Need some insight. Went to leave work this morning and my '05 MCS just cranks and will not start. For the first few second of cranking, the speedo needle vibrates/buzzes. Has no codes, almost full tank of gas. What could it be? Ran fine all the way to work.


Thanks,

Dave

 

Hello Dave - I have seen more than a few times where a battery is at fault even with it cranking. The speedo vibrate issues have been known to be the cause of a bad battery. MINI's do all sorts of weird things with bad batteries. Good thread on NAM here that was a bad battery. First things first, test the battery. A good reading should be 12.6 volts. I have seen a bad battery at anywhere from 12.2 volts and below. If the battery checks out, then you'll want to check to see if your MINI is getting fuel and spark.

 

Had its happen before myself, bad battery. Get a new battery. Some options.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ns-for-mc.html

 

Thanks gents! A co-worker came in that I could jump off of. If finally started. Crazy...It cranked GREAT the whole time, just not enough juice to fire.

 

You are welcome. Looks like a new battery is in store. The extreme heat and the extreme cold can set them over the edge.

 

You're welcome. The battery can be the culprit of all sorts of weird things. It's always good to start there as it's the easiest and most of the time least expensive fix. When you get a new one make sure the ground and connections are nice and tight because if they're loose you'll have some no start issues as well. Good luck and let me know if you need anything.

 

Thought I had it licked...Waited until today to get battery to get an employee discount from a friend that didn't work yesterday. Had little Wal-Mart jump box to hopefully get me by until today. Started car last night, made it to work (Temp was about 55*). Went to leave work this morning (temp about 35*), jump box would not work. Had to use co-workers car and jumper cables and car started right up. Jump attempts were all at the battery in the back, except this last attempt with jump box this morning before jumping with car. Got home from work, went to bed. Got up this afternoon, car started fine, no jump (temp about 65*). Made it to friends auto parts store, replaced battery. Started fine again, went home. Had dinner, took nap before work. Went to start car (temp about 55*), no dice. Cranks strong. The first morning when I created this post is the only time speedo needle vibrated. Need to verify all connections. Other than that, any other things to look into?

 

I'm new to Mini's, so I may be wrong, but a jumpy tach on other cars in the past has always tracked to a bad coil. Here's where my inexperience with Mini's may screw up my past experience: my Mini has four coils, one atop each spark plug, so which one serves as the signal for the tach? On old English cars I've owned the tach was electronically triggered from a sum of all coil pulses from the one coil, so it's possible that your tach fires from your fuel injection/ignition controller, and not from any one coil. If that's true, the uneven tach may be caused by a malfunction of the controller, not by a failing coil.

Have you tried reading OBD trouble codes? It may be that your car has already diagnosed the problem and lit the "Service engine soon" light to try to get your attention. If the SES light isn't lit, you may require a professional to diagnose your problem.

Scott

 

Thanks for the reply...Weird thing is, its the speedo needle, not the tach. It vibrates fast, like a buzzing. Tried to pull codes with OBDII scanner (both bluetooth connector/phone app and snap-on scanner), none. Service engine light is lit...

 

Speedo jitters.... I shouldn't drink so much on a Friday night. With a clearer head, the only failure that caused a speedo problem on a modern car that I've owned was on my Saab 9-5 where the ABS controller card had an electrical fault that would block communication on the CANBUS, causing a jittery speedo needle that would later kill the speedo, odometer, cruise control, ABS, and traction control all at once, lighting up the dashboard like a Christmas tree. Have you also been having trouble with ABS/DSC?

If your SES light is on, there should be a code. It's weird you can't read them. Are there any problems on Minis that result in an inability to read codes? I think I'll Google that idea and let you know what I find.

Oh, do you live in a state that salts the roads in winter? You might have corroded grounds in the engine bay.

Scott

 

I've just read in this FAQ (http://www.mini2.com/forum/faq.php?f...shaking_needle) that the speedo needle re-zeros itself if the battery is low, or weak, or the ignition is left in the RUN position for more than 90 seconds. That may be a factor here, as the fellow from Pelican Parts pointed out at the beginning of the thread.

The failure to start may be related to a bad battery. I know you got a new battery, but did you test your alternator or the battery before buying the new battery? Maybe the alternator just isn't charging your new battery.

Scott

 

You have something more going on , normal scanner will not read it , you will need a MINI scanner or one at the MINI dealership to see what else is at fault.

Professional BMW/MINI Scan Tool

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/ES2975699/

 

+1

Test the battery, I know it's new, but just rule out that the battery isn't already drained. Also, check grounds. A loose ground will not enable your MINI to start. Same with the connection points. Anything even slightly loose will enable it from starting. Then, if all is well, check for fuel and spark. If you have an indicator lite you'll definitely want to see what is tripping it. Not all generic code readers will be able to pull them.

 

Will you also be able to program settings/options like rear fog light, windows auto up, alarm, etc., on a R50/53 with this tool?

 

Not yet on some coding, possible in the future when there is a software up date in march, the system can be updated to be proprietary to new models and features, it can code new factory uncoded modules to be updated to factory spec of the old one or ceratin modules, not all.

The cool thing is it can test almost everything to work, I tested all my Hall sensor in the convertible top to see if there was a fault or fail. You can even see the PDC factory settings and which sensor is bad , as well as abs, and stored all faults ( not seen by a CEL ).

Thanks

 

Update...

Haven't been able to touch the car for a few days due to moving. Went out and hooked scanner up to car. Pulled P1229, P1692 and P0500. Tried to start car, and it fired on second try. No jump. Temp got up to about 60* today. Let it run for a few. Shut down, cleared codes. Went under hood and checked things a little. Pulled air filter, and it was DIRTY. Much too dirty for the time it was supposed to be in there. (Previous owner had records showing it was recently serviced. It will be getting oil change and filters tomorrow now.) Figured it was good to go. Went out an hour later to check, it fired right up. Same a couple hours later. Tried again somewhere between hour 4 and 5, no start. Temp dropped down close to 50*. Hooked scanner up again, no codes no check engine light.

Now what?

 

P1129

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ion-fault.html

P1692, P0500 check that ground cable.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ing-p0500.html


I would also unhook the plug at the throttle body and the acceleration pedal inside the car and then reclip them in , sometimes the connection at the plugs are not seated all the way.

 

P1229 Throttle Sensor Adaptation Failure
P1692 Electronic Throttle Control Monitor Level 2/3 Motorized Throttle Control and Fuel Injection Switch Off 'A'
P0500 Vechicle Speed Sensor 'A'

Did you test the battery when it wouldn't start? Check here for some other suggestions for P0500. Also, 1692 and 0500 in this thread here was battery related. Make sure nothing is contributing to hurting the battery.

 

Thanks for the replies guys! It is appreciated!

Tried first thing this morning when I got home from work, it did not start. Went in and went to bed. Got up a few minutes ago, and went out to try the recommendations. Cleaned Negative connection at battery, at battery cable to body connection and the body connection where it looks like the negative connects to fuse/relay center under hood. Started right up. Connected scanner again, and had just the P1692 code. Looked at live data, and saw TPS (%) 12.1 at idle. Is that correct? Still curious about the outside temp thing. Earlier this AM it was low 50's and just now when I started, it is in the mid 60's...Probably nothing.

Thanks again guys.

 

Sticky throttle body, See if the throttle body is dirty , sounds like the throttle is shut all the way close and its suppose to open a hair before you start the car .

Did you try to wiggle the connection at the throttle body and the foot accelerator.

 

I did...Sorry, forgot to add that. I pulled them and reconnected.

 

Check the throttle and see if gunks in there, right around the edge. Or if the trottle moves to the preset position before the start up, should be a hair open.

 

Can't remember if you mentioned this, but when it's not starting is it cranking or is there no crank? Might be best to go back to the basics on this first. Do you know if the vehicle is getting no fuel/spark when it wont start?

 

I will...Bet it is gunked with the air filter being as dirty as it was. Smh, I know better than to trust anyone else to that stuff. Going to be hitting vendors up in the near future for a bunch of things. Going to need all kinds of the maintenance stuff. Also going to be upgrading some things as I go along.

 

Yep, you are welcome.

www.ecstuning.com or your car : https://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2005-Cooper-R53-S-Coupe-L4_1.6L_W11B16A/

let me know if you need anything else.