mode, basically it squirts some fuel in, fires the spark, squirts some more in, using a fixed sequence.
The simplest thing to do would be get someone with a Diagnostic tester, you dont have to use a Rover dealer for this, bosch auto centres for example can do it. Even a lot of small garages have diag computers now. They can then plug into your car and the ECU may well have stored the fault, it does store intermitant faults in memory for future retrieval.
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J.Tilley
Member
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Posted: Wednesday October 10th, 2007 09:25 pm |
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Hi all.
Well i went to jonspeed (my local mini men) and they plugged it into the diagnostic computer and said it was some senor which had gone which sits on the injection system, i cant remember the name something beginning with "P", but as my car was ticking over quite low, and it also cutting out they said it was that.
But as usual the smallest parts cost the most and its £90 for a new one 
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hawaiianblue
Member
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Posted: Wednesday October 10th, 2007 11:49 pm |
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Throttle position sensor - AKA Potentiometer?
So essentially your car had no idea that you were putting your foot on the accelerator, so it just runs the engine on a 'best guess' basis, quite clever really.
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Graham Bichard
Member
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Posted: Thursday October 11th, 2007 06:54 am |
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John, lets us know if this sorts the problem won't you. There was an article in one of the mini mags by Keith Calver a while back which covers the cleaning of the fuel injection sensors, one of which it was explained caused low tick-over (of interest to me because my car occasionally does this).
And as I mentioned it, apparently the fuel filter comes with two possible sizes of connection. Does anyone know if there was a cross over point (i.e. before '98 one size, after '98 the other) or is it the usual BMC/Leyland/Rover pot luck, whats on the shelf sketch?
Last edited on Thursday October 11th, 2007 06:55 am by Graham Bichard |
taffy1967
Member
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Posted: Thursday October 11th, 2007 01:26 pm |
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Yes there was a cross over point for the fuel filters and these Mini Spares links should help: -
http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?pid=38032
http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?pid=38570
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Graham Bichard
Member
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Posted: Thursday October 11th, 2007 01:55 pm |
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Cheers Taffy.
What was the reason for changing I wonder, seeing as how the 1st filter was used on both SPi and MPi?
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J.Tilley
Member
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Posted: Thursday October 11th, 2007 03:46 pm |
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hi hawaiianblue
ye thats the word i was looking for. cheers.
And graham ill let you no if it cures the problem, its booked in to be sorted 2mora so should no by the end of the day if all is well
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hawaiianblue
Member
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Posted: Thursday October 11th, 2007 10:58 pm |
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First one had smaller unions fixed to the pipe, trouble was the ally filter and steel unions didnt mix you tended to bugger the fitting up removing it after it had been there rusting for years. The filter was designed for engine bay fitting on the larger Rover's not sitting under the car where it got covered in water and salt.
The later filter had bigger unions with steel adaptors meaning you could remove the filter from the car and then clamp it in a vice and remove the adaptors with hex sockets without damaging them.
But just to confuse matters, my 1998 MPi came with the smaller fitting on one end of the filter and the larger one on the other! I had to upgrade to the later one as no one could supply the odd one i had.
As for the slow idle, that'll be the IACV valve, it's basically a small valve that opens to let air past the throttle body and varies to control the idle speed. Blowing it through with carb cleaner sorts that. 2 min job.
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J.Tilley
Member
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Posted: Friday October 12th, 2007 10:57 pm |
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hi,
got the car sorted, and touch wood, it hasnt cut out again, but apart from that nothing has changed and it is ticking over the same, maybe a tiny bit higher but not much.
Can you tell me the location for the IACV valve please so i can give that a go and see if it changes anything
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hawaiianblue
Member
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Posted: Saturday October 13th, 2007 08:37 pm |
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Take the air filter case off.
You'll see the throttle body (like a carburetter with a butterfly valve), as you look from the front of the car you'll see a black cylinder fitted to the left hand side of the throttle body with a rubber hose pushed onto it.
Pull the hose off and blow some carb cleaner through the valve. Run the car up and blow some more though it.
Also while you're there follow the wiring harness from the IACV back past the clutch master cylinder. The loom has a habit of chaffing here, which can also cause stalling and poor running. It's worth adding some extra insulating tape and making sure it's routed properly.
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