Catpuss
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| posted on 28/5/07 at 09:05 AM |
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OTish, Mini Electrics questions
A friend of mine has had problems with her Mini. Looking under the bonnet one of the fuses has been replaced (at sometime) by the method of pushing
two crimped wires onto the ends of a 15amp blade fuse and gaffertaping it up. Its mixed in with a whole heap of in line fuse holders. I did a
multimeter test on it and the quality of connection was very poor.
Now the local garage bloke says he used to race minis and this is how this fuse is replaced aas you can't get that type of fuse anymore. (even
though I've seen in line blade holders on carbuildersolutions).
The car is turning over and firing but not running. Spray down easy start ether spray and it fires OK, so sounds like fueling (I think its an
injection engine).
The garage electrician said it was a problem with the control module and "bypassed it" to make the engine work.
Now correct me if I'm wrong, but if you bypass the ECU wouldn't that be either a) bullsh!t or b) not good for the engine running. I assume
in this case it controls the advance/retard so will be stuck in a fixed advance.
And for the privilege of this useful assistance she only got charged £30.
Does anyone else feel that she is being taken for a ride a bit and they just did a quick bodge? She is happy that the car is running now, but
I'm a bit concerned about long term effects on the car.
I know it sounds a bit vauge, but I only spend 1/2 hr trying to help her out.
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trogdor
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| posted on 28/5/07 at 09:40 AM |
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that doesn't sound right at all, you should deffo be able to get a fuse, even if you couldn't its not difficult to wire another holder in
like you say.
also bypassing the control module doesn't sound good, depends what its controlling. does the car run ok? if the it was the ignition timing it
would be pretty obvious. and yes it wouldn't be good for the car, it must of been there for a reason.
i hate mechanics bodging things, one tried to fix our car on the roadside that way, when he eventally decided he couldn't fix the car it took me
a month to fix the problem and the ones he had created as he had damaged my dizzy.
i would encourage her to get it looked at proplerly by someone who won't rip her off.
[Edited on 28/5/07 by trogdor]
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Catpuss
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| posted on 28/5/07 at 11:49 AM |
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YEAH. Its some black box control module that sits on a rail on the left hand side of the engine bay.
The RAC guy came out, pulled its plug off (as it was a bit suspect anyway) and replaced all the connections with crimped connectors.
After that the car wouldn't do anything at all. He called in another person to tow the car away. He managed to get it running by looking at the
fuses on the center right.
Of course after that it then reverted to the wouldn't work state the following day and it got towed to a garage as a curtesy by RAC (I guess as
they left it in a mess before).
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trogdor
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| posted on 28/5/07 at 11:57 AM |
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personally i would do the basics, check the spark, if no sparks then get them working by replacing relevant bits of the ignition system, i had this
trouble with my car where replacing one bit of the ignition would get it to fire and run fine then next time you tried it wouldn't start.
very irrating, had to replace the whole ignition system, but this was a simple ignition system, only needed coil, points and condensor and rotor arm
so was pretty easy. not sure how complicated minis are.
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x_flow57
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| posted on 28/5/07 at 12:05 PM |
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Hi
Fuse defo sounds like a bodge.
We have just had problems with my sons injected Mini and after spending money, that he didn't have, getting it put on code readers etc and no
one able to say it was X or Y I sent the ECU for testing (£30 not charged as I needed a replacement) to be told they did not know how the car was
running at all as there was no injection controle at all. Apparently they last 10 year max, if you are lucky.
See thisThread
for ECU testing. (NTDWM by the way)
The black box is a multi relay pack, if you mean the one on top of the mastercylinders, I was told they do go wrong but are reasonably cheep to
replace, you can get them from breakers yard unlike the ECU which is programed to the immobiliser on individual cars.
Nick
[Edited on 28/5/07 by x_flow57]
[Edited on 28/5/07 by x_flow57]
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Catpuss
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| posted on 28/5/07 at 01:43 PM |
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Thanks for the input guys. I'll get a photo of the offending module if I can.
The block is probably about 4 inches or so square and a couple deep with a plug wiring something like (from memory):
OOxO - The blank may be on the
OOOO row below
OOOO
There are other relays dotted around the engine bay, but if this is a multi relay box and its been bypassed, shirley thats not a clever thing to
do?
I can't remember what it was above, just that it was held on by two rat straps a few inches in from the left and the bulk head.
She got a replacement of the module on ebay. I was wondering if its worth plumbing it in.
The car seems to be running OK according to her (although she hasn't run it much since the work).
Intersting bit on the mini thread I'll keep a note of that for later
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trogdor
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| posted on 29/5/07 at 08:27 AM |
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yeah if its a relay pck then it should deffo not be bypassed! if its for the fan or full beams and there is no relay it could damage the wiring and
ultimatly start a fire. especially if fuses have been bodged too.
i would try the module you have on ebay, see if it makes any difference
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iank
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| posted on 29/5/07 at 09:07 AM |
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Fuses for mini's aren't hard to find I'm sure, try halfords. Glass or ceramic type might be kept in stock at a garage used to
modern cars, but the 'not made anymore' is just a crock - so the quality of the work will almost certainly be a bodge. Wiring around
blowing fuses/relay boxes is a recipe for a loom fire so it likely needs to be taken to a proper auto electrician or a good mini specialist for proper
fixing (IMO).
http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.co.uk/VWPweb2000/fuse-2/fuse-2.html
if you want to buy in bulk.
--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous
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Catpuss
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| posted on 29/5/07 at 08:15 PM |
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The worst bit is that the place she took it to _is_ a Mini specialist although he had to get an autoelectrician in at the time.
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