Someone TAMPERED with our $1,000 MINI Cooper at Auction! Can a $50 Hack Bring it Back to Life?

hey guys i'm sam crack and recently over on my instagram i asked you guys whether you prefer to see me gamble on these cheap dead auction cars like our thousand dollar mini cooper or if you want to see me lose my shirt on another ferrari and surprisingly the comments were pretty mixed admittedly it's a lot easier to buy a mini cooper than a ferrari i could literally buy 40 dead 1 000 minis for the price of one total ferrari while it's tough to compare the two there's actually less risk in the cheaper cars since they're literally sold by bank lease companies and dealers at bottom of the barrel as is parts car prices on the other hand out of three bmw gambles if you include this mini only one of them will actually end up working the other two were doa with everyone and their grandmother rebuilding rec cars they took a step back and saved up a bit of cash so that i could ponder whether or not to take on a bigger more long-term inexpensive project and i think it's almost time the cheap gambles are fun there's little to lose and if you're into flipping there's a bit to gain but nothing is more satisfying than driving a lamborghini that looks better than it did new and knowing it was a prior write-off now let me know your thoughts about this in the comments i hope it all sounds good to you and if you like things that sound good you'll definitely enjoy a set of raycon earbuds i've been using this exact set of everyday e25s daily for over a year now look this is me a year ago showing you how simple it is to make and take a phone call with their built-in microphone this is the lightest set of wireless earbuds i've ever used which makes them super comfortable and even though they're small their sound packs a huge punch they've got a crisp sound that's bassy so if you're like me and into rap and hip hop you're gonna appreciate them even more with the built-in battery in its storage case it will keep the battery charged fresh for whenever you're ready to use them you can get 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security system which he was right because yeah it was a problem with the security system and i'll show you quickly how we determined that this is the problem and how we got this problem resolved so here you go this is the parts that we requested from sam which is the engine control module for the mini cooper security module that is also known as a cast module and his original key that came with the vehicle so all these three parts are required to get everything diagnosed properly and determine which one of those things is failing so let me show you now how we test those parts before we connect anything this is our actual bmw bench simulator and so here you can see we have different type of ignition switches and key slots the start button the actual thing from the mini cooper this is a placement for the cast module this is different connectors for the cast module including bmw 7 series cast modules um different type of connectors for the engine computer gauge cluster and icom as a bmw factory skin tool in order for us to communicate with any of those computers and test them up so now let's get everything connected so i take the cast module first get it connected on a bench connect the proper key cartridge like this take the engine control module and get this thing connected as well so the engine control module is connected on the bench the cast module is connected on the bench and here we go we take the original key that came with the vehicle we plug it in and as soon as i press the start button nothing happens on the gauge cluster looks like it's completely dead won't respond to anything so what we did we generated brand new key which you can see right here this is the original key and this is a new one since we realized that this key is doing nothing when you try to connect it on the bench then we realize that the cast module by itself communicates with the scanner uh even without the key an engine control module communicates as well so we figured that was a key problem and again this is the original key that didn't do anything this is a new key that we programmed for sam and as soon as i plugged the key in the new one and hit the start button you will see all the lights on the dash which means that right now the security module recognized the key and it turned the ignition on so here we go brand new key right now works just fine and i can easily remove it from the ignition and the ignition turns on turns off automatically and if i put it back in it will turn back on and again if i take original key it doesn't do anything literally nothing happens and it shows so if you see a sign like this that's an indication of a not compatible key or your security module being defective all right just raced home got this box this is supposedly the solution to our mini cooper issues in here our original computers i think unmodified the main issue as you heard from valentino over at ecu team was the key fob itself we had what sounds like the completely wrong key fob so here are our keys here and okay so this is a replacement you could just see it looks a little bit different and i'm assuming this is the old key yeah remember the old key had that writing on the back so this is going to be the fix before we get inside and plug this in we've got to reinstall our modules so i'm going to start under the hood with our ecu and then we'll move inside with the immobilizer this should get this many off the trailer and hopefully make this little car an awesome cheap auction steal yep this just slides right in clicks into place here it's nice and secure one snug two and [Music] three nice and snug now our battery is disconnected this was disconnected from last time we took these modules out we're gonna leave it disconnected until we plug in our immobilizer and then we will put the battery on start it up man i'm so excited i hope it starts up all right you see in here there's two cables that the immobilizers plugged into one right here and then the ribbon cable next to it this is very similar to what you saw in the bench testing video from ecu team they had a bmw cluster instead of our mini cluster here so we are all hooked up at this point and now for the exciting part here is our replacement key let's get in and i don't think i have anything unhooked in here that's going to give us an issue let me make sure because there is an airbag right here no it's just unbolted it's not unhooked all right now the key in the ignition whoa there it goes all right that's a much better start foot on the clutch oh okay of course of course that's because i didn't tighten down the battery i'm almost positive let's go and actually crank the battery terminal down try again you hear all those good noises this was not tight enough somebody definitely had to swap the key out on us on auction but the moment of truth will our code clearing of the steering wheel column lock and the replacement key from ecu team fixed the mini cooper three two one [Music] there it is it sounds pretty good too let's see no check engine codes oh yeah this car this is a huge huge auction win huge oh airbag light that might have actually been unhooked okay let's shut this off still super pumped to drive this thing yes we're gonna get under here we're gonna fix the steering wheel column lock once and for all we're gonna button up all our trim and then take our mini for a ride [Music] it's so satisfying to see the mini finally off the trailer it was sitting on there over a week and i got to give a huge thanks to valentin and ecu team they're the first guys that popped up when i did a quick google search for how to repair a mini ecu and they do all sorts of european asian car computer repairs they diagnose all sorts of modules key repairs so if you're having some sort of strange electrical issue or you lost your keys entirely you might want to hit them up before you go to the dealership because it's likely going to be way cheaper i'm going to link their youtube channel down in the description box below they have some cool technical videos over there and again i can't recommend them enough because the turnaround time was super speedy now let's hop in the mini we're gonna bring it around here we're gonna button up a few things hopefully it's good enough to take on a drive i moved the mini into the shade here we've got one last thing to do before we button up the rest of this dashboard and see how the car is mechanically that is eliminate the steering column lock the thing that fails so many of these bmw and mini cars we're going to do that very simply this little emulator module here this basically tricks the system at all times into thinking this is okay so whether this actually was mechanically failed or electrically fail well we're eliminating it not by removing it by swapping it with this box see the connector there it's as simple as unplugging it and plugging it in here however steering wheel is currently locked because there's no key in the ignition so in order to install it first you just go put the key in the ignition you hear that click that unlocks the steering wheel then with the steering wheel unlocked we can go and unplug our module there it is all right if i have to listen to that chime any longer i'm gonna go crazy we just plug it right in here and that's it you could stuff that behind here and see our steering wheel it's still unlocked when we shut the car off should still remain unlocked like i said we basically eliminated the lock portion and the car should still run through its initial checks when we put the key in and start up so we'll put our foot on the clutch the key back in the ignition [Music] there it is that chime is maddening second i put this car in the first gear and just moved it a few feet it will move uh it does feel quite sluggish the check engine light popped up right there i believe that's the limp mode light when i give it gas it feels really rough so we're gonna shut it off here let's put it back into accessory mode and then we'll plug back in our diagnostic reader see what codes that it's generated we're gonna plug in carly and if you're considering buying a mini cooper make sure you get yourself a carly along with it for no other reason you shut that annoying chime off all right so ignition coil cylinder three that's telling us that maybe we've got a faulty ignition coil that'd be an easy fix this fire on several cylinders would go along with that ignition coil then it says cylinder one misfire and then blow off valve plausibility that's weird oh vanos codes those are never any fun and then the last one is a strange can message and that's probably no big deal so the vanos code is somewhat concerning as are the misfires let's get in the engine bay swap around some coil packs and check the spark plugs all right i believe our cylinder order goes one two three four this is where it's telling us we've got a problem with the ignition coil look it's not even plugged in the seats missing the cap here you usually pop these caps yeah these are all bit worn what happens is you usually pop this and it pops it out a little bit you see like right here it's gonna pop the wire out so cylinder three is not even plugged in all the way so right there that's gonna fix cylinder number three that is potentially not snug then it's telling us we got an issue with cylinder number one which would be this guy right here so again one two three four we technically fix three we need a new coil pack there then i just noticed this look at this this coil pack is not even seated properly and i think it's just broken these things usually are very snug see like this one it's tough to pull out all right i've got a little bit of a mess going on here let me pull a couple plugs and just see what they look like i got three out of the four plugs out of here i couldn't get this one out because it's missing this top piece where you see grip it here and pull it up with this missing this is really snug in there and i'm gonna end up just ripping this out probably with the pliers but for right now we're just going to leave it sitting because i don't want to damage it if we're going to attempt to test drive this car right now the plugs all look virtually the same i'd assume that third one looks just like this and just for good measure i would replace all four plugs and i would replace all the coils you see we've got like one brand here and see these others look different i'm not sure which one this is this looks like an oem one as does this and this looks after market so somebody's been in here and fixed them as they need them it'd be nice to have four brand new plugs and coils and probably make this thing run a whole lot better all right just cleared all our codes again got the key in the ignition i would tell you that startup definitely feels a lot smoother well it feels way smoother all right let's feel the power or lack thereof of mini cooper s oh yeah it's there it's definitely back pretty good much much better there goes our our engine fault oh man and we're off in the thousand dollar mini cooper you hear that exhaust back there there's only a single tailpipe so i think it's got an aftermarket exhaust on this car has quite a few performance modifications and the kind of torquey feel that it has well i've never driven one of these i'd imagine this one very well could have a an aftermarket tune good for maybe like an additional 20 or 30 more wheel horsepower even though we just had that limp mode code i stopped i checked everything again basically this car went into a soft limp mode kind of like you would experience with the bmw so when you shut the car off and turn it back on it will still keep the code stored to let you know there's a problem but it will take it out of limp mode our code was for a blow-off valve or a diverter valve and that's a very common failure in a lot of these four-cylinder turbo cars not just mini coopers but like volkswagens as well now where i'm currently at is only about 15-20 minutes away from a mini cooper dealership and i called him up just because i still have the tools here look on the floor from putting the dashboard back together and that work we did underneath the hood i figured it'd be cool to go there buy the diverter valve and install it in the parking lot until they told me that it's a hundred and fifty dollars which is absurd because the same exact part over at fcp euro is only 50. remember i do want to buy the coil packs as well so for about 150 we're gonna have all new coil packs and we're gonna have a brand new diverter valve i don't see any point in wasting money on a budget build like this just to have it today especially when the car is driving pretty darn good i just imagine if i get back into a very high boost scenario high rpms it's going to throw the code again basically what happens is this diverter valve fails internally it kind of falls apart and you get a new one every several ten thousand miles it will take about 20 minutes to install it's right underneath the turbo shielding on the side of the turbo charger the big thing i want to do right now is to continue driving this car log about 15-20 miles on it make sure nothing else feels or seems failed and it's doing great no other lights are popping up and frankly that limp mode hasn't even come back on this car feels very healthy and all in all for a thousand dollars plus what we put into it to get it to work i am thrilled the big spend on this car was the 375 dollars to get the replacement key to obviously just to get it to work it's really unfortunate because clearly this car had the right key when it came into auction and there was a mishap somewhere that left us with the wrong key and a little bit lighter of a wallet but not much lighter of a wallet if you consider going to the dealership to get that replacement key they'd want to sell you a new immobilizer system along with the new key and i'm not sure if ecu team told me that you need a whole new ignition and reprogramming of the engine computer as well i think they told me it'd be well over a thousand dollars at the dealership if you went in just missing the key the only other thing that we spent money on at this point was that little black box that defeats the steering column lock a must have i think for anybody that has one of these mini coopers or any bmw with the steering column lock it comes with the confidence in knowing you'll never be locked out again and it was only 50 dollars super simple to install so as the car sits we're only in at 625 dollars and it's driving great but remember we do want to get at least one coil pack i'm gonna opt for four brand new ones but if you wanted to keep to a super budget i don't feel any hesitation or issues i think they're all working we definitely want to replace the loose one fcp euro sells one coil pack for 25 bucks and what you could do is when you replace the one loose one before you throw out the old one take the top connector off of it and swap it to cylinder number three that's missing the connector and right there there's a free fix so for well under two grand we've got a running driving mini cooper s and the only last thing to really address is some of the comments in the prior video that we're concerned about the reliability and the timing chain tensioner issue that these engines come with now timing chain tensioner issues generally create slack in a timing chain which is something that could be audibly heard this engine sounds nice and healthy and since this was the first year of this platform mini cooper the turbocharged platform there were a bunch of technical service bulletins and a lot of people got a lot of pretty pricey components replaced on these cars whether this had a new timing chain setup done or a new head gasket or any of the other issues that these cars came with i don't really know i didn't get any of the surface history with it this one seems to have been maintained pretty well it drives great it sounds good i'm fairly confident in it and i think this is a four to five thousand dollar car retail just based on its condition its modifications and how well it drives well our mini isn't perfect in every single way this is the perfect daily beater this is the perfect car to lend to a family member or a friend if they're in town they need to borrow one i mean you could fit a good amount of people or stuff in this thing it's surprisingly spacious it gets good gas mileage it's very fun to drive all around i am thrilled with it for under two grand and could you imagine if the auction just didn't lose the keys we'd be in this car under fifteen hundred dollars and it's a steal for any of these numbers if you agree be sure to hit that like button no joke i just got back from picking up a live chicken i brought my cage with me put the chicken in the cage put the cage in the hatch of the mini cooper the chicken did not complain about the ride not even once which means this is a solid car if you're wondering what sort of breed this hen is she is a calico princess if you're wondering how much she cost well slightly more than the cost of one coil pack for the mini cooper now talking about coil packs i did order my coil packs and my diverter valve from fcp just now i'll be getting that stuff within the next week throwing it in the mini cooper there's really not a whole lot left to do on this car that would make for a dedicated video so as far as the videos go we're done it's done i'm going to button it up because i plan on just again like i said daily beating this at least for the next few weeks if you really want to see the installation of coil packs in the mini cooper something you kind of already saw in today's video let me know in the comments and i will post a quick time lapse over on my instagram which is right here or you can find it easily by just clicking the link in the description box and guys i want to thank each and every one of you for watching today i'll catch you very soon you

Channel: Samcrac

Views: 536,045

Rating: 4.9000058 out of 5

Keywords: BMW, mini, cooper, turbo, key, fob, dead, junk, scrap, cheap, auction, salvage, totaled, mechanically, mechanical, supercharged, john cooper works, cooper s, european, cars, automotive, flip, bargain, outlet, sale, manheim, copart, iaai, insurance, dealer, vandalized, VW, volkswagen, BOV

Id: 2pTbjtp9NVw

Length: 22min 14sec (1334 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 17 2020