12 replies to this topic

[Dandy818]

Good Day All
I have a few questions that I am hoping some of you with more detailed knowledge of Minis can help me out with.
I recently picked up an SPI Mini and am working my way through a few little bugs, some being some small electrical gremlins and also trying to determine what a few modifications were performed for and if they were correctly done.  

I did purchase a reprinted SPI manual  so that I could try and help myself as much as possible.  

1st off, fuses.  
There are 6 in-line fuses under the bonnet behind the air cleaner housing.  The blinkers, horn and interior lights worked find up until this weekend. I went into my handy dandy manual and found that this could be due to a bad fuse.  I checked it out and all fuses are good, but when messing around, it could get the horn to work a bit and then it would go away.  I am fairly certain that there is either a short in the wiring or a bad fuse holder.  Attached is a photo of the Fuse Holders (It may be below if I inserted it correctly)

 Engine Bay Inline Fuse Holders.jpg   39.71K   8 downloads

What have you all done to upgrade these.  I have gone over a few options and wondering if anyone has experience

 

Option 1:  Replace all of the fuse holders with a blade style fuse holder such at attached.  I am aware that the fuses are rated differently and would most likely need 5 and 7.5 amp rated blade fuses to replace the 10 and 15 amp glass fuses

 Fuse Holder Detail.JPG   48.98K   4 downloads

 

Option 2:  Replace each inline fuse holder with a crimp in place fuse holder such as this.  My concern is that this does not have a weather cover over it.

 inline fues holder.JPG   39.39K   1 downloads

 

Option 3:  Stick with glass fuse holders and replace them with a more dependable version such as this. 

 inline glass fuse holder detail.JPG   45.71K   2 downloads

 

Moving onto the coolant lines.  The previous owner removed the heating system.  They removed the heater core box from in the cabin, removed the control cable and the valve...so essentially, all heater related parts.  There are 2 hoses on the engine that are cut and plugged.  I did not find a diagram of these in the manual.  It is ok for these to be plugged?  Should they be in a loop?

 Coolant hoses plugged.jpg   58.73K   1 downloads

 

 

Last but not least, the secondary cooling fan, on the fender side of the radiator has been wired to a switch.  Should this have not been wired to a thermostat and relay of some sort?  Can I just leave this on a switch and if so, when should it be on?  

 

Thanks in advance for any help and guidance.  

 

-Dan

 

[MatthewsDad]

Operation of the secondary fan is normally controlled by a coolant temp sensor which plugs into the bottom of the radiator. Check for a small sensor on the forward facing edge of the radiator, behind the grille. It's only plugged in and retained with a clip so take care not to dislodge it if you do have a poke around.

[minimat]

I replaced the inline fuses with the blade fuse holder in your pictures years ago and all has been fine, only problem is i have to remove the airbox to change a fuse but you could relocate it and extend the wiring if you want. One of the fuses is for the ecu so quite important!

[RedRuby]

I have an SPi and had the same issue with the inline fuse holders, getting brittle with age and the heat from the exhaust. I replaced mine with a bleed fuse box similar to the one in your picture and like you also put in the correct reduced rated blade fuses. As for the “plugged coolant hoses they are for coolant water to provide heat to the inlet manifold. As all the heater elements are removed you are not getting a flow of water to the manifold so I see no reason for them to be plugged and could even be removed entirely. As I am not aware of the emission standards over there don’t know whether you would need to replace the heater elements so that the inlet manifold receives the coolant to achieve emission standards or indeed whether the coolant to the manifold helps with emissions. As to the auxiliary fan you could replace it to original spec or stay with the switch using it if you thing the engine is getting hotter than normal ie in standing traffic or extra hot days.

[FlyingScot]

Fuses are above - yes the originals fail.
Coolant hoses....the inlet manifold needs to be heated as the temperature sensor is there which feeds the ECU to control the fuelling.
Unless a modification has been made to get the temperature somewhere else this means you car will constantly rich as the ECU will think the car is cold.
Worth taking the inlet off and checking water will physically flow through it.

FS

[ryomini]

Hi there

from memory redruby has a beautiful mini and flyingscot knows his stuff so you are in good hands here.  Sorry to see your heating system has been sabotaged.  I think keeping your rad fan on the thermostat and relay ie keeping your rad fan working is very important - a cooler motor is a better one.  Mine always comes on after I sit at a long traffice light after a long hill climb for example.

 

As for the fuses - I agree that the new boxes and fuses make sense - but yours look in good nick, mine were terrible, but sorted now.  Taking them apart and checking the spring and fittings, making sure there is NO oxydation, also make sure you check each inidvidual fuse even if new with a continuity tester, sometimes on the glass fuses the wire isn't broken but with car vibration it detaches from one of the end caps - I once spent 10 minutes in heavy rain switching fuses for some reason I don't remember why now, but I do remember getting wet !

 

and yes they do get hot and dry back there, but once sorted mine have been good for 18 months now, so if you don't want to spend money there and it works....  all the best

Edited by ryomini, 15 May 2018 - 10:36 AM.

[Dandy818]

Thank you all for your feedback.  I must admit, I am quite new to working on the mechanics of a vehicle.  Fortunately, I have quite a bit of experience with 12VDC electrical.  

 

Regarding the Fuses:

I agree that these don't look too bad.  Last night I went and checked the car and after messing around with the fuse holders: checking spring tension, cleaning the connections...my brake lights now don't work.  I have ordered a 6 position fuse block like shown in my original post along with some female insulated crimp terminals with heat shrink and a supply of mini blade fuses in multiple sizes.  These should arrive to me withing a few days and if all goes well, I will have time to install over the weekend and report back.  

 

Regarding the secondary radiator fan:

When I went to the car last night, I looked and the radiator has been replaced by a very nice looking aftermarket piece.  I will have to do some digging to see if there is a location for the sensor to hook up.  My guess is there is not and that is why the previous owner wired in a separate switch for the secondary fan

 Radiator.jpg   38.74K   1 downloads

 

Regarding the coolant lines, where is the input manifold.  Yeah, go ahead and laugh at the newbie     Would it make sense to run the lines to the input manifold?  I am intending to add a heater back in, I have been able to find all of the parts online other than the original style heater matrix.  I did find a good write up on adding an after market unit. The sandwich plate is still under the thermostat (the output is plugged as well), the control cable, valve and hoses are all available.  I was thinking about this anyhow so that I could get a longer season out of the Mini.  She was put away at first snow (we have salt) and does not come out until we have had 2-3 Spring rains to was away any salt from the road.  This is the same practice we have used with my Wife's 1969 VW Squareback.  

 

FYI:  Our state currently does not have any smog testing, so there is not concern there regarding the emissions.  I would like for the system to function properly from the ECU so that she doesn't run too rich.  

 

Again, any feedback, help and assistance is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Wiggy]

You see the 3 branches of the exhaust coming off the back of the head? Well the inlet manifold bolts between them. You should see 2 pipe stubs, where the coolant lines would have connected to. And yes, you want to reinstate them ideally.

[genpop]

Hello ,regarding the cooling system.To rebuild this you need some specially formed hoses.I suggest thinking about a new set of silicone hoses.They run up to 100 bucks while the normal set is at about 30 bucks.But they are worth.

[brivinci]

I can second that on the silicone hoses. I bought a full kit, in black, from Mini Spares. I had the upper rad hose burst on me, 300 miles from home. Because these Minis get their coolant temp from the intake manifold (more on that later) the car appeared to not be overheating. It was also pouring rain so I did not see the water rushing out of the split hose. Not cool...and hopefully never again with these new hoses.

 

I know its been said before but unless the PO installed a water temp sensor somewhere else, you really REALLY need to route the inlet manifold back into the cooling system. Does your temp gauge on the dash work at all? I'd have to imagine no, right? 

 

Due the problem I had above, I decided to install a second temp sensor into the head. I bought new head from Keith Calver and the cast he used was one with the temp sensor port right below the thermostat as on earlier cars. I installed a stand alone temp gauge so now I can watch both. Overkill? Yes but I'm not getting stuck on the side of the road like that again...at least by that.

Edited by brivinci, 16 May 2018 - 02:45 PM.

[Dandy818]

Thanks again for all of the replies.

 

I think I may have found a solution to getting the secondary fan back to normal operation.  The switch that is currently operating the secondary fan appears to be wired to the wiring for the temp switch that was in the radiator.  Sadly, they just had the wires twisted together and covered with tape...poor job.  I took off my grill last night (wanting to add quick releases soon anyway) and found that there is a drain port in the bottom of the radiator.  See pic below.

 Radiator Bottom.jpg   37.27K   1 downloads

 

If the threads match, I believe I can install this switch back into the radiator and if the rest of the circuit is complete (i will try to verify the wiring against my manual reprint) this should then get that functioning properly again.  For now, until I get the parts, I will put some electrical spade terminals with heat shrink on the wires and then these can just plug into the temp switch if that works.  This switch is part C-ARA4445

 Radiator Fan Switch (C-ARA4445).JPG   16.59K   0 downloads

 

For the cooling lines, I have seen the silicone lines and agree this would be the best route.  I don't know if I should go red or black?  Tough decisions.  I guess that if I buy the complete set, then I might as well get the after market heater installed at the same time or could I just make a loop in the hoses that would have gone through the heater?  Then again, while the coolant is drained and all over the place, it would be best to tackle at all at once correct?  The heater, radiator fan switch, all new coolant lines?

 

Is there a way for now with to get the coolant loop complete?  I have the sandwich plate for the heater still in place and then those 2 lines pictured in my original post plugged.  Where would all of the hoses route without the heater loop?

 

Seriously, don't be afraid to laugh at my questions.  I am really enjoying learning about these cars and doing some of the work myself.  Between this and my Wife's VW, I am learning alot and getting my hands dirty again, which is nice after years at a desk job.  

 

Again, thanks for the feedback and help.  

 

 

[genpop]

Hi,

i have some pictures from my blue silicones, the fuse boxes, cooling chema and wiring .In my opinion the best repair manual you will find here:miniscene-unterfranken.de/wp.../Mini_Repair_Manual_92-96.pd...

google for this:

Attached Files

•  Motorraum (2).JPG   80.14K   1 downloads
•  leftbox.JPG   78.15K   1 downloads
•  rightbox.JPG   81.19K   1 downloads
•  cooling chema.jpg   29.64K   1 downloads
•  Sicherungen.png   190.53K   1 downloads

[Dandy818]

Hi,

i have some pictures from my blue silicones, the fuse boxes, cooling chema and wiring .In my opinion the best repair manual you will find here:miniscene-unterfranken.de/wp.../Mini_Repair_Manual_92-96.pd...

google for this:

Thank you.  The photos and drawing are a huge help.  I will have to take a look to determine how to run the coolant lines until I get a set of new hoses and the heater.  It seems that most places have a 3-4 week lead time on the SPi silicone coolant line sets and that is for sure the way I would go.  

 

For the fuse block that you used to replace the inline fuses; were you able to mount it this way without extending the wires?  I looked at it last night and I think it will be close.  I did pick up the following inline glass fuse holder as a temporary replacement.  It is waterproof holder.  I thought I could attach these for the time instead of extending the wires.  I am excited to get the car out on the road.  It was delivered to me in December and things are finally warming up and now there are these little things to sort out.  Had to wait for it to warm up so I could work on it.  

 Waterproof fuse holder.JPG   39.52K   0 downloads

 

thanks again all!