R56 Battery/CEL/DSC issue

If it has gotten cold outside where you live. It might be a orange engine light due to thermostat not reaching temperature. Having a OBD2 Code reader .
If you are interested in this unit. Make sure you purchase a NT530 for mini cooper. They do not have more than one auto product installed in it. Like the blog shows. with BMW,mercedes,mini cooper. They just have mini cooper
So it would be a NT530 for Mini Cooper.
That would let you know what that light is.
If it is cold it is due to the thermostat not heating up, opening too soon before the computer and engine for that matter need it too.
The DCT. Code is a lynch pin in my hypothesis about it being a Thermostat. The DCT is transmission related and the transmission is cooled by the engine coolant through a small heat exchanger(like a radiator).
In the cold a mini cooper is a modern automobile never the less and not only requires cooling off by way of. A Radiator,Transmission heat exhanger,Oil heat exchanger; but also the likewise. Those devices also heat the oil,transmission fluid,and water coolant for the engine on a cold day.
It has always been like that for engines. The difference is now in days there is a computer that needs to read the correct operating temperature's.
My opinion: The Coolant is not hot enough; and the transmission fliud is not hot enough. And that code would more than likely tell you that in the two different area's of module diagnosis of a OBD2 Scan tool of any brand really so long that it is for a Mini Cooper!

So, breakdown man came out, stuck a battery tender on it and it started up fine. Whilst he was there, he had a look at the codes that were pulled but nothing jumped out to indicate a stored coolant temperature issue, he found an oil pressure switch issue was causing the CEL to show, but given the myriad other codes, I suspect this wasn't the issue as the CEL hasn't come on since (pics attached)

The test drive however was not without issue. The drive control warning showed up about 5 miles in when I got up to 50mph, and at the same time that the warning came on, the central display would completely black out and the wipers and windows (possibly more, but didn't check those other bits) would fail to respond. These would resolve when the car slowed down again which makes me think that whatever controls these (hopefully just one thing) either had a loose connection (🤞) or is damaged. I noted is that it smelt very hot, not metallic hot, but a bit of an acrid, plastic-y, electrical-y hot, which again makes me think it's something loose or otherwise fried in the cabin. The black relay (?) under the interior fusebox was quite warm to the touch, but I'm not sure what it does - pic attached. I'm hoping that the smell is related to the other electrical issues rather than anything else. The last thing was that after putting a little more petrol in it (it'd been sat on reserve with about 50miles of range), it also began to have a bit of an erratic idle and drive roughly, but this was intermittent, it'd come and go but was running alright by the end.

Any thoughts appreciated!

I'm just chatting here about all kinds of things and such. With My mini Cooper one axiom I like to apply is the fact that it is a 1.6 liter engine it works with everything it's got to get to that reliable amount of power. Not to get off topic. I'm with you on these issues and when codes come up you solve them one at a time.
For example: a lot times Me included and people on this forum talk about temperature issues. Now maybe you did not throw a temperature code. But lets look at the principle here The ideal temperature for the mini cooper leans to the hotter side of things It like the car warmed up! In fact that was one of the things in my manual when I got my r56 in 2010. Don't sit around waiting for the car to warm up it should warm up real quick. Drive and go. There should be no issue. Of course I am a first owner of the car. Second owners and manuals get lost and the theory of it get lost as well.
And when it runs nice and warm like it needs to it sometimes ends up with a cracked hard pipe and that can lead to other things.
That occurs because the hardpipe gets old and the seal gets worn. But the water in it; the temperature has a precise computer controlling it(thermostat). Not very traditional way of working a plastic in animate object in a car. It's newer.
Not to get off topic. The point is you have talked about different codes mixture of codes and the only resolve to that is basic stuff like.
Like a Vanos for example. It's a critical hinging point for most of the performance of the car. It can run when one is bad about like a unhooked maf sensor. But it's the sensors and the items that get destroyed from having to compensate for that. Like the Vacuum pump Make sure you buy a pierburg. To some extent it comes down to the equipment you have on hand to deal with the problem. More than likely Mike1967 could buy the cheapest Vacuum pump and the cheapest Thermostat on the market and get it to work.
Really Thermostats get a bad wrap. From what I have been reading. You have to get the right one for YOUR MINI ENGINE not the one that looks just like it for another mini engine. And how you gonna prove that when the part shows up and there is no manufacturer part number on it! Equipment...............
Not only does the mini cooper push everything to the limit it also requires the components to work under a strict tolerance.
Like the DSC. Try using air up tires and not run flats or extra large wheels on the car. Simple things At least until you figure out Where the problem originates from. When it running tip top
It can run most wheels. I have not tried BMW 250 wheels but could probably do 225.
Oxygen sensors,Catalytic convertor And a vanos(starting with the cheaper ones first) that is my opinion on funky transmission codes. I choose to favor the idea that engine acting up is why the Transmission lights and weird traction lights show up. The engine is under performing and the Transmission is simply stating it's business about it's tolerances that have been reached.