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i88 G4+ MINI Cooper S Drop In Unit


c0op3r

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I just bought my i88, and its on it way to me.  I have a couple questions about retaining some of the Factory Function of my MINI.  I have the following features that I would love to retain:

  • Chrono Pak Gauge
  • Air Con
  • Cruise Control

I understand that the AirConditioning will still work with the auto Control setup (which is in my car), is this correct?

Cruise Control - Is there a way to use the factory buttons on the Steering Wheel?

Is there going to be an update that will make the Chrono Gauges work?

 

The car is a full build:

  • Block from the 2006 MINI Cooper S
  • Crank – Factory (but machined and polished)
  • RMW Rods
  • RMW Pistons 77.5mm
  • RMW Big Valve Head
  • RMW 450cc Injectors (aka Doge SRT4 Injectors)
  • RMW Camshaft (Dominator)
  • RMW Baffled Oil Pan
  • King Race Main Bearings
  • King Race Rod Bearings
  • ATI Crank Damper
  • 17% WayMotorWorks Supercharger Pulley
  • RMW Header (with Catalytic)
  • JCW Exhaust
  • GTT Stealth Cold Air Intake
  • AquaMist Water Methanol Injection System
  • MC40 Style Gauge Mount (AquaMist Gauge/Controller & Boost Gauge)
  • Wayland Shift Knob (thank the wife for this one)
  • JCW Springs
  • JCW Shock
  • R56 Rear Trailing Arms (GP style)
  • R56 Front Brakes
  • R56 Front Rotors Drilled & Slotted
  • BBS/MINI R90 Wheels
  • NM adjustable Lower Control Arms
  • Hotchkis 22mm Hollow Rear Sawy Bar
  • PowerFlex Rear Bushings for the R56 Trailing Arms
  • Power Flex Front Lower Control Arm Bushings
  • Power Flex Lower Engine Mount Bushing

 

Also is there a special way to wire in the water/meth control to the ECU?

 

Cooper

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Hi,

We've not received any feedback of A/C not functioning on any models, so should be no issues with that. Cruise Control will not work, the buttons do not send a simple on/off type signal to the ECU, special hardware is required to decode the button press logic. Currently we have no plans to add further support for the R53 mini ECU, however if anyone else reading this also is facing problems with gauges not working let us know. The more demand there is for a feature/fix the more likely it will be looked at.

Here is a link to a forum topic on using the Aquamist system with our ECUs: http://forums.linkecu.com/index.php?/topic/5876-how-to-connect-aquamist-controller-to-link-storm/#comment-42780

On the R53 Mini plug-in ECU there are a couple of options for the output to supply the PWM signal to the aquamist. The first is to use Aux 1, which is available on the ECUs expansion connector, this will require an expansion loom. The second option is to sacrifice another output on the ECU, possibly one of the following:

Aux Output 3, Pin 24, Purge Solenoid.

Aux Output 2, Pin 42, Leak Diagnostic Pump Solenoid.

Scott.

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  • 3 weeks later...

OK new questions as I have my unit in hand and I am getting it all setup, so here are my questions.

FIRST:  I am looking for a US Dealer for some accessories, but each time I click USA under the DEALER Listings on the main ViPEC.com Page it ask me for a Login and Password.  But I dont have one nor is there a provision to request one.  Lets fix this!

Second: I want to wire in the CAN lines, it seems the best way to do this is to use the PCB to CAN cable (Part # CANPCB) and the Can Extension (Part # CANEXT) - So I can cut the end off the extension and wire the CAN Hi and CAN Lo in to the OBDII connector.

Side note, I was told I could just add the wires into the factory/OEM harness Pins 110 and Pin 111.  I think this is really possible as the female side of the pins are not in the factory harness side at the ECU,  This is why I think using the CANPCB cable would be best.  If I am wrong please correct me. 

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Hi,

Thanks for letting us know about the Vi-PEC website link. For now please check out http://www.linkecu.com/Dealers/USA-Dealers .

Yes, you can use the CAN-PCB with a CAN EXT, but will need to remove the pins for the serial connection from the white plastic connector. This is because the serial pins are able to be used to tune the ECU, and if left connected the wires will act as an aerial, and electrical interference will cause the ECU to drop offline when attempting to tune with PCLink over USB.

Pins 110 and 111 on the main ECU connector are where the factory CAN bus connects to the ECU. I would not recommend using this connection, as in the CAN setup you can not use one of the OEM CAN modes at the same time as aftermarket CAN configuration (on the same CAN bus).

Scott.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Scott

Tonight we got to trying to tune the car some, I am using a Zeitronix Zt-3 Wideband, there is not a default configuration for this WideBand.

I have it connected to An10 (Brown Wire)

the information provided by Zeitronix is as follows:

Zt-3Inputs/Ouputs                                                                       Signals                      Range

Bosch Wideband O2 Sensor                                                           Lamda                      1.43  to 0.64

Analog Wideband Output Signal  (configurable Voltage vs AFR)        Analog Output            0-5v

 

How should I be setting up the input and its range?

Zt-3.JPG

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Hi,

Based on the information provided I would set the calibration up like this:

ZT3 calibation.PNG

Since there are only two points use Cal table 4, 5, or 6.

I see that the info above says the analog voltage output is configurable. I would consider changing the output to a range of 0.1v to 4.9v, this way the ECU can put the analog volt channel into a fault state if a problem occurs.

Scott

 

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Scott

Let me start by saying thanx for the quick response.  

I have run into another problem, the tuner and seller of the Vipec has starting tuning the car. It now sounds and runs like absolute shit (sounds like 3 cylinders).  So I took the ViPec out and put the stock ECU back in the car, the car starts and runs fine, I did this to make sure that something is not wrong with the car/engine.

After establishing this, I then put the ViPec back and reset it to stock, and then loaded the R53 ViPec Base Tune on the ECU, it starts and runs like shit again, which was not the case when I started this project it started right up and ran/idle.

 

So is the a way to test the ECU to make sure nothing has gone wrong with it?

What is the procedure to completely reset it to stock?

Cooper

 

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Hi Cooper,

Probably the first step is for us to have a look at a PCLog of the problem. Can you post this along with the base-map you are using to record it? Does the problem occur at all engines speeds and loads?

Looking at the specs above the only thing I'd expect to have a big influence on how our standard base-map runs is your injector upgrade. Using upgraded injectors with our standard base-map should cause the fueling to be quite rich.

The procedure for resetting the ECU is to click ECU Controls > Restore to Factory Settings. You will then need to load in a Mini R53 base-map.

Scott

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Scott

Today, I took the car to another tuner / mechanic.  The tuner started work on the car with the vipec installed and he knew there was a problem.  With some basic trouble shooting we found out that the ignitor for cylinder(s) 2/3 was not working.   When I got home I opened the ECU up to remove the AUX cable, and I notice almost immediately that one of the transistors was not mounted correctly.

So I sent in emails and posted on the vipec facebook page.  I got nothing back from the emails, and I got a dumb ass reply on Fb that something is 'drawing to much current'.

This thing has never worked right, and I am getting little to no support.

There does not seem to be a way to get in contact with anyone quickly, and its funny on Fb the person that responded did not bother to try and contact me to help. (Go ViPec)

So I am stuck with this POS ECU that I now have almost 2k$US invested in and its a paperweight.  Its never worked right, and if there is a problem that can be fixed I would really appreciate if someone from tech would get in contact with me.

Extremely UnHappy

 

 

Bad_Transistor_ViPec_Link_G+_2.jpg

Bad_Transistor_ViPec_Link_G+_1.jpg

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  • 1 year later...
On 6/19/2016 at 9:12 PM, Scott said:

Hi,

Thanks for letting us know about the Vi-PEC website link. For now please check out http://www.linkecu.com/Dealers/USA-Dealers .

Yes, you can use the CAN-PCB with a CAN EXT, but will need to remove the pins for the serial connection from the white plastic connector. This is because the serial pins are able to be used to tune the ECU, and if left connected the wires will act as an aerial, and electrical interference will cause the ECU to drop offline when attempting to tune with PCLink over USB.

Pins 110 and 111 on the main ECU connector are where the factory CAN bus connects to the ECU. I would not recommend using this connection, as in the CAN setup you can not use one of the OEM CAN modes at the same time as aftermarket CAN configuration (on the same CAN bus).

Scott.

Hi Scott,

 

Rather than starting a new thread I thought it would be best for anyone else searching to contain the information here.  I'm in the process of getting the Vi-PEC to communicate through the OBDII port so the vehicle can pass emissions.  I have the CAN-PCB & CAN EXT, could you elaborate on the process to get this compliant?  Seems a bit odd that this drop in unit cannot utilize the existing wiring that works with the factory DME to communicate through the OBDII socket.  

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Chris

Screen Shot 2018-06-08 at 6.42.08 PM.png

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3 hours ago, snowmansgarage said:

Seems a bit odd that this drop in unit cannot utilize the existing wiring that works with the factory DME to communicate through the OBDII socket.  

In most countries where there are emissions standards it is illegal to broadcast user modifiable data into the OBD2 compliant bus.

Connecting the ECU to your OBD2 port will not make your car "pass emissions".  There will be no "readiness monitors" or other such messages that the emissions guys will be looking for.  Our OBD2 broadcast data is intended for tablets/smartphones/laptimers etc.

Here is the basic connection diagram if you still want to connect it:

HpydEHL.png

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  • 4 months later...

AdamW

I just got another MINI and I ordered (and received) a new Link ECU MINI+.  I also ordered and got the Link CAN Wideband (with the Can to JST Connector and Field Install-able CAN cable).  I like SnowMansGarage would like to connect my Factory OBDII port on the MINI so I can use my Bluetooth Data and camera setup, how would I wire in the Wideband to interface with the cars CAN/OBDII data and the wideband?

Am I able to just tag on the lines or does it need to be its own CAN connection?

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8 hours ago, c0op3r said:

AdamW

I just got another MINI and I ordered (and received) a new Link ECU MINI+.  I also ordered and got the Link CAN Wideband (with the Can to JST Connector and Field Install-able CAN cable).  I like SnowMansGarage would like to connect my Factory OBDII port on the MINI so I can use my Bluetooth Data and camera setup, how would I wire in the Wideband to interface with the cars CAN/OBDII data and the wideband?

Am I able to just tag on the lines or does it need to be its own CAN connection?

You should wire in a new second OBD2 socket just for the Engine ECU, you dont want to go messing with all the other devices that are connected to the factory diagnostics port.  You can connect the CAN Lambda and the new OBD socket to the same CAN bus.

The only trick is most OBD2 devices can only work at 250 or 500kbits/s and all devices connected to the same bus must communicate at the same speed, the CAN Lambdas default is 1Mbit but you can re-program it to work at 500 or 250K.

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AdamW

Thank you for the reply.  I want to make sure that I understand correctly and that I am doing the best install I can.

I drop the MINI+ ECU in the MINI, wire in the CAN Wideband using the CAN connection wire to the MINI+ board.  I can put an OBDII factory connector on the end of the chain. Set the ECU to the correct communication speed so that it can talk to the Bluetooth dongle on the OBDII connector to talk to the Garmin Camera.

Will the ECU transmit the data to the Bluetooth?  Speed, RPM etc.

Can I power the CAN Wideband from the ECU OBDII port 12v power? 

If not can I switch the relay from that port?

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9 hours ago, c0op3r said:

I drop the MINI+ ECU in the MINI, wire in the CAN Wideband using the CAN connection wire to the MINI+ board.  I can put an OBDII factory connector on the end of the chain. Set the ECU to the correct communication speed so that it can talk to the Bluetooth dongle on the OBDII connector to talk to the Garmin Camera.

Wiring would be as per my pic below.  CAN Lambda gets spliced into the same CAN wires as the new OBD2 socket.  Not only will the ECU need to be set up but the CAN Lambda will need to be programmed to talk at the correct bitrate (there is a tool in PC Link to do this).

 

9 hours ago, c0op3r said:

Will the ECU transmit the data to the Bluetooth?  Speed, RPM etc.

The ECU will broadcast data to the OBD2 port, where it goes from there will depend what you plug into the socket.  You can find a list of the data channels that are broadcast in the PC Link help file, Navigation:  G4+ ECU Tuning Functions > CAN >OBD (On Board Diagnostics).

 

9 hours ago, c0op3r said:

Can I power the CAN Wideband from the ECU OBDII port 12v power? 

No it will need to be powered by a relay connected to the battery as per its instruction manual.

 

9 hours ago, c0op3r said:

If not can I switch the relay from that port?

You will need to find an ignition switched +12V signal somewhere in the car to trigger the relay.
 

vI7OMZn.png
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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...

Question: I understand that the base tune for the MINI Cooper is based on a Stock JCW tune, is this accurate?  If so how close is the base tune?

I bought another MINI and it is STOCK, except for a 15% pulley and a header, can I install the ECU, Can WideBand/Lambda Sensor and the base tune and drive the car to the tuner?

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The mini base map was from a near stock R53 that one of our dealers tuned in house.  I dont know which model.  It is not based on a stock tune.  After adjusting the master fuel so the AFR is in the ball park and checking all sensor calibrations etc, it will be close enough to drive it gently to a tuner.  

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