asc warning light coming on

[george p]

goodmorning and happy new year to all mini cooper lovers
to give you some background info, i have a 2004 mini cooper s with the following mods
Alta15% pulley, bluefin ecu upgrade, Alta intake system and ngk colder spark plugs. well i was driving along the highway 2 days ago and was pushing the mini hard. at 207 kph and in fifth gear the asc light came on the revs were about 6500-6700. the light stayed on until i pulled over,and switched off the car. when i started the car again the light was off.. there are a few other modified minis here in Greece with the same problem. rumor has it that it may be some kind of sensor that has failed, but we are not sure. i would appreciate any insight on this issue. by the way the car appears to be working fine.
thanks guys

[GTT 280]

Some modified cars will produce enough power to cause the ASC to fault.
It resets each time the car is restarted, it can't be reset with the switch.

Completely normal.

It only stays lit if you drive the car hard and use all the power, otherwise, under normal use it should remain unlit.

Cheers,
K.

[george p]

thanks for the reply. is there sth to worry about? can the sensor be changed in order to cure the problem.

[Richard Crofts]

You can get ASC or DSC lights on if your running a standard car and it looses some grip...so modded ones are probably at even more risk/chance of doing it. Its pretty normal I'd say.

R

[Richard Crofts]

Especially if the surface is a bit bumpy as the tyres scrabble about a bit and sometimes ASC or DSC is a little premature in coming on.

[PW/B_JCW210]

It could be a dodgy ABS sensor on one of the wheels. I had a similar fault a few years back on a BMW 330 and it was traced to an ABS sensor.

Once the sensor had been replaced the problem went away...

[DiGiTaLBee]

Quote: Originally Posted by Richard Crofts (original)

You can get ASC or DSC lights on if your running a standard car and it looses some grip...so modded ones are probably at even more risk/chance of doing it. Its pretty normal I'd say.

R

The light comes on and stays on. It is not the normal operation that someone would expect in a case of loosing grip.

As you understand I have the same problem and I do not have a solution for it yet.

Some say it is one or both sensors that measure intake pressure. I do not know as I have not changed them yet. On my car it started after my last mod that was a new GTT intercooler. I also have Stage 2 minispeed upgrade (Alta15% pulley, bluefin ecu upgrade, Alta intake system and ngk spark plugs) and my car is a 2005 Facelift Mini CooperS.

I thought that it was something that appeared only on Face Lift cars but now GeorgeP says t happened to him to that has a pre F/L one . Isn't that correct George?

[george p]

thats exactly right. my car is pre face lift.. as far as losing grip and the asc light coming on i am aware of this. however losing grip ar 207 kph is impossible. i wish it could spin at 200 kph

[Fin]

Sounds strange to me.

The ASC light flashes when the system is active, by which I mean when it is adjusting the torque the engine is putting through to the wheels.

If you are doing 207kph, you would notice a sudden drop in torque if ASC was intervening to prevent the loss of traction.

If it's coming on and staying on but the car is reacting normally, I would take it to a garage to be looked at. It sounds like there is a problem with it.

[Fin]

I'm not sure of exactly how the system works on a MINI, but in the early BMW's to have ASC installed it worked through a valve in the air intake. If the system detected a loss in traction, the ASC system would repeatedly open and shut this valve, via the ECU to starve the engine of oxygen, not enough to stall it, but just enough to drastically reduce the torque generated by the engine, whilst the wheels had no traction. The system also keeps a certain amount of torque in case the driver lifts off the accelerator. If the reduction in torque is not enough, the system will brake individual wheels, which is carried out and detected through the ABS system.

I mention this after taking note of the fact you have had your ECU's remapped. However, the ASC system nowadays may work through a different manner. As mentioned before, perhaps there is a faulty component of the ABS system which is causing the light to come on.

[george p]

i cant really say that i felt a loss of power. however i immediately took my foot of the accelerator and pulled over. the car idled for a minute and the light stayed on. when i switched the engine off and started up the car again everything was normal. i must admit i am a bit scared to push the car again. however i was going 207 in fifth gear and about to shift into sixth when this happened. some other guys here in Greece have the same problem. i have a bluefin ecu upgrade will others are running other programs. and have the same problem. so i am assuming it has nothing to do with the ecu

[george p]

by the way the asc signal came on and stayed on. it wasnt flashing on and off

[Fin]

Still, get it checked. Better safe than sorry.

[george p]

i think i will do so. however it is good to know what may be wrong before going to the mechanic. for peace of mind... thats all

[uncle albert]

260 GTT is 100% correct - what you are experiencing is not uncommon for a tuned S. It regularly happens to me, and if I really cane it sometimes, the emissions warning light will come on!

James