Last Monday, my MINI wouldn't start. Just cranked away then gave up. A few hours later, it barely turned over, then quit. I tried to jump it, which had no effect. Then, on last attempt, it turned over and started and ran, though roughly. It was good enough to drive to the mechanic, though I thought I might stall a few times.

Naturally, at the mechanic, it started right up, though was still running roughly. He hooked it up to his computer, and noticed the coolant temp was showing 144F though the car really hadn't been running long. He let the car cool down, then looked at the data again, and the coolant temp was still showing 144.

Replace the coolant temp sensor ($35) and all was good to go. Apparently, the ECU was thinking the car was hot enough to run a lean mixture, and it wasn't rich enough to start. It was probably acting up recently, since I noticed a little difference on the butt dyno.

I was a little surprised that the car couldn't alert me as to the impending failure of the part, and that it served as a single point of failure for starting the vehicle. The dealer says they need replacement all the time.

Anyway, just documenting the symptoms and outcome here for anyone with similar problems.

 

I had this too. Car was only starting on ether until I figured it out
Weird problem
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