P1607 and P1613 Fault codes

[Rubatoguy]

Hello, I have a 2006 Mini cooper S with about 100K miles. While I was driving all the lights on the gauges went wonky and the tack would go off and on. I scanned codes and it said that a wheel speed sensor was bad, so I replaced the two front wheel speed sensors.

This did not fix the problem, though now when I scan codes I no longer get the speed sensor code, but am now getting P1607 and P1613. Can anyone tell me what this relates to and if it is reasonable to think they are correct, or perhaps that there are other electrical issues aboard.

thanks,
Todd

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I don't know enough about error codes to say anything about those, but the lights going wonky and the tach going off an on point to a power or ground problem. Have you done anything like, say, dismount your tach to install an aftermarket cell phone holder? (Something that I may or may not have personal experience with...)

It is also possible that something like your battery connections have gotten flaky.

--DD

[Rubatoguy]

Funny you should ask. I had a cell phone mount that attached to the back of the tach, but I just took it off. I was going to try running the car with the tach disconnected to see if that makes any difference, thinking it would point to a problem with the tach. Also my cigarette lighter is loose from always plugging in my cell phone, so I just replaced that with a new one, thinking that there might be a short there.

Todd

[mcsnb]

@Rubatoguy did you ever find out what the issue was? I've recently bought an '06 MCS with 110k miles and going through the exact same issue.

The fault codes were always there, but My tach didn't go wonky for a while.

After I replaced wheel speed sensor, I drove without any warning lights on dashboard (but the P1613 and P1607 still showed on OBD reader) for about 50 miles before I hit a pothole and all the the guages started going crazy, engine temp gauge pinned at max... needles on other gauges fluctuating, tach going crazy,,

Car still drives and feels completely fine... but the cluster going crazy has got me bit worried.

OBD Code reader showing codes:
(stored)P1613, serial communication link ASC (automatic Stability Control)
(stored)P1607, CAN-Version
(pending) P1607 CAN-Version
(Pending)P1613 Serial communication Link ASC (Automatic Stability Control)

New code that popped up last night after hitting the pothole is:
(Stored) P0130 - o2 sensor bank 1 sensor 1

When I checked the o2 sensor, it was actually loose. But I've ordered a new one to replace anyway.

Ill report back after the o2 sensor, but I'm feeling its just another error like the wheel speed sensor that needed to be taken care of anyway, unrelated to the instruments going crazy.

Anyone else experiencing this?

[Rubatoguy]

Thanks for the replies. Turns out the issue was a loose positive battery cable.
Oddly, the connector would not tighten sufficiently to grip the battery post tightly.
I ended up putting a metal shim on the post so the cable connector would tighten and after that all the problems disappeared.

Lesson Learned: Check the easy things first!