Irish Mini Owners Club

Howdy guys and gals!,
After returning from the mamoth adventure that was MI2010 I think my poor MPi has taken to protesting about being driven any more!

My problems are all electrical!
While we were away the fuel pump decided to stop working....not a gig. I connected it direct and got life so it was/is a powering issue. Previously I had a problem with it doing the same thing except found that it was a earthing issue causing it not to start. i ran a new earth then and problem was solved. Now we seem to be back to square one! This however is only one of many!

Also on the list;
Car is reluctant to start sometimes...turn the key and you get nothing. Then sometimes hold it for a few seconds and the strater kicks in. Then other times it starts fine. I suspect its the alarm module thats at fault and is not disengaging the immobiliser properly??

Central locking also acts up sometimes again im thinking the alarm module (I have it tied in )

There is also a big earthing problem that I cannot trace. If I put on my spots the volt meter drops to zero and everything gos dolally! I have narrowed it down to the earth in question but even after cleaning contacts there still seems to be a problmem...next step is replace Im guessing.

The final thing....this is new....is the radio likes to turn itself off now and again. This may just be a loose connection at the back of the radio...will check today.



Sooooo if there are any elecy boys or girls out there that want to lend some advice or think that they know whst up and could fix it PLEASE GET IN TOUCH!!!!!!!!

Thanks in advance

By God you got to love Mini's! Glad to hear you made it home from MI2010. Hopfully should be seeing som photos soon!

[quote="whiskersdolmio"]Car is reluctant to start sometimes...turn the key and you get nothing. Then sometimes hold it for a few seconds and the strater kicks in. Then other times it starts fine. I suspect its the alarm module thats at fault and is not disengaging the immobiliser properly??

Central locking also acts up sometimes again im thinking the alarm module (I have it tied in )[quote]

If the immobiliser is not disengaging the car should still turn over. And the your Mini has central locking?

Thanks! Will get pics up soon!!

Is the immobiliser not tied into the ECU which will not allow starting unless it is deactivated?? When my arlam is on or it self arms it will not allow the engine to start.

Yup I got the after market addon kit and wired it inot the alarm module;)

Maybe m.p.i's are different. On my s.p.i it would still turn over? Maybe someone can enlighten us? I'l look forward to the pictures!

All depends on what your immobiliser actually immobilises Stan, yours would have been the ignition system.

Whiskers it all could be down to a bad earth, start at you battery and work you way forward checking your electrical connections for tightness and corrosion. A quick turn of a spanner or a rub of a wire brush could sort this out.

Thats my plan for this week/this weekend! Get my Dremel and a few sanding heads out and clean everything up. Are the earthing locations listed in the haynes manual the only ones or are ther other sneaky ones Im likey to miss!?

All the MPi earthing points are listed in the Rover manual. I managed to download it from the web, try resource tech section.

fuel pump & starting both lead back to the relay module located on top of the brake servo... have a look round there too.

i've had mine (spi) open and carfully cleaned the contacts with folded emery paper.