I picked up a 2003 base mini cooper, and this cable is under the dash, looks like a red and black (im assuming a power and ground) from it has been cut, and grounded and then cut into another wire with voltage on it. My question is, what exactly is this cable and where does it go? i cannot get it to start without the jumping the starter over. i have voltage everywhere its supposed to be, no check engine lights on. the key will turn everything on, but when i go to crank it nothing happens, nothing. now i have checked the relays, the fuses, and after i crank it that time, i can jump the starter and it will start right up and run perfect. i have checked the wire to the starter and it isn’t damaged, but i can’t seem to help but think it is something to do with this wire. The guy i purchased from said that it just stopped trying to start, but i found several things he done to it, so i dont much believe that, but i’m at a loss, the closest mini dealer to me is almost 5 hours away, so that really isn’t an option. I have been driving it by jumping the starter over (not alot, just every couple days to be able to keep the battery charged). But is there anyone else that’s had this problem, or could at least tell me where this wiring goes to possibly. Any help would be appreciated.

 

I don't think I have ever seen a wire like that in my Base.

 

i cant seem to find any information about it either.

 

It doesn't look factory to me but I'm not a expert on these cars either.

 

I agree with ChiefM; I don't think it looks factory. But, I could also be wrong.

 

If you follow the wire, does it go through the firewall and into the engine bay? It looks like the wiring harness for the tow lights that I have (I flat tow mine)

 

it goes up under the dash, but i cant see it coming out anywhere in the firewall, so im not sure where it goes to. I have been trying to work on it some in the evenings, but i have 5 year old twins, so most of my evening is tied up with them.

 

It looks like a trailer wiring harness to me.

 

inwill have to look around and see if i can find the other end of it. Its a very small clip and wires, i wouldnt think that a trailering wire would be that small. But i also dont know much about that either, and about absolutely nothing on minis.

 

I still dont know what that harness goes to, but i do believe that i have found my issue, im hopinh anyways. Ive been doing some temporary splicing on it to see if this is the issue or not, if it is, everntually i will get a new harness, but for now, this will have to work, lol

 

yikes!

 

yea, my thoughts exactly, lol

 

well, i finally traced this down and figured out what it goes to, it is under the dash to this black box thing. Anyone know what this is? Im thinking maybe like a kill switch if bought from a used lot and they didnt pay, they could kill the computer maybe? Or what do you guys think?

 

looked it up, its a gps tracker, must have been installed by a car lot or something. Its disconnected and taken out of the car now. Glad that it didnt go to anything of great importance. Makes me feel alot better.

 

that looks like what i found in mine

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post4613395

 

i will have to try mine out and see. I have it out there, i just disconnected it all and removed it. No reason for it to be there anymore. I have the title clear and already in my name.


My wiring harmess clip in the above pictures fixed several issues, all but the starting problem, im starting to think it could be either the key or key switch, because i have literally checked pretty much everything else on the car. Since fixing that connector though, now my dome lights and dash lights work correctly, all of my switches work now, my temperature is reading correctly now, my door locks work, the controls on the back of the steering wheel work correctly. Also it seems to rum a little but smoother, oh and i can turn my stability control on and off now, it was just staying off all the time. So, even though it didnt fix the issue i was hoping it would, it did fix alot of other smaller issues that i was dreading trying to fix, so all in all for $1300 its not been to bad.

 

oh yea, that **** came out as soon as i saw it on mine.

i'm new to these cars, but have learned quickly that the electrical and charging system really needs to be 100%.

 

so am i, so i freaked a little when i seen the other end of it just hanging under the dash spliced down to a power source and grounded, lol

 

Yep!
That IS exactly what that is.
Glad you you found it and extricated that intrusive little bugger!!!

 

So, here is whats going on, that i still cannot seem to figure out what it is. I have a push button starter wired to it so i can start it after i do this, starts right up, runs perfect, not lights on the dash, relays are testing good, took earth grounds off, sanded them, checked resistance on all of them. Found the corroded module, repaired it, still no solution. Maybe someone else has seen this, ive looked through the threads here and the only one i found close said their grounds were corroded, they fixed them and solved the problem. Ive added a video

 

Well appearantly, the video didnt upload. Anyome know how to fet a video iploaded?

 

you can post it to youtube and set it as private / only accessible with a link. then post the link here.

 

i actually got it fixed, i dont have an account with you tube, so i dunno if i can upload to it without one. Im not a great big you tube person.

 

Some low level fruit setting all those disturbing clipped wire pictures aside for the moment
>OBDII codes readout
>try the other key if there is one
>bad clutch switch if it's a manual car