Not used to posting in car forums so I apologize in advance if I leave out something/break some rules.

I have a 2011 Mini Cooper (I think R60, that's what the diagnostic tool says) and have loved it and taken care of it as best I can for 4 years. Last year the fuel gauge stopped working, sometimes it would drop to zero on a full tank or just whenever it felt like it. I was in college at the time and didn't have the money/time to work on it and it ran fine otherwise so I am just now getting around to fixing it. I took it in to the dealership to get diagnosed and they quoted me about $5,000 to repair it so I just figured I'd do as much as I could on my own.

Since then, I have replaced the entire fuel pump assembly, as most people with similar problems on the internet said this worked. The only thing that changed is that afterwards the gauge never detected any fuel whatsoever and just sat at empty permanently instead of only dropping intermittently. My next step was to get the ECU tested, so took it out I sent it to ecutesting.com, and they said there was nothing wrong with it and sent it back. After putting it back in, now the car doesn't even turn over. I'm 99% certain I reinstalled it correctly because each plug only fits in one slot and I labeled them previously, so unless it's more complicated than just plugging everything back in I don't think I missed anything. I also replaced the battery, still doesn't turn over.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated, I feel as though I've tried everything I can find on the internet and nothing has shown improvement.

P.S. I have also seen in some forums some people mentioning that the fuel gauge and window issues can spring from the same electrical issue, as a side note around the same time the fuel gauge issue arose my rear 2 windows will only roll down/up an inch or so at a time, then the button has to be depressed and pressed again for another inch, and so on.

 

Is it just a mini cooper? Or is it a mini cooper countryman? R60 refers to the countryman 4 door model for a specific model year range. I think there are other 4 door models that may have different designators, but I'm not familiar with them.

Sorry to hear about your troubles, these cars can be immensely frustrating at times, as fun as they are to drive.

It would be helpful if you provide more information. "...car doesn't even turn over." isn't a lot to go on. Do all the gauges/lights/radio/etc. still come up normally? Are there any clicking noises when you attempt to start it, like the starter solenoid even trying? Any fault codes (I'd imagine there are a whole bunch).

I imagine there is a procedure for removing the ecu regarding the battery being dis/connected for the sake of odd voltage problems. These cars are extremely sensitive to weird voltages, namely low battery voltages. So something bad could've happened there. It's also in the realm of possibility you had the wrong ecu sent back to you, unlikely, but perhaps possible.

 

Thanks for the response!
I believe it is a countryman.
I have confirmed it is my ECU by the serial number.
When I insert the key fob, the dash lights come on, and quite a few warning lights that weren't there before (tire pressure, power steering, ABS, etc.) The radio works and the dashcam plugged in my cigarette lighter powers on. After pressing the start button, the car will "kchckchchkchkch" (that's the technical term) and then just quit trying to start the engine after about 10-15 seconds. Pressing the gas will make it stop instantly if that's relevant

I attempted trying to use the diagnostic tool, but it wouldn't even detect the VIN to start the diagnostic process. Before, to do the diagnostics I had the car idling, so I'm not sure if it's required for the engine to be running for the tool to work. It's been about 10 degrees F the past week so I haven't been very thorough checking things on it in my eagerness to go back inside lol.

 

how long was the ECU out of the car, have tried charging the battery or jumping it, it will not start if the voltage is not at a minimum of 12 volts

 

It was out for about 2 weeks.
Update: The weather cleared up and I tried to run diagnostics on the car and the new battery was completely dead. I tried jumping it and the car still wouldn't turn over. No lights or anything was left on that would drain the battery, but I suspect that something in the electrical systems might have run it down. The battery was under warranty so I got a new one but don't want to connect it just yet for fear of it being drained again.

 

Please be careful with your jump start attempts. It's WAY safer to take the time to charge up a battery and try to start that way. I killed my footwell module from low/inconsistent voltage when jumping from a battery operated jump box a handful of times in one day. You don't want to burn other things up at this point, while trying to diagnose.

Good call on waiting for new battery. Not a bad idea to put a maintenance charger on it when you do, at least while you're working on it. Might not be an option where/how you live, but it is good advice if you can. You may need to start considering hunting down parasitic draws on the battery. This can be a real pain in the rump, but might actually help solve the original underlying problem as well. In any event, I really think you want a full battery charge (with or without a charger attached) before attempting another start. As an aside, you can always undo the battery connections when you're not diagnosing, to preserve the battery charge while it is just sitting. Only take a few seconds to do.

When it makes the fancy technical noise, the engine does not sound like it is still not cranking? Original post said the starter is NOT turning the engine over, just want to confirm.

 

Hey guys update for anyone who runs across this thread, I ended up taking it into a shop and the mechanic said it was the footwell JBE/junction box whatever you wanna call it. He said he runs into this issue pretty often in Minis and just replaced the unit and the car runs fine now.

 

Yep, classic failure mode. Glad you got it sorted.

 

Thanks for coming back to provide the solution.