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Mini Cooper with dodgy electrics (what’s the next step)


Vince70

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That’s a cracking buy Vince, liquid yellow really suits these. I remember my one had a BCU replacement in its service history when 18 months old (was a 51 plate, 2700th one built) so it’s a known thing. However I have no idea if it is plug and play.

 

I had a look at the Mini2 Forum (really useful) and apparently there is a chap called Dale who fixes these. Have a look at the third post on here:

 

https://www.mini2.com/forum/first-generation-faults-fixes/337897-can-body-control-unit-replaced-self.html

 

Might be worth a shot? Otherwise while that’s being replaced or fixed, here’s something you can be getting on with while that Midlands box is behaving itself!

 

I also noticed I have a genuine BMW Mini sump nut bagged up and unused in my garage. If you are doing an oil change at any point, pm me your address and it’s yours as it’s sitting about doing nothing

The other day I was looking at cheap bini coopers but missed out on a broken little gem on eBay but the same seller had a Corsa B with a full ticket and 55000 on the clock and my other half wanted a cheap 5 door and the seller had bought it as a stopgap after the mini went wrong.

 

The Corsa was a lovely little car with a full ticket but my other half didn’t like as it didn’t have power steering but the Cooper was still sitting there and hadn’t been picked up as the eBay buyer had been mucking them about.

So here it is in all its glory and it’s nigh on immaculate and I paid £350 for it and it has 11 months ticket.

 

I have always wanted one and have bought 3 nice bini’s in the past for friends and family so now I have my dream car which has lots of bells and whistles such as the full length sunroof and the midland box is perfect.

It just doesn’t have working indicators or wipers which needs looking into and I suspect the body control module has got wet so I thought it was worth a punt.

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post-9282-0-89121200-1546192878_thumb.jpeg

 

I’ve found the leak which caused the problem as it had a new windscreen recently so the seal is broken and it’s leaking down the drivers side and I believe the that’s were the problem and control module is.

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My only real gripe is my brother and my girlfriends daughter both have mini ones and I do prefer the small non run flat wheels and softer suspension but I don’t think I’m going to grumble lol.

The real problem I have now is I have four really nice cars and can only drive one and I’m still looking at Audi TTs for under a grand on eBay and my friends and family are starting to think I’ve got some kind of car illness lol.

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Nice for the money, Vince.  Was this car on ebay?  With a slight ding on the n/s rear quarter?  Can't grumble at the price, even with the issues.

I've voiced my opinions on the runflat tyres on these before... and I've not changed my mind since!  They make the car un-driveable on a bumpy country lane IMO.

I've sold my early Cooper now, but if I'd kept it, I was on the lookout for a set of MG 'hairpin' alloys as fitted to the MG ZR/ZS.  They look great on Minis, are correct offset etc and cheap.  They even have an appropriate tyre size as standard so are ideal if you can find a set locally!

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Good idea, the keys on these things are always ruined aren't they?!

 

I sent mine off to this guy-

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Repair-refurbishment-service-for-Mini-One-Cooper-S-2-button-remote-key-fob-/172979946515?hash=item2846688413

 

For £18 he fitted two new microswitches and a new case.  It worked perfectly, well recommended.

 

Does your early car still have the front seats that can jam in the forward tilt position?  Mine did and they often required violence to get them back into place!

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I’m not sure but they are the early design grey half leather seat covers but I’m wondering if they’ve been renewed as it doesn’t have any bolster wear whatsoever.

But if I don’t get the control unit working then I will soon find out if they fold forward or not as I will have to climb over them to get into the boot. Lol

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Nice buy Vince, I bought a non runner for the same price earlier this year. Similar age and an early VIN too, the engine ECU is shot and I’m looking at options to have it repaired - no luck so far.

 

There appears to be conflicting info on plug and play, but diag tools with rewrite options are available on fleebay.

 

I also have a Y plated R50 Cooper that I’m refurbing / recommissioning but I really need to get on with it.

 

These are a decent steer and the best car I’ve driven in snow, with summer tyres.

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That’s a cracking buy Vince, liquid yellow really suits these. I remember my one had a BCU replacement in its service history when 18 months old (was a 51 plate, 2700th one built) so it’s a known thing. However I have no idea if it is plug and play.

 

I had a look at the Mini2 Forum (really useful) and apparently there is a chap called Dale who fixes these. Have a look at the third post on here:

 

https://www.mini2.com/forum/first-generation-faults-fixes/337897-can-body-control-unit-replaced-self.html

 

Might be worth a shot? Otherwise while that’s being replaced or fixed, here’s something you can be getting on with while that Midlands box is behaving itself!

 

I also noticed I have a genuine BMW Mini sump nut bagged up and unused in my garage. If you are doing an oil change at any point, pm me your address and it’s yours as it’s sitting about doing nothing

post-3538-0-43379700-1546236477_thumb.jpeg

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As you may know I’ve just bought a mini with a knackered BCU so I had a spare 10 minutes so I thought I would take the thing apart but one stubborn connection is holding me up.

I don’t want to use hammers on it being a delicate piece of electronic stuff but I’ve tried pulling the connection lock to the side and it only goes a couple of mm and the clip won’t budge and wondered if anyone had come across the same problem.post-9282-0-57266000-1546265007_thumb.jpeg

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Thanks parky that’s a really kind offer but since I’ve got my pela pump I’ve never undone a sump plug.

The old girl is going to get treated as soon as it’s drivable to the gearbox oil change and it has a knock on full lock that I need to get checked out at the same time plus I want to give it a service.

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Move the clip sideways and push the plug out at the same time with a screwdriver. Could be corroded pins in the plug. The MINI as the E46 era so whilst it will plug in and sort of work it will need coding to the car and key. When E46 modules fail it's the locking that goes tits up leaving the wipers working but on one speed only.

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Cheers Rev I finally got the clip off with a bit of persuasion with the screwdriver and the BCU has just had a partial stripdown and I’m giving it a clean with some electrical cleaner then I go over it with a hairdryer as it was quite wet inside.

It looks like it had a new one under warranty as it’s newer than the car.post-9282-0-65499000-1546269365_thumb.jpegpost-9282-0-15915800-1546269383_thumb.jpegpost-9282-0-09060200-1546269415_thumb.jpegpost-9282-0-12422600-1546269452_thumb.jpeg

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Well today I decided to fit the BCU back up but it’s still the same but I thought I better find the leak as the drivers side has taken on more water than the titanic so the inner and outer pillar trim need to come off for investigation.

I haven’t found anything that’s standing out but I’ve made a trip out and got some guttering mastic and I’ve decided to to take the sun visor off as it has the full glass sunroof so I’m going to see if the tubes are still connected.

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Carparts4less are selling reusable car dehumidifiers for just under £6 today if that helps you

 

http://mail.carparts4less.co.uk/t/l?ssid=34672&subscriber_id=byicpimcukcjhwtahyihuhfyjabcboe&delivery_id=apwzgqonzfsiyhsmlkywaxbfntoybnl&td=dBANQ7DjzQbeI2hZw5WB-w7mAdY9Y3IrIW__ml3dmB6Pbw3DEJOs7-HYzpz8oR9n_dD0emFzNq9SZUZYpBk3bsIHJwRSKP-pQ9k8nxic1U8JPbV0SXIlQnqXTjMXMosWd6jO8D7jNmv9qNcDvBJWrszP1H8DlZFBGRdKVyQuYdTgtZWu6IwBrwXuhKjTnRQcrDwySW3v-BXT0Vlw9B833wtxCvIgyGwlOpzxnbAavi4kgz8Gt5DYj__Weg2DRMkRyuEsMfbCBqawVy5kvEK7wCeF-5D3GhLMhG

 

I just got myself one as I find I get condensation in the inside of my windscreen if I don’t use my car for a while.

 

It won’t dry it like a wet vac but it should help keep it dryer long term.

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Thanks for the link but I’m quite lucky as I can get silica sacks from work.

But I’ve hopefully got the leaks sorted now and I’ve just bought a cheap BCU off eBay for £15 so I thought it was worth a punt at that price as I’m not worried about remote locking as long as the central locking works.post-9282-0-49288200-1546359432_thumb.jpeg

post-9282-0-75887400-1546359554_thumb.png

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The new secondhand unit arrived half hour ago and being impatient I had to plug it in and see if it works and now I have a working car apart from the central/remote locking and I still can’t get into the boot.

I wonder if anyone knows if the new unit can be reprogrammed in situ and if so anyone know of a place that can sort it near Bexhill.

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My only real gripe is my brother and my girlfriends daughter both have mini ones and I do prefer the small non run flat wheels and softer suspension but I don’t think I’m going to grumble lol.

The real problem I have now is I have four really nice cars and can only drive one and I’m still looking at Audi TTs for under a grand on eBay and my friends and family are starting to think I’ve got some kind of car illness lol.

Right back atcha it must be contagious

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Nice for the money, Vince. Was this car on ebay? With a slight ding on the n/s rear quarter? Can't grumble at the price, even with the issues.

I've voiced my opinions on the runflat tyres on these before... and I've not changed my mind since! They make the car un-driveable on a bumpy country lane IMO.

I've sold my early Cooper now, but if I'd kept it, I was on the lookout for a set of MG 'hairpin' alloys as fitted to the MG ZR/ZS. They look great on Minis, are correct offset etc and cheap. They even have an appropriate tyre size as standard so are ideal if you can find a set locally!

Useful information that as Ms B has a bini that crashes over any imperfection. Pisses me off as actually not a bad steer but for the shitty tyres.

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That’s a cracking buy Vince, liquid yellow really suits these. I remember my one had a BCU replacement in its service history when 18 months old (was a 51 plate, 2700th one built) so it’s a known thing. However I have no idea if it is plug and play.

 

I had a look at the Mini2 Forum (really useful) and apparently there is a chap called Dale who fixes these. Have a look at the third post on here:

 

https://www.mini2.com/forum/first-generation-faults-fixes/337897-can-body-control-unit-replaced-self.html

 

Might be worth a shot? Otherwise while that’s being replaced or fixed, here’s something you can be getting on with while that Midlands box is behaving itself!

 

I also noticed I have a genuine BMW Mini sump nut bagged up and unused in my garage. If you are doing an oil change at any point, pm me your address and it’s yours as it’s sitting about doing nothing

If he doesn’t claim it. I could use it too.

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I’ve splashed out on some new wheels as well today and pick them up tomorrow or Monday and got some later 15inch wheels with non run flat tyres.post-9282-0-23639000-1546718121_thumb.jpeg

The wheels on mine have good tyres and the design of the wheels isn’t bad but this will cure the harsh ride as I fitted the same wheels previously to a friends cooper which had the same sports + suspension and wheels as mine and it transformed the car.

I also bought a new sunroof pipe just to be sure that’s now leak free but I think I’ve cured that anyway but I don’t want to take it apart again.

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