.
Misfires multiple cylinders off Engine Refresh. N18
Hey all,
Getting misfires on all cylinders but #3 is looking a tad worse when I removed the plugs. These were new plugs and have only had the engine running for total 20 minutes or so before I shut it off to read the codes.
Pictures from left to right is 1-4. The darkest one in the threads is #3. Certainly all fouled out. When removed I realized they were not as torqued down as I would have liked. Also noticed light coat of wetness on top of pistons while looking down spark plug hole. Im pretty sure it is oil, considering that I have not broken in the engine with new oil rings I would expect a bit of blow by. But this seems like way too much judging by the spark plugs. I do have old gasoline in the car but Ive poured in a fuel stabilizer and another additive to get rid of the water build up in the tank. I had a Maf
sensor code before the rebuild but can't get that to re appear now.
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My misfire codes now are all P0300-P0303
2EE2: Combustion misfiring, several cylinders: damaging exhaust gas after start sequence
2EEC: Combustion misfiring, cylinder 3: damaging exhaust gas after start sequence
2EFE: Combustion misfires, several cylinders detected
2FO1: Combustion misfire, cylinder 3 detected
Previously had a MAF P0102 before the refresh and haven’t gotten it to reappear.
Car has 115k miles
Replaced:
Did NOT replace:
car has a resonator delete.
would a compression test hurt my piston rings in any way?
i have not adjusted the flow rate of each injector to the car. I know that’s a bmw thing but wasnt sure with Minis so I stored the numbers on each injector anyways.
Any advice is appreciated!
Getting misfires on all cylinders but #3 is looking a tad worse when I removed the plugs. These were new plugs and have only had the engine running for total 20 minutes or so before I shut it off to read the codes.
Pictures from left to right is 1-4. The darkest one in the threads is #3. Certainly all fouled out. When removed I realized they were not as torqued down as I would have liked. Also noticed light coat of wetness on top of pistons while looking down spark plug hole. Im pretty sure it is oil, considering that I have not broken in the engine with new oil rings I would expect a bit of blow by. But this seems like way too much judging by the spark plugs. I do have old gasoline in the car but Ive poured in a fuel stabilizer and another additive to get rid of the water build up in the tank. I had a Maf
sensor code before the rebuild but can't get that to re appear now.
My misfire codes now are all P0300-P0303
2EE2: Combustion misfiring, several cylinders: damaging exhaust gas after start sequence
2EEC: Combustion misfiring, cylinder 3: damaging exhaust gas after start sequence
2EFE: Combustion misfires, several cylinders detected
2FO1: Combustion misfire, cylinder 3 detected
Previously had a MAF P0102 before the refresh and haven’t gotten it to reappear.
Car has 115k miles
Replaced:
- head gasket
- valve stem seals
- Valves were lapped and seated at a machine shop
- injectors, HPFP, fuel rail pressure sensor
- 3 piece Mahle oil rings, cylinder hone
- rod bearings, and aftermarket rods
- thermostat, water pump
- Timing chain kit. Guides, tensioners, sprocket.
- Vacuum lines
- Fuel filter
- Crank sensor
- Valve cover
- New oem battery
- Along with most o rings and seals as I coulD
Did NOT replace:
- Vanos solenoids (replaced under warranty at 60k and looked clean)
- o2 sensors
- MAF
- Coil packs
car has a resonator delete.
would a compression test hurt my piston rings in any way?
i have not adjusted the flow rate of each injector to the car. I know that’s a bmw thing but wasnt sure with Minis so I stored the numbers on each injector anyways.
Any advice is appreciated!
1 - 17 of 17 Posts
I’ve driven the car 3.5 miles after cleaning the plugs with brake clean and re torquing them making sure to get them much tighter. Still misfired this time but only happens after I rev past 4K. On my live data misfire counters it shows 3 and 4 are the only cylinders misfiring. Then on idle it’s really noticeable. Seems pretty smooth as I’m going through some gears. On this drive I got a P15E8 code even though I have a new thermostat. Still no check engine light either.
Car sat for 2 months outside then inside my garage after that. Wiring is not completely out of the question in my view but I can’t see much wrong with it visually. I haven’t cut open the coil wires to inspect more either. I did replace the coil pack ground wire connection to the back of the valve cover.
![Hood Automotive tire Automotive design Gas Metal]()
Car sat for 2 months outside then inside my garage after that. Wiring is not completely out of the question in my view but I can’t see much wrong with it visually. I haven’t cut open the coil wires to inspect more either. I did replace the coil pack ground wire connection to the back of the valve cover.
irduim plugs are very hard, mini coil packs are farily weak at best, I would only fit factory plugs in them, more so on earlier n14 engines , also fuel in uk if i put 93ron in it effects how runs get knock warnings when gets pushed, old cheap fuel yes will cause issues and more so when its got a higher level of bio grain fuels as the grain part tends to go solid with age,
below screen shot is what factory plugs should be n18 engines ,
![Rectangle Azure Font Line Screenshot]()
below screen shot is what factory plugs should be n18 engines ,
UPDATE:
Compression test came out better then expected, 200 psi across the board with 205 at#3. This is still before a real piston ring break in.
When using the scan tool and reading active misfires at idle only #3 is missing pretty harshly. I swapped coils and plugs around and it would not follow. I’ve got mini plugs on the way and if that doesn’t help I will be throwing in a spare injector I have. Even though I have a full set of brand new ones.
Very odd to me since I’ve had multiple misfire codes and new injectors/ HPFP. I don’t think the cat could just be causing #3 to miss but who knows. I’ve heard the clogged cats can do some pretty weird stuff. Even using ISTA I can’t get any other codes relating to misfires to appear after only Reving around 3-5k. I ran the test plan for injectors and they all came out okay with no faults and indeed activate when needed.
Any relations with Pcv or intake air leaks and cylinder #3? I beileve the ports that get the most carbon build up from Pcv are 2 and 3 just due to the way it flows through the manifold. But carbon is no issue here on my refreshed valves.
Id like to smoke test the intake but just haven’t gotten around to teaching myself how to perform the test. Haven’t found any good videos yet and I do have the tools available.
Should I consider the ECU to be bricked? I don’t understand how this could ever happen but seems to be mainly a Mini problem on the forums compared to other makes. I see places claim to solve misfires due to crapped out ECU’s and need reflashed. At that point it’s getting tuned
www.rpmmotorsport.net
Compression test came out better then expected, 200 psi across the board with 205 at#3. This is still before a real piston ring break in.
When using the scan tool and reading active misfires at idle only #3 is missing pretty harshly. I swapped coils and plugs around and it would not follow. I’ve got mini plugs on the way and if that doesn’t help I will be throwing in a spare injector I have. Even though I have a full set of brand new ones.
Very odd to me since I’ve had multiple misfire codes and new injectors/ HPFP. I don’t think the cat could just be causing #3 to miss but who knows. I’ve heard the clogged cats can do some pretty weird stuff. Even using ISTA I can’t get any other codes relating to misfires to appear after only Reving around 3-5k. I ran the test plan for injectors and they all came out okay with no faults and indeed activate when needed.
Any relations with Pcv or intake air leaks and cylinder #3? I beileve the ports that get the most carbon build up from Pcv are 2 and 3 just due to the way it flows through the manifold. But carbon is no issue here on my refreshed valves.
Id like to smoke test the intake but just haven’t gotten around to teaching myself how to perform the test. Haven’t found any good videos yet and I do have the tools available.
Should I consider the ECU to be bricked? I don’t understand how this could ever happen but seems to be mainly a Mini problem on the forums compared to other makes. I see places claim to solve misfires due to crapped out ECU’s and need reflashed. At that point it’s getting tuned
High Performance Tuning Experts | BMW ECU Replacement | Rpm Motorsport
Rpm Motorsport is known for being one of the leading companies in High Performance Tuning and pioneers in replacing BMW / MINI ECUS. With 20 years experience, we proudly offer 3 types of tunes guaranteed to take care of any kind of driver such as Daily Driver, Daily Driver Plus and Xtreme...
www.rpmmotorsport.net
Update #2
spark plugs replaced and misfire count is better but still blatantly sounds like it’s misfiring on Idle. Mainly #3 and slightly #1. Also interchanged a brand new coil around the cylinders and no change on misfire harder on #3. I think it’s worth a shot to swap injectors around as well. If that doesn’t give any information I’m not sure where else to keep going.
Pictured:
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On all 4 of my “new” plugs I put in after the rebuild the Porcelin spins!? AND that didint solve the issue. Very weird.
I did get an ECU electronic immobilized code 32E3-P16CF. If that code is genuine, I think it has to be wiring. But the car would also likely now even start with that code. I cleared them and only that came back through the DME/CAS. Did not scan with ISTA this time.
![Computer Personal computer Font Software Electronic device]()
spark plugs replaced and misfire count is better but still blatantly sounds like it’s misfiring on Idle. Mainly #3 and slightly #1. Also interchanged a brand new coil around the cylinders and no change on misfire harder on #3. I think it’s worth a shot to swap injectors around as well. If that doesn’t give any information I’m not sure where else to keep going.
Pictured:
On all 4 of my “new” plugs I put in after the rebuild the Porcelin spins!? AND that didint solve the issue. Very weird.
I did get an ECU electronic immobilized code 32E3-P16CF. If that code is genuine, I think it has to be wiring. But the car would also likely now even start with that code. I cleared them and only that came back through the DME/CAS. Did not scan with ISTA this time.
UPDATE:
may head gasket job failed because I did not deck the block. In Hanes manual It states .003 is max warpage and I could only find less than .002 thousandths.
I had Mini dealer diagnose, they found combustion gases in coolant and #3 plug wet with coolant.
This car has taken me on a wild story. Not sure if I’m willing to deck the block and have engine out again only because I’ve grown tired of the project and starting to understand why the Minis get so much hate. Currently assessing my options to get the most money out of this car if I were to sell or complete the repair.
Only upside is my cylinder head is fresh and I have two known good working HPFP plus all my other newly replaced parts which I could turn for money.
If I were to buy an engine online I doubt it will be much better than mine and would still need a rebuild.
![Automotive tire Motor vehicle Tread Wood Grey]()
may head gasket job failed because I did not deck the block. In Hanes manual It states .003 is max warpage and I could only find less than .002 thousandths.
I had Mini dealer diagnose, they found combustion gases in coolant and #3 plug wet with coolant.
This car has taken me on a wild story. Not sure if I’m willing to deck the block and have engine out again only because I’ve grown tired of the project and starting to understand why the Minis get so much hate. Currently assessing my options to get the most money out of this car if I were to sell or complete the repair.
Only upside is my cylinder head is fresh and I have two known good working HPFP plus all my other newly replaced parts which I could turn for money.
If I were to buy an engine online I doubt it will be much better than mine and would still need a rebuild.
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