As the title says, the car cranks, but won't start.

Details: 2007 MCS w @ 55K miles, manual, pushbutton start.

Took it out of service for several months while I was deciding what to do.

Decided to do low cost fix, simply replace leaking thermostat and a couple of associated cooling hoses that looked like they needed it.

Took alot of pictures and labeled all the connections so when I put it back together everything went it the right place.

Results: disconnected fuel pump fuse and wires to coil packs to make sure I had oil circulating to engine before attempting to start it -- no problem there. Reconnected everything prior to attempt to start.

First attempt to start, it tried to catch, but didn't and no luck at all on subsequent multiple tries. After thorough searching on these forums I found some really helpful information and identified fuel pump as a potential issues. Fuel pump fuse is ok. The quick whine is missing upon unlocking and opening the door and jumping the connections in the fuel pump relay does not result in any fuel pump noise either.

Weirdness:
1) The fuel pump relay is gets warm whether or not the key is in the ignition
2) The control circuit to the fuel pump relay shows 12 v whether or not the key is in the ignition or not -- I don't think this is right.
3) Here is my newest treat: The wipers turn themselves on upon insertion of the key. Pulling both wiper fuses does nothing to defeat this new "auto wipe upon key insertion" feature.
4) My OBD II code reading doesn't connect no matter what the key fob status in the slot (not in, in & pre-start, out & post-start attempt)

My diagnosis is that somehow the computer for the car has lost its marbles. A trip to a Mini dealer, not desired, seems to be my only recourse.

Unless of course, one of you has any suggestions

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Closure: It really was the battery after all. Here's the problem in a nutshell, apparently when the battery is weak the mini computers lose their minds. When the computers lose their minds, everything goes haywire. In my case, It dumped so much fuel into my cylinders, the car wouldn't start and this fuel also washed away any oil helping to seal the cylinder walls upon attempted ignition. Then, even once I connected the jump start battery charger system to my battery, the computer was still not functioning correctly and I already had the problem with way too much fuel in the cylinders (liked pooled on top of the pistons too much fuel). The mess of confusing things that happens make it pretty hard to troubleshoot. Once I reached the point where when I inserted the keyfob into the slot; the wipers immediatley turned themselves on; and there was no way to shut the wipers off, I knew I was finished. I had it towed to a mini dealer who had no problem making it all work to the tune of more money than I'd like to admit.

My advice: 1) If your batter is close to 5 years old, replace it immediately to avoid the computer problems that will take you down along dark tunnel with no obvious exit in troublehsooting.
2) If you take your car out of commission for any amount of time, check the battery and make sure it is fresh and strong before you try to reconnect it to the car. I my case I still had the original (7 year old) battery and had trickle charged it -- even the little "peep-hole" was green. Nonetheless, the battery was the original cuprit of my fiasco.

Car is running fine again, though at a much greater cost than i would have liked. the farside had nailed it on his very first post to me, but I thought I knew better. If you read this post, don't make my same expensive mistake. Load test and replace that battery first thing! Good luck.

 

Battery is my guess. Did you have a trickle charger on it during the months the car was disabled? If not the battery is likely sulphated - that translates to terminal voltage too low for the electronics to function - according to other posts these cars seem sensitive to low voltage conditions and then exhibit the type of electrical gremlins you've described.

To rectify:
1) remove the battery and charge it (remove ground strap first! Then positive cable)
2) Take battery and have it load tested - most battery stores will do this for free
3) Step 1 will also reset your ECU, which might be a contributor(guessing here)

Peter

 

thefarside, I appreciate the input!

Yes, I did all that. I had the battery on a trickle charger and also tried to start while attached to another battery charger with start function, just in case battery was an issue. Even cleaned up the battery terminals before reconnect.

I will go re-run your suggestions before giving up and calling the dealer.

Thank you!

 

yep. just did that again and no help. Dealer time!

 

Have you tried a new battery? Your current may be too old to hold a sufficient charge. If it's not the battery, you can take the new one back. May be cheaper than going to the dealer, it'll also let you know if it is the battery or not.

 

These Mini's do act very strange when the battery is dying and all sorts of weird electrical behavior, your battery may have the voltage but may be low in how much current (CCA) it can handle. Cost of new battery cost about as much as a Mini diagnostic fee.

 

Try using old fashioned set of jumper wires or a jump box. The DME goes into "protection mode" if current not sufficient.

A/F/S = Air / Fuel / Spark.

Back track and double check your work.

GL !!

 

Hi Folks, Yes I did all your suggestions as I found when I did some searching prior. Nothing seemed to work. Its in the dealers's hands now

 

Added closure at the end of the original post -- hopefully this will same someone some $ in the future.

 

Wow, I'm just glad I traded in my 2007 WITH original battery in April before it went out.

 

Batteries, wish they'd all just die. Wait...

 

This is just bad programming that a car loses its mind because of a battery...

When my mother died, I went to FL to close out things. Her 1987 Olds hadn't been started in a year. Replaced the battery, crank but no start. Had it towed to her local mechanic. The GM C3 computer system simply forgot who it was, since the battery had been dead for so long. Mechanic simply cranked and cranked till system figured out the crank sensor, which then told the injectors and spark to operate. Car started and operated normally till I sold it a few days later.

 

Reviving this older post in the hopes that the original posters or someone else can help. I am in a nearly identical situation as rocketrich in the original post in this thread. Mine's an 09 JCW hatch with about 60K mi. Short story - did a bunch a work on the car in my garage. After it's all back together, cranks but doesn't start. Found this thread. Got a new battery. No change.

I had intended to just get my turbo rebuilt, along with replacing the oil lines and the cat. But I also noticed an oil drip which turned out to be coming from the 2 small vacuum lines that connect to the plastic vacuum tank. They had swollen with oil and come off the nipples. so I replaced the lines. To get to them I had to take the intake manifold off so I got new gaskets for that. Why is oil in the vacuum lines? Well then I also replaced the valve cover. Finally I did the oil pan sealant since it was seeping a bit. I tried to be diligent about labeling connectors and taking pics. I don't think I have anything misconnected but I know that's always possible.

One last unfortunate thing - I had stupidly forgotten to disconnect the battery when I was removing the cat shield and it shorted the alternator power terminal with a spark. Thinking of that, I checked all the fuses and they look ok.

I hear the fuel pump when opening the door. When it cranks I smell gas but I don't see anything dripping. I pulled the plugs and they don't look wet. I suspect it's flooded, though. Is there a way to get the fuel to drain out of the cylinders?

My OBDII reader doesn't read the codes off this car. It's old - do newer work with the Mini's? Maybe someone in the greater Baltimore MD area might have one I could borrow?

Hoping for some good insights. Into this for more than I bargained for but I really don't want to have to tow it to the shop.

 

Hello hntsmith,

You absolutely need to get a spark tester and confirm that you HAVE spark.

I had this identical issue of "cranks but no start" after pulling the S/C off my '06 R53 Cooper S and it came down to a STUPID mistake on my part....not FULLY re-connecting the = 2nd/additional ground wire = to the ground post that's on the DRIVER's side of the MINI.

So, the difference here is I've got a 1st gen MINI (R53) and you've got the 2nd gen (2007 model) - but, I would imagine you'll find the BIG ground post on the passenger side of the car (right next to the upper engine mount) and there's a 2nd one - on the DRIVER's side, too!

And, your issue is potentially more than "just that" due to the spark you encountered in not disconnecting the battery - but, I think what you can take away from my reply is = CHECK FOR SPARK.

That is your absolute "next step" for sure.

You can get a spark plug tester at any auto parts store for $10 bucks......

Then, in terms of what I would do if I were in your shoes.....I would probably replace the alternator due to the spark issue as it might have fried it (you never know).

Give the spark tester a shot and I'll cross my fingers that you DO NOT have spark - which will then lead you to the IDENTICAL solution I needed which was.....hmmm, no spark......then, maybe I have a BAD GROUND?

That's what allowed me to find the "half-way connected" 2nd ground connection nut (which all I had to do is screw it ALL the way down on the ground post) and my R53 = Fired RIGHT UP!

Good Luck & Hope this Helps you!

 

homestudiomusician - thanks. I'll definitely check for spark. Anyone have a suggestion for a specific spark tester? I bought one I think at AdvanceAuto but it doesn't work with the deep socket plugs and coil pack.

Also I found a little note in the Bentley (page 130-38 Fuel Injection) in a paragraph on Throttle housing removing and installing - is says,
"A MINI scan tool is required to set throttle plate adaptation. If the adaptation process is not completed correctly, the engine does not start."

Anyone know anything about throttle plate adaptation?

 

Well mystery solved. I took the car to a local expert shop who has all the same scan tools as the Mini dealers. Turns out no codes were thrown. After crawling around the car for a day and a half, they finally checked compression and found it low. He oiled the cylinders and it started right up. Apparently, not running for 6 weeks or so and then a little flooding when first starting it washed out the oil seal on the cylinders and they lost compression. Now the car runs great.

I have to give kudos to this shop. They only charged me a diagnostic fee - not even close to an hourly charge for the time. Benchmark Motors in Columbia MD. Good people.