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No Power To Ignition - Intermittent


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#1 mini_zinger

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Posted 13 September 2019 - 07:56 AM

please do direct me to another post if this already exists, i could not find with my search skills.

 

Hiya fellow Mini lovers,

 

Need your expertise please. My mini keeps dying on me and upon troubleshooting it has been found that

  • power to the 'ignition coil' cuts off on both terminals.

  • Happens after about 5 minutes of running, either idle or driving.

 

When the car dies, using the circuit tester it can be confirmed that

  • there is still power to the fuse box, coming to all the fuses (except the park light fuse),

  • there is also power to the ignition as the red light in the dash does come on.

  • the engine cranks but wont start because there is no power coming to the coils hence no spark.

 

And then after waiting for sometime, power magically comes back to the coils and car starts and runs, if I leave it running then

  • after a few mins car just dies, and when I check the coils then there is no power to it

  • however power is available every where else as mentioned earlier above.

 

The very initial fault was that my electric fuel pump died in peak traffic, and since everything else was working, I just thought to replace the electric fuel pump, but guess what? it wasn't the pump, as the pump was simply not getting power hence it stopped working.

 

So it kind of seems like something central is at fault. in addition to the solenoid i also have a bosh 3 pin relay, the square kind. similar to attached pic, that is not the exact one i just googled for similar relay pic.

 

Mini is 1978, 1275cc with electronic fuel and added rev meter.


Edited by mini_zinger, 13 September 2019 - 07:56 AM.


#2 viz139

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Posted 13 September 2019 - 11:36 AM

Your fault appears to be in the white wiring.. 

Sometimes you can get a false power reading where a bad connection allows enough current through to operate a voltmeter  but not a coil or pump.

I would suspect your problem is the white spade connections at the fuse board . Where have you taken the power for the fuel pump from?



#3 jaysmini1983

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Posted 13 September 2019 - 11:44 AM

run a tempory line direct from battery to coil and test, if it runs ok then you know its the wiring.



#4 mini_zinger

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Posted 13 September 2019 - 12:04 PM

I dont know was done by previous owner. Now Fuel pump still ticks when there is no power to the coil

Your fault appears to be in the white wiring.. 
Sometimes you can get a false power reading where a bad connection allows enough current through to operate a voltmeter  but not a coil or pump.
I would suspect your problem is the white spade connections at the fuse board . Where have you taken the power for the fuel pump from?



#5 mini_zinger

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Posted 13 September 2019 - 12:06 PM

Apologies forgot to mention already tried that and yes car starts without any issues if we run the wire directly. So what should i do now to fix it?

I am wondering how all of a sudden after 2 years it has wiring problem...it has been working fine for 2 years...zero issues.



run a tempory line direct from battery to coil and test, if it runs ok then you know its the wiring.


Edited by mini_zinger, 13 September 2019 - 01:20 PM.


#6 CityEPete

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Posted 13 September 2019 - 04:54 PM

Could be the actual ignition barrel switch cutting in and out but sounds more like crusty terminals on the fuse box, sometimes they look OK but the wire inside the insulation is rotten when you get inside.

The other thing is the wire to the coil, is it ballast ignition? Those dreaded pink wires can burn out the loom.

Edited by CityEPete, 13 September 2019 - 04:58 PM.


#7 mini_zinger

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Posted 14 September 2019 - 03:14 AM

Hiya all, firstly thank you heaps for all your help. i spent about 3 hours today and found the fault on the mini....and it was....just a loose lug of the main power source onto the ignition coil. All i had to do was pull the lug outwards till it fit tightly. Sigh what a drama. Anyways all sorted and i have driven it back home. Thank you heaps for all your help.

#8 CityEPete

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Posted 14 September 2019 - 07:38 AM

Nice one

#9 viz139

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Posted 14 September 2019 - 10:04 AM

I am wondering how all of a sudden after 2 years it has wiring problem...it has been working fine for 2 years...zero issues.


 

Its called owning a mini, get used to it. :lol:

Well done on finding the fault

 

 

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