Help! Mini won't start after short road trip.
 

Ok this is my first time posting & reaching out for help. Thanks again in advance! I have an 04 MCS with 115k mi. So here it goes, I drove my mini on a short road trip yesterday from Redding area north of Sacramento to San Francisco. Along the way absolutely no problems running fine the whole trip down. While in the city for an hour driving around my mini starts having a rough idle while stopped at a light & when I go to accelerate into 1st I get a slow sluggish response & cant get above 15mph. I pulled over put in nutral then shifted back into 1st & the car took off fine. I was on the way to go eat so I continued to the restaurant. Parked the car & ate. Upon returning to my car I go start it & it won't start! It turns over but won't get an ignition! I do a quick inspection under the hood underneath the vehicle and battery terminals. I don't find any visable problems so I attempt to start it again, this time it cranks for a minute then starts! But while sitting there for a minute it starts to idle rough & dies out. I've Tried several times to start it again & nothing! So I try the easiest path & check the battery, took it in autozone they told me my battery was bad & I needed a new one. So I was a little happy thinking it was just the battery & I can swap it out & be on my way. Wrong! I got back to my car put the brand new battery in & same problem it's cranking but not getting ignition to start the car. Any advice will help hope to get my mini on the road again soon she's my daily driver.

"Armchair quarterbacking" from a long way away. First, check the ground strap on the passenger side in the engine compartment. Be sure it's tight and no corrosion on either end. Car won't start otherwise. It could be a clogged catalytic converter, a bad ignition coil, a bad fuel pump or clogged fuel filter. Sadly, you're going to need a good mechanic to diagnose. Best of Luck!

Do you hear the fuel pump priming when you cycle the key?

Have you had the car scanned yet?

Have you tried to push start the car?

thank you for the reply nc trackrat! I checked the ground strap & no corrosion & tight. I changed the fuel filter 6k mi ago would it be clogged in that time? I also replaced my oem coil pack 4k mi ago with a msd, also changed the plugs and wires at that time. I might try a spark tester on the msd coil to see if it's faulty. Would you have any info on diagnosising a clogged Cat? Also I'm checking the fuel pressure.

nkfry, I have the back seat out fuel pump cover off. When cycling the key what am I supposed to hear? I tried listening & don't hear anything? My buddy is coming over in an hour with his scan tool so we will see if anything comes up, but I have no check engine lights on? Also haven't tried to push start. I will try that as well once I get an extra hand. Thank you any other advice would be much accepted!

If your fuel pump is not priming at start-up and you have no fuel pressure, a clogged cat is not your problem. Don't try to push-start it if your fuel pump is not priming.

If you've got the back seat out of the car and can't hear a fuel pump humming underneath the car you need a fuel pump.

We've got them in stock and ready to ship if you confirm that that is your problem. :thumbsup:

Give us call if you need anymore help. 586-792-6464

Nkfry and nc trackrat, Ok so I haven't tried to push start. I'm going to test the fuel pressure today. What are the correct procedures for doing so? I've read the correct pressure for key on no start is 50-52 psi. Is that correct?

Have you tried to listen for the fuel pump? If there is no fuel pump whine there is no need to check fuel pressure because there is no fuel flow.

To check fuel pressure at the rail it requires you to remove the intercooler, and yes, fuel pressure KOEO should be about 54 PSI.

How would I tell if the fuel pump regulator is the problem aside from the pump itself?

ok scanned my ecu & got

p 2300 ignition coil a primary Control circuit low

P 2303 ignition coil b primary control circuit low

Did you keep your old OEM coil pack? If so, put it back on and see what happens.

searching my garage for it now! I know I kept it! Any other suggestions? I tested the fuel rail & it has no pressure with key on?

You need a fuel pump.

If you've already listened for fuel pump whine and don't get it from under the back seat, the pump is not running. The fuel pump is not a flow through design, so when it isn't running there is no fuel delivery.

If the pump wasn't out would I still be getting power to it? I just want to make sure before I got buy a new pump that it's not wiring or the fuel pump relay

Fuel pump relays aren't common failures, and at the age of the car a failed fuel pump wouldn't be out of the realm.

We've been installing more fuel pumps in the gen 1 cars than ever as of recent.

They're right...should be EZ to check power to the pump with a test light. Don't create a spark, tho! :(

I'm at a loss. Got a fuel pump & replaced the old one out. Connected the battery back up. Started the car!!! That's where the excitement ends it ran for about 1 min then started puttering & died out! I feel like an idiot now thinking that it wasn't even the fuel pump? Please any more suggestions would help.

The symptoms you described with the lack of fuel pressure and other driveability problems all lead to a fueling problem, and I've never seen a fuel filter cause problems like that, even at over 150k miles.

1. Did you purchase an OE quality pump? The cheap pumps from Autozone & all other bargain marts are usually crap out of the box. I've seen people put multiple pumps in a car from a generic auto parts store only to have to resort to buying an OE equivalent to finally fix the problem.

2. Have you checked the fuses & relay that are associated with the pump? I've also seen fuel pump relays die due to backfeed through the system when a pump fails.

3. You are getting fuel pressure now and weren't before, so the diagnostic that was able to be provided via your description is as accurate as it could've been. I would say check the fuel pump relay as well as the fuses.

Sorry for your luck.

I actually thought I had fixed our loaner car with just replacing a fuel pump relay when the pump was dying, turns out I only gained us about 38 seconds of run time before it cooked another fuel pump relay. Ended up getting a fuel pumps installed minutes later. :lol:

I think you were right 👍 I guess the new fuel pump i had put in failed right away & blew my fuses? What's up with that? Anyway got another new fuel pump & fused & got it running! Been running smooth all day. Thanks again for the advice!