New to forum but been lurkin for awhile as I have taken on a my fist mini cooper as a project car and this forum has been tremendously valuable. It has been a steep learning curve but still having fun so far on this 2012 Mini Cooper LCI R56 N16 and I probably have a few experience nuggets to offer the forum at this point so I will keep my eye out.

I am stuck on my last error code (worked through numerous issues) which is P0013 OBDII code or Foxwell code 2842 Vanos Solenoid valve, exhaust activation

So quick background... Full engine refresh was completed with major hitters being timing chain kit (including new Vanos Cam Sprockets), new piston rings, honed cylinders, full head rebuild (replaced all valves/seats/lapped). After all that and several corrections I am left with this exhaust activation code. Mini starts and runs fine and have put about 200 miles on it since refresh on engine. I have never had a mini before but I do think it hesitates slightly on acceleration especially on low gears.

• I am confident timing is good, I have checked it 3 times since I ended up going back and replacing Vanos cam sprockets as separate troubleshooting events (learned how critical the valve cover gasket fit is to the mini operation!)
• I have inspected the oil control rings on the end of the cam shaft and they are not cracked and surfaces look in good shape with no significant wear, scarring or shiny surfaces.
• I have cleaned out the two small ports where the oil is directed to create the mechanical motion of the vanos sprocket
• I purchased 2 new aftermarket vanos solenoid valves and have rotated all 4 vanos valves into the exhaust position with no impact. I tested all vanos solenoid valves with 12V supply and they actuate
• Got a good vanos adaptation reset with 51.2deg exhaust and 144.2deg on inlet
• I have checked the oil pressure with the following results --> cold idle - 60 psi (4.1 bar) / hot idle - 40 psi (2.7 bar) / 3000 RPMs hot 62 psi (4.2 bar).
  • According to my manual I am way over on pressure at idle. This does not shock me as someone had switched the block on this car to one that did not have the oil pressure control wiring through the engine block so the oil pump runs full pressure all the time versus changing based on oil pressure feedback and demand.
• I have back probed the exhaust solenoid by taking the back probe and connected with WHITE wire on the exhaust vanos solenoid connector and verified good connection by checking ohms between probe and the visible connector end of the white wire. Plugged connector into the vanos valve and started up car. Held one probe of multimeter to my back probe and one to the ground on the battery. I got 14 volts which matches what my battery is seeing from the alternator. I held the RPMs at 3000 and moved around in that range while in neutral and the volts never moved from 14.

With my current understanding of how the exhaust vanos works I should see the voltage move around as ECU determines it wants an adjustment. If mechanically and hydraulically I am good, it would seem I have an electrical issue. But maybe I did not back probe properly or I need to actually drive around to see the voltage move? Could I have all 4 Vanos units bad (they are aftermarket)? If it is a bad ECU why would everything else work fine on the car? If a wiring issue I would not anticipate that I would get the 14 volts at the connector or the value would be erratic if going to ground.

So that is where I am and I am on the verge of throwing the towel in and taking this mini to the dealer, but that would certainly be a sad day for me. Any questions, thoughts or ideas welcome!!

 

Ran another test this morning. I had a spare vanos solenoid valve laying around. So I disconnected the exhaust solenoid connector from the car and connected to the spare solenoid in my hand. What I learned while playing around with the solenoid valve is that it takes power to EXTEND the plunger. So with no power it is retracted. So Started up the car and I was able to observe the plunger EXTEND multiple times for the first 10 seconds then it stopped and never moved again regardless of the RPMs of the engine. It was a patterned actuation which makes me wonder if the vehicle was running a quick test to see if exhaust timing was responding and when it did not respond it stopped the process and the exhaust vanos system is made idle. Working theory....

At this point when it stopped moving, I tested the voltage and it is showing 14volts but the plunger stayed RETRACTED even though my multimeter would suggest that the solenoid should see power. This is when I realized there is more at play here that is over my head. I may not be using the multimeter correctly because I am measuring the WHITE wire only which comes from ECU and then I run my other lead from the multimeter to the ground at the battery. So the multimeter is not part of the circuit at that point I think??. When I tried at a separate troubleshooting event to back probe both wires on the connectors which connected to the car's vanos solenoid during engine operation it showed 0 volts which may support my observations with the spare. Hate electronics...

Does any of this rambling spark anything from anyone?

 

Small hope blossomed last night.... I think I was back probing the connector incorrectly and that had me focusing on the ECU.

I ended up swapping the exhaust vanos solenoid valve one more time to one I am fairly certain was installed in the exhaust position at some point. Cleared codes and so far after 50 miles and 3 warm up cycles later no code. Would love to laugh this one off as going down too many rabbit trails while trouble shooting, not knowing how to properly back probe a connector and using crap solenoid valves (never buying them from amazon again). But having the ability to see the live data on vanos movement would put this one to bed real quick. What are the state side recommendations for scanners with that ability?