Hi guys,

I'm having a issue with my sisters 2003 Mini Cooper S. I've tried a few ideas posted by others but the problem persists.

The problem:

Car randomly will not start, the car will crank but not fire. Leave the car for 30min and sometimes it will start right up, other times it's the following day. It also started making a weird clicking noise today. The weird part is that the clicking happens when the car is off and the key is out of the ignition. I've added a video of the noise.

Things to note. The battery box had been filled with water at one point. I cleaned it out and cleaned all of the parts inside the distribution box that sits next to the battery. I also changed the ignition switch to rule that out as being the problem.

Another thing to add. When it doesn't start, the car does crank, it just doesn't turn over.

My next thoughts are, immobilizer or the starter motor. Any thoughts regarding this or the clicking?

youtube.com/watch?v=iUxWKS7D72A&feature=youtu.be

 

Can you hear the fuel pump priming?

Nik

 

Hi Nik,

I can hear the fuel pump prime for a few seconds as it normally does.

In regards to the throttle body clicking, the intermittent start issues were happening prior to this new noise. But the noise is def coming from the throttle body and it has a slight shake to it.

John

 

After reading a few threads on various Mini forums. I think it could be the immobilizer causing issues. At first I thought that it wouldn't crank if that were the case, but I've read multiple cases where it still cranks but wont let it start.