I took my 03 MCS to my normal garage to replace the supercharger, and while that was going on (it took me a month or so to get started) we'd learned that the sunroof area is leaking. I came back to find a nice puddle on the driver's floor, with 1" by the pedals. We put the car on a lift and drained the front of the car, looked like a gallon of water.

Today, my mechanic tried to start it and nothing happened. All of the lights turn on, and the windows and sunroof open, but it won't start at all. A few times, when checking for power, it hit 12v and it would try to start very briefly, but for the most part there's no power being shown on the starter.

Is there anything down by the pedals that could cause this issue?

 

Switch on the clutch pedal?

 

Various electronics, FRM, etc. Don't really know your model but others will chime in if you haven't already searched. Search FRM wet.

 

I just started reading into the FRM issues. It sounds as though it causes a bunch of random gremlins, rather than an issue with starting. Would the clutch switch cause a scenario where the starter wouldn't even be seeing any electricity?

 

Moving you to the Stock Problems/Issues area. Were both footwells wet?

 

No, just the driver's side. There was water by the pedals and water in the backseat's footwell as well.

 

Could be nothing, but you are sure you reconnected the engine ground strap that I assume was removed to get the super charger off?

How are you checking the voltage to the starter?

 

I just spoke with my mechanic, he said the ground strap was reconnected. He's using a test light on the starter and isn't seeing any power. So we're digging to see what could cause the starter to not receive power when all of the interior is. Could the FRM do that? With the water running down the driver's side could that have corroded something in the electronics?

 

Two items, first, if you have another key, try it. If still no luck, and assuming you have a stick, I would jump the clutch switch and see if you have power to the starter.

 

I do not have a second key unfortunately, bought the car used in 2011 with just the one. When my mechanic had initially put it on his lift he'd had a few moments where the starter received power, in those moments it would briefly attempt to start. He also tried to attach a magnet to the clutch switch to see if that would help, and nothing.

 

Some of the fuses in my frm have corrosion on them. It seems like it's worth buying a replacement from ebay or somewhere rather than going through and cleaning/replacing fuses. Does that item need to be flashed to work with my car or is it plug and play?

 

I think I'd do the simple stuff first.

If the starter occasionally gets voltage, I'd check the ground straps again. There are 9 in various places & a thread here somewhere that lists them
But the critical ones are the battery ground & the one under the right side engine mount, both easily accessible. They need to be sanded down, clean, bright & tight. MINIs are very sensitive to simple ground issues.

The clutch switch is presumably above the high tide mark, but if you can get at the plug, I'd pull it & put a jumper wire (paper clip) across the terminals - I'm not sure how a 'magnetic' switch works.

If the electronic boxes in the footwell got wet, you might be able to see dampness or corrosion if you look carefully. Some folks have had good luck with a hair dryer.

 

I spoke with my mechanic this morning, he said that after a few initial trys where the starter would get a bit of signal it did not get any afterwards. Could that grounding straps cause it to receive no power? The footwell module was definitely a bit crusty looking yea, but everything i've read about that says it would cause gremlins inside the car, rather than an issue with the starter.

 

So this was what was was pulled from the driver's footwell. All of the images of the FRM don't seem to look like this. Is this a different item?