I bought a 2003 Mini for my GF to drive when she's up here in the great white north. The previous owner stated it had a bad starter. With the key in the ignition and turned to start (or on) everything works, but the car would not turn over. The car does chime/ding when the key is held near the ignition. I noticed that the key will not lock or unlock the doors but the back hatch does lock and unlock off the key and the park lights light up when the button on the key is pressed. If I hold the button down for a couple of seconds both windows roll down.
I replaced the starter yesterday and upon trying to start the car....nothing. I still had the heat shield off of the starter so I jumped the solenoid to the starter with the key on. The car fired immediately and ran/drove great...... with the exception of a thump in the passenger CV joint (that will be a separate thread....lol). I reset the ECU as per instructions on the forum and that made no difference. Still no starter engagement.
I've read a bit on the forum about the clutch sensor. Could this be the issue? Another possible relevant point related to this is it's difficult to shift into 1st and 2nd. If the clutch needed bleeding, would this effect the clutch sensor and my starting issue. Any advice/comments would be appreciated. I don't think my GF will enjoy reaching around a hot exhaust to install the starter jumper.

Thanks in advance.

Allan

 

Before digging further, make sure the batt is tested fine. The clutch switch doesn't affect the clutch function at all. It's just a separate safety feature.
I don't wanna speculate, but your key's remote functions seem to be erratic. That might be a sign of either a bad batt or a BC1 module fault. The latter might be helped by a BC1 reprogram from the dealership. Hopefully, you won't need to replace that $500 part. BC1 controls all electrical controls of the car, so the starter issue might be rooted from there. BC1s are known to be allergic to water. With our cars, this occurence isn't rare. Have the dealership look at it.
I know I wasn't much help. When it comes to our cars electronics, we're pretty much at the mercy of the dealership or BMW MINI independent shops. Hope you get it sorted.

 

Thanks for the reply! I should have mentioned in the initial post that the battery was DEAD when I got the car so I've already installed a new battery.
One thing I didn't mention is the door locks don't work off of the dash switch either.... if that means anything.

Thanks again.

Allan

 

Check the fuses....bit of a long shot...maybe they are related due to a relay? Check for a wet carpet on the pax side/sidwall...that is where the bcm is...biggest enemy there is water.. Typically sunroof drains or replacement windshields that leak....
Also, few folks have had the ignition switch fail....
But hard to isolate that from a clutch safety switch sensors...
The clutch safety switch is a "halls effect" switch, not just simple open/closed switch....so I have not heard of a good way to test it for a home mechanic....
Good luck...at least you get the "ding" with the key so the ews/antitheft system appears to be ok....