Hey guys, just wrapping up a Getrag replacement on my MINI.

Got everything assembled, fluids bled, etc. Go to turn it over, lights come on, power steering pump makes noise, fuel pump primes. Turn the key....

Nothing. No clicks from the starter, no lights dimming, nothing.

I was able to check the following at 5am before giving up:

• the ground strap on the passenger mount
• checked the starter wiring is attached securely to the starter
• wiggled the ground harness on the driver side fender around.

What else should I check? Are there other grounding points in the car related to starting? Is there an easy way to diagnose this? I have a multimeter at my disposal, but I'm sort of electrically challenged.

Thanks in advance, guys.

 

Checked the following tonight for proper fitment:

• Battery, terminals
• Ground: strap on pass mount, gounding 'boxes' inside wheel well
• Starter wiring
• Fuses in main underhood box

Is the connector for the reverse light on the gearbox supposed to have one wire running to it or two? Could that be the cause?

 

I am thinking there is a plug/harness on the transmission, recent post here was similar as they had done so clutch work and car would not start.

 

Moving you to the Stock Problems/Issues area

 

Thanks for the move, coop! I realized last night that I probably should've posted in here in the first place...

 

My o5 looks like this. 2 wires that shares one connector. I doubt you can mess up with this as they are quite stout. I snapped abundance of photos for later reference and backtrack.

 

Thanks for directing me to these photos!! I'm fairly certain it's the green plug that I only have one wire sticking out of. Your photo from that thread for reference. I'll check when I get home for sure.



Is the green plug for the clutch safety switch?

 

If you have only one wire, it must be a pre-facelift harness? Being one wire, it relies on the transmission/engine casing for the ground return for this signal to work properly, which can be a problem and likely the change in later years.

The green plug is for the stock oil pressure switch - by the oil filter housing. I only has one wire despite the two contact connector. And yes, it relies on the pressure switch metal housing to finishing the ground return current for it to work - hence many argue that you should never use teflon tape.

 

Just checked that the clutch safety switch is indeed clicking when the clutch is depressed, and the starter solenoid clicks when the key is pressed.

I'll be checking the reverse wiring later today, and testing voltages at the starter.

Any other ideas on stuff to check?

 

I doubt it is the clutch pedal idiot-proof safety switch since you didn't touch that for this job. You hear the starter solenoid click, is it really the solenoid at the starter, or you hear a relay that clicked? I am sure there is a relay for the starter solenoid and it should be quite large.

Did you loosen the thick B+ red cable at the jumper terminal next to the air filter box?

 

Logic tells me the reverse switch wire should not have anything to do with it. You key is to figure out if the no-cranking is due to ECU lock out, or just you failed to connect back something.

 

Nope! Just checked it anyways, though. It's on tight.

Yeah, I figured as much...the reverse wiring being damaged would likely just make it so my reverse light doesn't work. I've double- and triple-checked that everything is connected properly, too. Starter wires are secure, grounds are secure, all plugs are in their correct locations.

I have no idea why the ECU would lock out, though. All the engine electronics have not been changed.

 

On the starter there are two connections. The bigger of the two should be hot all the time. It is what I call the B+ from the battery thru the jumper box next to the air filter. The smaller one powers the solenoid and only has +12V when you are cranking.

in this photo the engine is out of the car, hence the big red B+ cable is not connected to the big stud


Should you are not seeing +12V on the big stud/cable, check the battery +ve terminal. There are two paths from the battery. One is protected by an explosive charge in case of a crash. The other is always connected. It is quite unlikely your charge device has been triggered. I just want to cover all bases.

In this photo, ignore the arrows. Look closely at the +ve terminal you see the big red cable. That is one protected by the charged disconnect. The smaller cable that is connected to the midpoint of metal bar bypasses the explosive charge.

 

Just checked the starter. Both the big and small wires are reading 12V when they should.

Therefore, the following have already been eliminated:

• Battery
• Battery cables
• Plugs/wires
• Passenger & front frame grounding points
• Clutch safety switch
• Starter wiring
• Key

All interior electronics work, headlights, power steering + fuel pump work.

What the heck?

Edit: Just checked for clicks on the engine bay while my roommate turned the key. The only click I heard was from the passenger firewall area (DSC control box?) I think I'm going to pull the starter and get it tested... Any other ideas?

 

I assume you meant the big wire is always 12V, and the small wire is 12V only when you turn the key to cranking, right?

If so the problem lies with the starter, or it's grounding. The grounding is through the motor block, then via the infamous ground strap that a lot of folks fail to tighten properly.

On the starter, you will see one other nut that has a bare thick copper braided conductor going into the starter motor. That is the high current B+ current path after being switched by the solenoid. I assume you didn't disturb that nut as you didn't need to.

There is not a whole lot of other possibility but carefully focusing on the starter.

When you turn the key to turn, do you hear the starter solenoid click?

It is possible your batter charge is low, and cannot supply enough current to turn the starter over. The way to check that is with a DMM monitoring the battery voltage while a helper try cranking the engine. The voltage can go below 10V during cranking even with a relative OK battery.

 

 

Not a very likely possibility but I thought I cover it. Should the clutch/FW replacement job caused the starter's Bendex gear assembly not to be able properly engage the gear teeth on the FW, the solenoid which also acts as a giant high-ampere relay, cannot close the contacts to turn the starter. It is hard to imagine someone can mess up something like this though. It's next to impossible to install the starter or the flywheel crooked.

Also do check the starter relay if the starter tested good. I think it should be in the main fuse box in the engine compartment.

 

Just took my battery and starter to O'Reillys. Battery is good, starter did nothing when tested. Went home and tested the solenoid independently, no clicks. Starter solenoid! Now to just find one for a reasonable price in Arizona....

 

Awesome that you got it figure out relatively easily. Should be an easy fix. Good job

 

Good to hear you got to the bottom of it. I wonder why such coincidence that the solenoid failed. If it were me, I would have measured the resistance of the solenoid WRT the casing. It should read near dead short. Yours has to read open, which means the magnetic winding is severed somewhere. This is very rare nowadays for it to fail, with winding protected by epoxy potting. It would have saved a trip to O'Reillys, but hay, we all learn at our own pace. Kudos they help shade tree mechanics with these sort of things.

 

Thanks for all your help, guys! Got it started within an hour and a half of getting a replacement starter. The transmission drives beautifully, really enjoying the engagement point of the Valeo, the flywheel doesn't bounce anymore (wowza it revs much easier now), and it's really nice to not have a cancerous exhaust leak anymore. I was a happy camper last night...until I finally went to go break the clutch in.

Started off slow, allowing a little more slip than usual to get the high points wore down, slowly worked my way out of the neighborhood onto city roads. After a while of putting around collegetown stoplights and everything being okay, decided it was time to get it up to speed and check 5/6th gear. Got on the freeway, careful to shift below 4.5k to minimize forces on the clutch, and got into 5th gear. Decided to roll onto throttle in 5th, and right as I shifted into 6th, my engine started vibrating strangely and bogging down. I made a comment about this to my friend, and at that moment, the engine promptly cut out. Tried starting it again while coasting down in neutral and was welcomed with a clattery/screeching sound. Needless to say, I immediately turned it off and got it towed home. Pulled the oil pan today, expecting timing guides bits from not thinking to replace my timing chain tensioner...found this instead.



I'm assuming the brass-colored stuff is bearing material, so I'll be pulling the valve cover sometime this week and inspecting my camshaft...hopefully it's a cam bearing and not crank/connecting rod....I really should have put a mechanical gauge to it immediately.... Welp, teaches me to assume causation for oil pressure issues. I guess my broken filter housing cage turned into more than just a dummy light.

 

Boy! You sure have the most heartbreak episodes, and I am sorry. Do take it in stride that what doesn't kill you make you stronger. In my high school days, I tackled an automatic transmission in during frigid Northeast winter snow storm in a leaky shack with mud floor. When reinstalling the tranny, I didn't realize I have to line up the torque converter input shaft to the engine. Start the engine and put in D. No drive! I would be a lot of trial and tribulation that I realized I broke off a key way on the torque converter. You know how shitty I felt when I had so little money. I was the loneliest person in the world. Just think someday you will look back with fond memory of your experience.

That brass particle sure look like bearing material and lot of it. Can you elaborate the oil filter housing problem you have?

 

Sorry, but there are NO CAM BEARINGS in a W11 motor...just the aluminum head and caps. Save your time...it's from the bottom end!!!

You already have the oil pan off...start pulling the rod caps off. If it is a rod bearing you need to check and see if the piston hit/bent a valve (highly likely). If you lost oil pressure it's likely the rods and the mains. Your best/cheapest solution is to find a low mileage engine and just swap it out. Good luck and hopefully less damage than I presume you will see.

 

That's the worst. When it rains it pours, and I can totally empathize with your situation. Just can't get a break. Good luck man. Keep us in the loop.

 

I agree that the bearing brass particles likely came from the crank journals and big rod ends. Your best path forward is a low mileage used engine. Please be less trusting this time and verify the prospective engine's true mileage instead of taking someone's words. Short of that you might consider rebuilding the short block, but you have to carefully assess what were damaged as well as the conditions of the parts. With oil starvation the prognosis is not good.