Anyone experienced this problem and overcome it?

I have a 2003 Mini Cooper S, chili red. 122k
It looses power to the gauges and the engine at the same time at the end of a 30-45 minute drive while at a dead stop going into reverse.
The key fob locks and unlocks the doors and can normally start the engine.

1st time happened when I passed a parking space at work and went to reverse. I liked to never get it to come back alive.
Went to lunch having forgotten about the 1 time problem. No problems.

2nd time was when I got home and put it into reverse to back into my drive.
Next day, drove to the grocery store, parked, got groceries, put it into reverse and went home and backed into the garage. No problems.

3rd time was at work when I attempted to drive off for lunch. Remote unlocks the doors, but can't make the gauges or the engine run.
Coworker suggested adjusting the Tilt wheel which I never mess with.

4th time. So as I was leaving work to go home on the same day it didn't start for lunch, I had no gauge power and couldn't start the engine. dome light works.
I adjusted the tilt and I got the gauges to come alive. I drove all the way home.

Pulled up in front of my house. Came to a complete stop. Turned off the radio. Put in into reverse to back into the garage. 5th time.
The exterior lights were still on. Fooled with the tilt again and I was able to get the gauges and the engine to come back.

Next day, went to the grocery store with no problems. Put it in reverse several times to see if I could get it to die.
Adjusted the tilt while the gauges and engine were working. Still nothing happened.

Next day, drove around until the temp gauge went to normal op temp.
Pulled into the driveway (in reverse), fooled with the tilt aggressively. Nothing happened.
Connected my laptop and checked current and pending codes. Clean. Cleared them just for fun.
I warmed it up enough so that the radiator fan went to high speed with the A/C off, but it was only a 10 minute drive.

I also tried a different key. No problems.
I also tried my really old key where I pulled the guts (including the RFID chip) and put it into a new fob.
Key without the RFID turns on the gauges but doesn't start the engine as I expected.

When it dies, it does it at the end of a drive. The engine dies and the gauges die at the same time.
The 2 keys with the good RFID chip and 5 year old batteries still lock and unlock the car.
I have not disassembled the steering column yet nor have I thought about what switches are activated when I go into reverse.

I just checked and the reverse light works. doesn't seem to be shorted out.
Also, when the gauges and the engine die and I get the gauges to come alive again, I can always easily start the engine. It just needs the power that the gauges need.

I assume that using a key without a transponder/RFID chip successfully tested the Immobilizer EWS<-->ECM functionality.
As the key turns on the gauges, which I assume also powers up the EWS and ECM. and the EWS can't read the transponder code from the RFID and then refuses access to the Engine Start circuit.
So using a key without a proper coded RFID is like using a good key trying to start the engine without the clutch in.

 

The first thing I would do is check your ground strap at the engine to frame, make sure it's tight and has clean connections on the ends

Now, what I would do is first take off the knee bolster panel under the steering column, either put it in the back seat or the trunk and leave it there until the problem is fixed....from the sound of your post, it "seems like" the issue is related to the moving of the tilt column, which means wires and connections under there are possibly being "broken" by moving the steering column.....what I mean by "broken" is the electrical path, not the wire or connector itself.......for the next step, a helper may prove useful here....have them sit in the passenger seat while engine is running.....now you have to poke around under the dash around the steering column and try to move wires and things around under there to see if you can get the gauges to fail or the engine to die.....you won't get shocked buy messing with anything under there....it's all just 12v power.....

Intermittent electrical issues are the worst......you may have to attempt poking and pulling things under the dash more than once, or twice.....

It sounds like a wire may be broken inside, or a connector is corroded or has come loose......move the tilt column up & down and see if you can notice any wires or connectors that are moving at the same time......that's where I would start

Bryan

 

It was either the overflow tank leaking water down the aluminum heat shield and shorting out the wires to reverse OR
the battery was really really low.

I replaced the overflow tank and charged up the battery.
No problems since. Now I'll put the column all back together.

 

if the battery was "really low".....why wasn't the alternator charging it up??

 

I did a 'quick check' where I measured the battery voltage with the key off and with the engine running. It is charging.

I have several cars that I swap between an I guess I forgot that I hadn't driven it for a while.
I either drive them twice per week or I put them on a charger.
When I put a battery charger on, I pay attention to the voltage and the percent charged. The lower the initial percentage & voltage, the shorter the battery life has left (my theory).
Other cars started at 89%, 75%, 56%, 46%. I let them charge to 100% and note how much time it takes to charge it.
The Mini had previously started at 56%. Since I was driving it two days in a row, I didn't have it on the charger.

After trying to see if water from the cracked overflow tank could be shorting the reverse wires. really weird things started happening.
The park lights went to half intensity and started blinking really fast. The radio would go silent and then back on.
I tried to roll down the power window and the window motor started going on and off really fast like the park lights.
I turned off the key and took it out. I put the charger on it and noted that it was at 0%.
It took charging it every other day for 3 or 4 hours for 2 weeks until I could get the battery to start at 75% and charge to 100% within 30 minutes to an hour.
I haven't driven it or charged it (my bad) for 4 days since I drove it 2 days in a row without charging it.
I put the charger on just now and it started at 64% but went up to 100% almost immediately (weird). I recently dropped the charger. It might be lying.
It's lying. other battery charger says 60% initially and has now gone up to 64% in three minutes.
I just have to not forget to charge it occasionally. At some point it might not take a charge.