No Crank, no start
Ok, my dad drove the car 06 r50 to the mail box, started fine. He shut it off, checked mail, got back in and hasn't started since. We've checked air fuel fire, even changed plugs, cos and wires, just bc. ...all's fine.
.the keys was broke open since we got the car. ..well..I noticed the battery holder had come disconnected from the green board. So I suggested a new key. Bc at this time (2 or 3 yrs ago) it would crank but not start. New key came, but still cranks but wont start. Well I've recently decided to try and get it running, and I'm still messing with these same 2 keys. I resoldered a battery holder to the orriginal green board and put it in both, the old key housing and the new key housing and now....the dash lights come on but it won't even turn the engine over...
.the clutch pedal is all the way to the floor with no resistance...I'm almost ready to set this thing on fire at least then I'll without a doubt KNOW why It
wont crank.

 

Thinking it's time for new keys. Locksmith, not stealership.

 

If the key turns to start it’s not the key or cylinder. But it could be the ignition switch on the backside of it.

 

Meant with the fob as the primary failure driver - for the electronic handshake with EWS to allow starter engagement. By the sound of it, the existing two fobs are done. Locksmith has to both cut the metal and code the fob chips for the car's VIN on new ones. Might be able to do that on ISTA, not sure, but there would still be the matter of the metal part on a new key. Not sure whether the old metal parts could be transplanted to new fobs on a facelift car like this one.

 

From what I understand/experienced, The fob doesn’t have to be functional for ews to work, Alex’s fob quit working last year, completely. EWS is passive induction from what I understand, so as long as the chip is still in the key it’s not likely to be that.


From what he says it was possibly ews before, no start but did crank. now we have a won’t crank with dash lights are working, where as before it was a don’t start.


so take the passenger side ground completely off, scrape it clean both sides both ends and make sure the place on the engine mount is clean too, then reassemble. See if you can’t get it to turn over then. Not sayin* it will start, but it might just get you to the point you were at.

 

@Onizukachan is correct, the fob and EWS (short for Electronische Wegfahrsperre meaning "Electronic Drive Away Protection") are 2 separate parts. A Mini key is comprised for 4 parts, here is a picture of a pre-facelift key with those 4 parts outlined, from left to right:

1. the key blade. Used for opening the driver's door and turning on the car. Any locksmith should be able to cut it.
2. the plastic protection. You can easily buy one for 10 bucks on Amazon, though those won't have the Mini logo.
3. the fob. It's used to remotely lock/unlock the car. Receiver is above the clock on pre-facelift Minis (no clue for post-facelift/convertibles). The receiver only forward the signal to the BCM, which decodes it to ensure it's the right one. Fob on pre-facelift are fcked up, and you'll be hard-pressed to find someone to code a new one to your Mini. Even some dealerships won't be able to apparently. If you loose it on a pre-facelift, the most cost-effective and painless replacement is to buy and install a cheap 20 bucks central-locking kit from amazon. There are apparently way to take a used key and add its signature to your BCM, but do you really want to loose hairs doing that? The procedure seemed to complicated to me, and I'm an IT professional. Some people have done so though. Post-facelift should not be a problem for any competent car key shop or dealership. Post-facelift fobs have a soldered battery because the battery is supposed to be recharged when the key is in the car. Note that you don't need a working battery, or even a fob at all to start your car. The valet keys don't have a fob but they do have an EWS chip.
4. the EWS chip. Yes it's that tiny black rectangle that's easily lost. Its position is important. I've heard sometime it can become de-synchronized or something and you have to get it re-coded (I don't know the details since it didn't happen to me). Any car key shop should be able to code a new one, though they'll need to get access to the EWS box, located under the wheel, behind the plastic near the ODB port.

P.S. : source of all that info is lots of internet scouring to try to find the cheapest option to first repair the very key shown in that picture, then after having it repaired at a car key shop (not a dealership) and speaking with the very knowledgeable owner, losing that repaired key 2 months later and having to replace it (it's been 6 months and the amazon central locking kit works perfectly).
Another advice of the car key shop owner: if you need to replace a key, use a BMW blade rather than a Mini one. They have a small difference that makes them slide in and out easier, which lessen the wear on the cylinder (especially important if you have a don't have a working fob, because the driver's door cylinder is not meant to be consistently used).