05 Cooper s. The other day driving to work, the car just died. It did crank a couple of times but then would never turn over again. Put a different battery in and when the key is turned. No click. Nothing. There does seem to be power at the starter.

Don't know if this is related but had the car stall on trying to start a couple of times then later in the day would start like nothing happen. Acted like no gas

Was concerned about the battery so I put a different one in and the same thing. No crank but the same battery in my truck fired it right up. Not sure why it would die while driving down the street. Tried to pull the car to start it but not even a pop. No fire. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Stumped

 

Hello,

Just trying to help.....I've done a bunch of preventive maintenance repairs and other mods to my 06 Cooper S and saw your post.

The very first thing I would check is that your grounds are solid (still bolted and not loose) in the engine bay.

Also, if you are getting absolutely nothing it could be you have a completely dead alternator or your starter died.

I would go get a spark plug tester from ANY auto parts store, ask them how to use it (watch some videos on YouTube, about it, as well) and then see if you "have spark" or not.

Also, did you buy the car new or used?

 

Have you tried to push start the car if it's a manual? Give that a try.

Detension the belt and try starting the car, if the alternator or supercharger has seized it can keep the car from cranking.

 

Also check the ground strap on the passenger's side of the motor. If it has a bad connection, no cranky.

 

I agree, check all grounds and make sure the connections on the battery are nice and snug, not loose.

 

Thanks guys. Per your advise I took the ground at the battery and one at the engine spark, wire brushed them up and reinstalled. No change.
I put the key in, turn the key and nothing from the starter.
Gonna try to jump the starter today. Tap on it a bit, see what happens. Don't want to pull it if I don't have to way up in there. Not yet anyway.
Clutch switch?

 

Any change or new developments?......from what your last post stated, you need to confirm if you have SPARK or not. That's Next. Let us know & we will help you!

 

The car doesn't turn over when key is turned. No click etc. interior lights and radio are on.
Had battery tested. Came up as bad. Used the one from my truck which is good but still no click etc from starter.

 

Possibly the ignition switch itself.

 

The ignition switch could have a few pins oxidized. Seen this cause a no start like this before. You can test it by taking an Ohmmeter to the pins. You can try to clean it, but if it turns out you need a new one, we have them HERE. Check out this NAM thread here for reference.

 

Este1, if I were you I would purchase & remove/reinstall both the ignition switch and the starter. In addition to that, also buy a simple SPARK tester. They are cheap (less than $10 bucks). The reason why is if you test for spark, now, it will confirm for you - after you replace the ignition switch and the starter - whether they are addressing ALL of the other potential issues you may NOT have already identified from what you've experienced up until now.

In addition, making sure you test/check for SPARK is it will 100% tell you that ALL the grounds on the car are good to go and can be eliminated, as a potential problem, as you are fixing the other stuff that you think is wrong! Make sense?