First time posting. Also new mini owner and not the most knowledgable about cars. Any helpon this topic wwould be a life saver. My mini is my only form of transportation also I want to solve this problem to shove it in the faces of people saying to buy American.

Yesterday my mini wouldnt start. It wouldnt even make the clicking noisr it does when the battery is dead. Nothing. After many jumps it still wouldnt work. Eventually I stumbled upon some hanging wires under the steering wheel. I ownly saw two black wires... so I connected them and attempted a start. It made a new noise (maybe an attempt to rollover) then the wipers turned on and wouldnt turn off even when i adjusted the lever. also an icon on the tach computer appeared. It was a yellow gear with an exclamation point (gear shift lock?). That failed attempt blew the ignition fuse. Afterwards I looked closer and found that I had actually connect 2 of 3 wires (I dont know which ones because they had been tangled in a mess of spliced wires) the three different wires had actually been whit, red, and black. Someone once had added maybe a car starter? And spliced different color wires together.

Long story short there. Sorry for the wordiness.. but someone added something after market and then removed it and reconnected the wires. I must have knocked those wires loose with my foot with I think led to the start problems. After replacing the 40a start stop fuse and reconnecting the white wire (note: the red wire wasnt severed, someone had just connected another wire to the red wire in the main harness) and the black is just dangling there connected to a bolt). I I tried starting the car. It turned on and sputtered off after about 5-10 seconds. And it happens exactly the same way every time. I am however able to hold the gas down to keep it running however long I want but as soon as I let go it sputters off. I had a mechanic friend check the engine light that came on and it says its failure to communicate with tcm. Im having a hard time believing this is transmission related... I only have two guesses... the black wire is important (even though I cant find where it would be connected to) or the battery got fried after being abused from repeated jumps and isnt giving enough voltage to the fuel pump. I dont want to just buy a battery if this isnt a logical fix. If anyone has any input it is amazingly appreciated because I cant afford to go to the dealership:(

P.s. its a push to start automatic.

 

white wire located above the hood open lever. Right next to the obd port.

random ground wire. Possibly this was installed aftermarket

the red wire that they connected a back wire to

 

I'm incensed that someone would butcher the wiring on a perfectly good MINI and then sell it to someone that way. If you don't know whom you are buying from you better beware. Also if you can't afford to maintain the car perhaps you should not have purchased it. One suggestion is if you can't afford a battery, buy a charger/maintainer for $30. You will need it with your MINI. You'll need to connect with someone who can look at that wiring and try to determine what had been done and what wiring is open at this point. Good luck!

 

That's screwed up, you just purchased someone elses problem. Electrical problems can sometimes be more costly than mechanical problems, if I had my Mini (auto collision repair) I could compare my wiring to yours and give you some idea of where those wires go. Perhaps someone else could pitch in that could offer assistance.

I had my footwell module go bad ($1000) because of a third party alarm that was installed on my Mini, I had the installer completely remove the wiring harness and put it back to stock.

Sorry about your troubles.

 

I got the car from a fairly reputable dealer (two months ago before my financial situation literally got cut in half...) and unfortunately since Ithink the problem actually arose from the fact that I think I kicked that wiring mess the dealership probably wont own up to it. Thanks for both of your input and what did you mean by "maintainer". And systemlord thats a great suggestion if anyone coukd offer a comparison picture or atleast input on if they have that ground wire at all or if that part is aftermarket. Otherwise im probably just going rude the bus to the dealership and look at the wiring of the cars in the lot. Lol.

While im at it... im finding things all over the internet that make me think possibly resetting the ecu could be helpful with my bad start. Does anyone know how to do that with a 2009 push to start ignition?

 

I got the car from a fairly reputable dealer (two months ago before my financial situation literally got cut in half...) and unfortunately since Ithink the problem actually arose from the fact that I think I kicked that wiring mess the dealership probably wont own up to it. Thanks for both of your input and what did you mean by "maintainer". And systemlord thats a great suggestion if anyone coukd offer a comparison picture or atleast input on if they have that ground wire at all or if that part is aftermarket. Otherwise im probably just going rude the bus to the dealership and look at the wiring of the cars in the lot. Lol.

While im at it... im finding things all over the internet that make me think possibly resetting the ecu could be helpful with my bad start. Does anyone know how to do that with a 2009 push to start ignition?

 

One thing is for sure, that reputable dealer sold that MCS to you without properly inspecting the Mini. You might get an attorney if this dealer stiffs you on this wiring issue, dealers play ball when backed into a corner with even a bluff of legal action. If their as reputable as you say they are they should take care of you, mention to them that you're anxious forum members are interested in their response to this matter. The internet is a powerful weapon!

 

I compared the wiring to a 2010 at dealership and everything that I have actually hooked up is the same so thats no longer the problem. But now whenever I try to replace the blown 15a gear shaped fuse (the gear shift selector lock) it instantly blows the fuse... and thats with the car being off does anyone know why that might happen? Im probably going to be taking the car to the mini of grand rapids for the $300 diagnosis on Monday if I cant figure out whats going on. P.s. I replaced the battery and it has not solved the problem. It only made the car idle slightly longer before it shuts off.

 

There shouldn't be a any wiring anywhere near you feet that would even give you a chance to damage wiring unless somebody did that for you, I'm betting this is why it was traded in to begin with. It's easy for someone to simply trade in there fu**ed up car toward another car, didn't the dealer inspect the car thoroughly? I guess not.

 

A maintainer is an automated battery charger that adjusts its output so that the battery does not overcharge. It pulses to keep the battery at the proper voltage. Everyone that owns a car needs to have one of these. If you are away for a couple of weeks its best to put the battery on the maintainer to keep it up to proper voltage. Lots of people have been having issues with their MINI keeping its battery charged fully. The maintainer will provide the charge that the MINI system won't. Of course you'll need to have access to a 110V power supply to plug the maintainer in.

 

Where does that black wire in the last picture go to? It's odd that someone would connect a ground wire right in the footwell like that. Seems like whatever it was connected to would get in the way of the pedals.

You're popping fuses because you have a short somewhere. Some place the wiring is grounding when it shouldn't be. It could be a cut wire.

Did the non-start issue randomly start one day?

A trip to the dealer might be your best bet although I would try to find a local guy first. $300 for a diagnosis seems a bit steep.

 

Your best bet is to try and track down where that white wire goes.

I would try to remove as much of that aftermarket wiring mess as possible, then re-insulate any open wiring with electrical tape.

But first off, call your dealership that you bought the car from, and ask to speak with a manager. There should be a 3 month/3000 mile warranty on the car at the bare minimum to take care of BS issues like this. Either the previous owner caused this issue with an aftermarket install, or the dealer you bought the car from caused it by hastily removing whatever the previous owner had installed.

 

Seriously I can't believe a dealer sold you a car with a short, go back to where you bought the car and ask to speak with the manager. If you tell the deal you already had it inspected by someone else they will blame the short on them, tell them no one else has even looked at it!