1st Gen 100K+ Most liked posts in thread: 100k starter issue

  1. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    Check your battery with your meter while someone cranks the car. If the volts drop a lot it may be time for a new battery.
     
  2. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

    Jun 4, 2009
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    Check the jumper terminal under the bonnet. They have been know to loosen & cause a no start problem.
     
  3. Jason Montague

    Jason Montague New Member
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    :cornut: 1st check battery cables for corrosion, thoroughly clean terminals and cables while off of the batteries. Baking soda water helps. When clean thoroughly grease to prevent reoccurrence. The next MINIac will be along shortly.:Thumbsup:

    Jason
     
  4. ZippyNH

    ZippyNH Well-Known Member

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    Starters can get "weak" from exposure to heat or overuse....
    the windings can partially fail...seen it on airplanes with piston motors...
    in that case...they will crank a COLD motor...but when hot...just a click....
    if it STILL happens with a NEW starter...then I would look at the battery cables, connections, and the ORANGE BOX in the trunk with the airbag squib that functions as a explosive disconnect that blows in an accident to ensure a CUT/chafed cable does not start a fire...it might have a bit of corrosion on the contacts in it...result is not enough current to crank....same for a corroded wire or bad connection.....even a bad Ground wire could cause an issue...just need to dig in!
    Good Luck!
     
  5. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    Oh yea one other thing. Don't go changing the wiring willy-nelly just to make it look good under the hood. The last thing you need is a fried ECU. :eek:
    Good luck
     
  6. smokintires

    smokintires New Member

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    I'm guessing they were touching, I had had a ziptied throuht the hole and liquid tape covering them. In this awesome (sarcastic) winter we've had and the fact that I drive it hard they probably shifted apart.

    But in any light thank you very much for the help, and you probably saved a screwdriver or two from slicing throughout the garage door lol
     
  7. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    Let me make sure I understand what you have done so far.
    You have replaced the starter? And what two wires are you talking about?

    I'm glad you don't want anyone to touch your car. Hang in there you will find it, this is how your Learn.

    If the starter is new it sounds like you have a lose wire some where. Check that everything is secure on the starter and all ground connections are tight and clean.

    There is one other thing but I don't think this is it. On cars with a long battery cables it is posable for the positive cable to go bad. This is caused by corrosion getting in the positive cable. Once this happens the car will pull to high of a load when you start it. It can cause you to think you have a bad starter. I have never seen this on a MINI, only on different brands and much older cars.so I really don't think this is it.

    If you haven't done this go back to Autozone have them test the battery and the starter and charging system. They will hook up to your battery, and have you start your car. Their test box will check load on start and then it checks that it is charging.

    Also what part of the country do you live in there may be someone on MA that can help you or if it can't be resolved where to take it.
     
  8. smokintires

    smokintires New Member

    Feb 11, 2014
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    hahaha this is very true,id like tho thanks the guy on that other forum for telling me to just cut them off and seal em with vacuum caps. But atleast it was only that and no harm done to the car, as for my wallet thats a whole different story.

    but yes after replacing the starter ($350), missing a day of school, having to drive a prius for 2 weeks, some bloody knuckles, tools thrown, and a couple of expletives; it started.

    I grabbed that housing that originally holds them, tightened them, and whada know it fires. this almost warranted a ratchet being thrown at the garage door lol.

    But i guess in hindsight it really was a good experience. while under the car i had found a nice layer of white crust and goo from the water pump flange. i replaced the pump, flange, and thermostat. If i hadnt been under there this probably woulda meant me on the side of the highway with no coolant. I also got the chance to really get into the car and i learned alot about it. Eventhough the new starter might not have been necessary, i guess this means i dont have to worry about it for another 100k.

    that being said, and i honestly know the answer but ive been mislead before, that housing has nothing to do with it right? its just that they are tight to each other? so i could bolt them together, shield them and hold them back out of the way? reason being thats where i now have my catch can and i dont feel like remounting that
     
  9. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    The jumper terminal is handy to have. Should you ever disconnect your battery and then close the rear hatch you can put jumper cables on it so you can open the hatch. Ask me how I know.:mad2:

    If you mean the black housing with the plus sign on it then no as long as they are secured together. Make sure it is shielded well, you could do some real damage if they start to short out.

    You had to drive a Prius? I would walk barefooted in the snow first!

    I'm glad you found the problem.
     
  10. smokintires

    smokintires New Member

    Feb 11, 2014
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    When I replaced my battery a year ago I didn't think about the hatch either, luckily I found out about the cable under the rear seat! I might make my own enclosure or do something where I can get em if I need em.

    Just out if curiosity why did these cause that? I have had them apart for a while with a zip tie through the holes, so I'm guessing they were touching and just came apart eventually.

    And if I hadn't had to go to lacrosse I would have gotten rides instead but it was a last ditch effort
     
  11. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    I'm guessing you are correct. Any time you have a starter problem always check that all connections are good and tight. This has bit me more than once. My daughters car worked for a long time, then she told me it wouldn't start. It was a lose battery cable.
    I'm glad we could help.
     
  12. smokintires

    smokintires New Member

    Feb 11, 2014
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    The battery is only about a year old hahah, and luckily I was helping a friend do a battery relocation I his civic si, so I had some ratchet wrenches and my multimeter with me. And
    Nod the battery checked out

    Where exactly is the starter? I believe I see it down under the heat shield, but with these awesome )sarcastic) New England winters I was told to tap it with a rubber mallet and try but I don't want to just go hitting stuff under my hood:fingerscrossed::fingerscrossed:
     
  13. smokintires

    smokintires New Member

    Feb 11, 2014
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    So it ended up being the good ol Pepboys didn't know what the hell they were talking about. The cooper s apparently only has one starter. But beyond that they had them reversed in their system(one for the manual trans was under the auto listing and vise versa)

    But now I'm stuck. I ended up going and getting one from the dealer. I put it in and tested it and it worked, put everything back on and now I'm back to that click. Took a multimeter to the battery and it was 11.89. I put on my jumper box and still nothing. Everything works all my electrical stuff, but I turn the key and get a single click then nothing.

    Anyone have any ideas? I'm almost at the point of taking it somewhere cause I dint have the time or energy to work on this along with school and sports, burning don't like other people touching my car so I prefer to work on it myself. But at this point I just want to get it running again
    Thanks,
    Ben

    **can someone bump this to get more attention??**
     
  14. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    Check all your connections. The positive lead under the hood next to the air cleaner is known to be a problem. Make sure it is tight and clean. Have you had the Battery load tested? It may read the correct voltage but dye under a load. I have had battery's go bad in a year or less before. Also check all ground leads. Don't rule out the battery.
    Good luck!
     
  15. TexasChiliS

    TexasChiliS Well-Known Member

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    ^^^^^^
    Agree with above. Test without load means almost nothing. Autozone and most the others like them will do load test for free.
     
  16. smokintires

    smokintires New Member

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    are you talking about the one thats mounted on the airbox, that you can jump the car from? a while ago i was told i could takem em out, cause i didnt want to have it hanging on my custom cai heat shield.right now i have them taped off and secured out of the way, but theyve been like this for a while. could this be an issue? and i just roll started it and i drove well. Granted i replaced the water pump and got a better filter but ive never felt it drive so well. so if the battery is dieing when under load thats usually only staring right? cause spark doesnt use that much juice?
     
  17. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    Yes I'm talking about the one mounted on the air box, it can be a problem if the nut under the cover get lose or corroded.
    When a battery goes bad and you put it under a load, it can't put out enough amps to turn the starter. the starter is the highest load item on your car. So the first sigh of a bad battery is its inability to start the car. Also a good battery can recover from a load, when its is bad it can not. It can show good volts but if it has a bad cell it can't put out the amperage it needs to. Your multi multimeter can't read amps. The one they use at auto zone or other parts stores will induce a load and then check the recovery time to see if it can take a load and recover.
     
  18. smokintires

    smokintires New Member

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    Battery checkout fine at autozone, I'm gonna unwrap those two wires and bolt me together then re wrap them. If that's not it any idea where I could go next?
     
  19. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    I'm not sure why it had been working, luck maybe.

    I have a early 02 the hatch isn't under the rear seat. It's behind the trim at the rear by the latch and very hard to get to.

    Now you can enjoy driving your mini. Have fun.
     
  20. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    Yeah this Winter SUCKED in the north east.