Help!!! I'm running out of money.
 

Why is my Mini Cooper not starting? It only happens at night and morning when the temperature is lower, and I live in Southern California. All the lights and music come on but it wont even crank or try and turn over. I put a brand new battery in, brand new spark plugs, a newly refurbished starter, and tested the alternator out which is fine. Still nothing in the evenings and morning. During the day it works just fine. It is a 2003 A/T.

Co2 or air sensor malfunction?

Man I hope you had other reasons for throwing those parts at it.

Very likely that there is a sensor going haywire during cool or damp conditions.

Multiple sensors go into the fuel mapping in our cars. My guess would be possible faulty coolant temp sensor. For that to not read correct it would not know that your engine is at cold start and requiring more fuel. Possible bad MAP sensor or crank sensor, etc etc etc.

Have you scanned for faults? Autozone does free OBD scans if you don't have a tool to do so. If you don't have a digital multimeter or know how to check basic resistances and voltage drops then you'd probably be better off just dishing out the $130 or so to have a MINI specialist shop diagnose it. Certainly would've been cheaper than what I can imagine you have already spent on the parts you've already listed.

Hopefully you catch a break with something.

Matt, where are you located? There are two good independent MINI mechanics, one in OC and one in Thous. Oaks. They can help you and they won't overcharge you for it.

What's the mileage. Symtom might point to fuel delivery/ignition problems instead of temp. Trial & error DIY FIXES are best done by elimination from easy maintenance items to more complex/costlier 1s. Try checking these suspects:
1.ignition terminal cleaning
2. Replace Plugs/wires
3. Fuel filter
4. Fuel pressure/pulse regulator by the ignition rail.

If you could have it checked, better. I'm just passing on wisdom from good MINI Samaritans. I could be wrong,though.

I live in Los Angeles, was going to go to the Mini Dealership in North Hollywood tomorrow even though I know the price is going to be outrageous. JoanieB where is the one in Thousand Oaks?

Scott at Motoring Magic... http://www.motoringmagic.us/
He's a great guy and a member of SCMM, and he can help you.

Good luck!

Folks....read the op...
failure to crank has nothing to do with fuel delevery or sparkplugs...or even any other sensor...
failure to cank is from a few things...bad starter...replaced, or lack of power...seems to have been checked.....
things to check are a few diyers...look at the battery cable and ground wires..(safe to say battery/alternator checks were done early on).....but i fear the engine imoblizer or engine computer is most likely. This might have been one case where a few $ spent on a pro might have saved much more $$$, along with time and frustration.

Ah good point zippy. I misread the op.

If you have a manual trans could be clutch pedal switch. If auto trans could be faulty prndl switch not reading that the lever is in either park or neutral to allow crank.

As others have stated could be immobilizer or ECU as well. Without check engine light or faults itll be difficult to diagnose. Hopefully where you take it to has luck finding it before you go bust.

Zippy you make a great point. I will be visiting a pro tomorrow and hopefully find out the problem. Ill let you guys know.

Turns out I needed a new ignition switch.

I take that back. MiniCorsa misdiagnosed me and car is still not working. Good thing I saw a mini specialist.

Well, Matt, you did see a good specialist... so give them a chance to work further at it. It would be very surprising if they don't get it figured out. Not everything gets fixed on the first try.

Thing is, I dont have the money to keep getting different things replaced.

Hopefully this gets settled out!

Matt, did you tell MINI Corsa that their repair didn't solve the issue? I can't imagine that they would charge you again, until they had another chance to work on it. Intermittent electrical problems can be a real bear to track down, but with all that you have replaced, there must be a solution soon.

I fixed a car recently that ended up being an ignition switch malfunction. It could also be related to the EWS system, which is constantly sending codes from the module to your key, and if the codes dont match, the computer will not allow the vehicle to start. I would be willing to bet, that if you have already replaced all that other stuff, its your ignition switch more likely than the EWS module. Good luck with your car man. If the dealer cant fix it, or they give you some rediculous answer or try to charge you 5 million dollars to fix your car...please call me. I will help you out for about half of the dealers cost. Only thing that sucks about working with me, im in Riverside lol. Shoot me an email if needed, because I am not always on this site. Good luck with your car bud.

-Daniel

whoooops lol thats what I get for not reading the whole post. scrolled up like 4 or 5 posts and saw you replaced the ignition switch. dang...wish I coulda got to you earlier. feel free to contact me next time before anyone touches your car, whether you take it to me or not, i will give you my honest opinion.