I just bought a 05 cooper s from a auction. It wont start. It has spark. I checked the compression. its 150,130,150,150 . I tried putting a little gas in the cylinders, but no start. It kind of try's to. It only has 47k miles on the car. Is there any way to check if the ecu is dead? I did get a po304 code. So I tried a different coil pack and I got a p2303. Also I don't know if the coil pack I tried is any good its from a 02 cooper I had. Is there a way to check the coil?

 

If it has spark and it has compression. The only thing you are missing is fuel. Did you check for fuel pressure? The fuel pump could be dead. After that look for signal at the fuel injector. A bit of starting fluid could help see if it will kick over. You have one bad cylinder. They all should be within 10% between the highest and lowest. But that won't keep it from starting.

 

I don't have a tool to check the fuel pressure on a mini. Is there a way to jump the fuel pump relay?

 

I had my wife come out and try and start the car while I sprayed starting fluid in the intake hose after the air filter. It didn't it didn't try and start at all. I had one of those cheapo spark testing lights to each spark plug wire. I had spark at all wires. Also I can here the fuel pump whir when I turn the key on. This car was a donated car to the auction. the damage was listed as mechanical. I have no codes either. I called the previous owner and left a message. I hope I hear back from them.

 

When I did my first compression test it was with my foot off the gas pedal. I only got 130 on all cylinders. I put some gas in the cylinders and cranked it over. I barely tried to start. Did the second compression test with foot to the floor and got the higher readings. Could the cam timing be off. Also I have a rebuilt cylinder head from a 2002 cooper non turbo. Are the heads the same?

 

Hi,
If you have good compression and a spark, by adding gas or either to the engine, it should try to run. If not, there is most likely codes on your computer, which will need to be downloaded to see what is there.

There are a few sensors which can inhibit starting and running, so you need the download to check the codes and give you a better idea, what is going on.

 

My little mac tools scanner is not reading any. I can connect my laptop to the car. I bought a cable and program to do a adaption on a 02 mini with a cvt tranny. www.bmcables.com

 

Do you hear the fuel pump sound? When most cars have the key turned, the fuel lines will be pressurized and it makes a fairly unique sound. If youre missing that sound, it definitely will be the pump.

 

Yes I hear the fuel pump. I hooked my laptop to it, but I cant seem to read engine codes. The battery looks like it might be the original one says mini on it. Not sure if that would matter.

 

Low mileage or not its a 2002 and those parts are 14 years old ! The codes indicate a spark issue probably coil pack or wires or both.

 

If it was the battery it wouldn't "crank" at all, even if you have dash lights / dome light working. If you know someone with a 1st Gen MINI in your area, borrow coil pack and wires and start there.

 

I do have a extra set of wires and coil pack from a 02 I sold last fall.

 

Well I tried my other coil pack. Put a little gas in the cylinders. It tried to start. Kind of acted like a flooded engine. I took the access cover off the fuel pump just to make sue I hear it. It does turn on. Is it possible to have the fuel pump working but getting no fuel pass the injectors? I think I should check for fuel pressure at the fuel rail. I have a fuel rail from the 02 mini laying around. Still no codes.

 

I called the auto auction place (copart) today to see if they could shed some light on whats wrong with the car. Their notes say motor is blown. I responded back how does one kill a motor that has only 47K miles on it. lack of care I guess. They did break the oil dipstick in 2. It may not even have oil in it. Who has the prices on parts to rebuild the engine?

 

Jeff, we have a zero mile rebuild sitting here ready to ship, install, and live life.

Give us a call if you'd be interested in either it or the hook up on parts to rebuild the engine.

586-792-6464

 

I may have found the problem. No matter how many times I turn the the engine over I cant get the arrow and the copper link to line up.

 

 

Keep turning it. It will eventually get there but I don't believe it'll tell you much until you take off the timing chain cover/oil pump and make sure those are lined up as well. Check the timing chain guides if you can from above and pull the tensioner and make sure it functions as it should.

I recently purchased a MCS and unfortunately the tensioner was bad and the chain skipped teeth twice while I was driving it and wouldn't run at all. /I took it to a shop and they said the head was likely toast as are the valves and quoted me at least $2,900 to fix. I towed it over to a friends house and double checked everything. Ordered the timing chain kit from ECS and a new oil pan gasket replaced everything and it fired up first time.

Take a look at the tensioner if you suspect timing is off as that is the only way it could possibly skip. Do a once over and make sure there are no unplugged sensors as well.

 

I had it lined up once. The chain seems sloppy. I wanted to post a video, but cant figure out how.

 

If you can feel any slop I would imagine the timing has skipped. Lucky you! From what I saw the MCS is non interference as all of my valves were perfectly ok. First time it skipped I had reduced power, second time car just died on the highway but not damage to the head or valves.

If I were you id pull the tensioner out (19mm, easy to get to and plenty of diy's out there) and see how it feels. It should be fully extended when you pull it out.

 

Thanks. Sounds like I need to do that and pull the timing chain cover, but if I do that I might as well replace the timing set.

 

Pull the tensioner first. There are a few ways to test it which you can find on the forums. If the tensioner is bad and it skipped teeth it is pretty straightforward. If the timing chain guide exploded (as mine did) you;l have to drop the oil pan and get all the plastic pieces out.

 

The guides look good from above. I will need to pull the pan eventually the dipstick is broken in 2. I have some guides from a 02 r50 engine. How do you fix a chain that has skipped teeth? Do you have to pull the timing cover?

 

In my research I have seen people that suggested doing it other ways but the only fool proof way to do it is to pull the timing chain cover and match the links on the crank sprocket and the cam sprocket. Don't remove the oil pan just yet, With the timing chain cover off you do have a little access into the oil pan. If part of it is still in the dipstick tube, with the oil drained you may be able to see the end of the dipstick and fish it out. Most difficult part of removing the timing chain cover is getting access to everything and removing the crank pulley. An autozone crows foot puller made easy work of the crank pulley and removing tension from the serpentine belt was annoying but doable.

 

Sounds like a plan on getting the dipstick out. If I do buy a timing chain kit who has the best one without breaking the bank? Ebay has a lot. Buying locally is a joke. Should I buy a timing tool set?