20 replies to this topic

[samuelsam]

Hi friends

I’m having an issue with my 998c Mini. Driving at low speed through town, the engine began to stutter (possibly missing) suddenly when using the accelerator. Managed to get it home keeping in a high gear and low acceleration.

Made some checks on the engine and took it out for a test drive a couple of days later. Got a couple of miles up the road and had the same thing. Turned around and headed home, the mini wasn’t having it, it was much worse this time and any acceleration at all was causing the problem. After about a quarter of a mile the engine just died and wouldn’t restart.

Days later and it’s turning over and giving splutters - but won’t start, even with taps of the accelerator.

I’ve sequentially done the following since to find the root of the problem:

Replaced spark plugs
Replaced HT leads
Replaced distributor cap (previous one was worn)
Replaced rotor arm
Replaced condenser
Checked gap between points
Replaced coil
Replaced battery (needed to anyway)
Cleaned carburettor
Replaced pipes on carb fuel pot
Replaced float in fuel pot
Replaced needle on fuel pot
Replaced gasket on fuel pot
Engineer adjusted carburettor mixture

To no avail!

By the way - there is fuel in the tank before you suggest that!

Help! Got any ideas??

Thanks and all the best
Samuel

[RustyAutoCityE]

Have you checked to see if the fuel pump is working as it should?

[samuelsam]

Have you checked to see if the fuel pump is working as it should?

Hey Rusty! Thanks for your reply. Yes - cranked the engine and the float chamber fills with fuel.

[cal844]

How old is said fuel? Is it definitely sparking?

Is the choke working as it should?

Edited by cal844, 19 June 2020 - 09:06 PM.

[RustyAutoCityE]

Again another basic question, have you checked for spark?

 

Edit: Cal beat me to it!

Edited by RustyAutoCityE, 19 June 2020 - 09:07 PM.

[Mini_Problems_]

May be worth doing a compression check to see if the head gasket has gone.

[slidehammer]

I agree with the above compression test it now as you have covered off most of the ignition and fuel side of the engine already.

[TheFabMini]

If you’ve got spark+fuel and as has been suggested above check the compression

Has the distributor wobbles loose and messed up the ignition timing?
Might explain it stuttering and stopping if it came loose and wobbled out of place... spark plugs will still spark but might be at the complete wrong time. In my experience you tend to get pops and bangs from the intake/exhaust as it ignites fuel at the wrong point but I guess it’s not impossible?

[sonikk4]

You say you have checked the points?? Ate they seated correctly on the little pimple on the base plate of the dizzy??

 

This locates the points correctly and if not then this will cause your symptoms. Been there with my Clubby. Car ran perfectly for 68 miles when i picked him. The following day i went to pick my lad up and the car basically spluttered and died. It did try to fire but in the end a tow home was the order of the day.

 

Next day checked everything and no gap on the points. Screw was very tight so??? Readjusted everything worked as advertised but 2 miles down the road and it started to splutter and die. Got it home and points were closed again??? Screw was still tight.

 

So double checked they were mounted correctly readjusted and bingo jobs a good un. The small pimple was there but as a locator its not the best.

 

My next purchase was a Electronic Dizzy. 

[samuelsam]

Hi everyone, thanks for your responses. The first attempts to figure the source of the problem gave intermittent sparks - sometimes there seemed to be a spark and sometimes not at all. Replacing the condenser seemed to give a constant spark up until now and I’m not getting a spark at all. The distributor is fitted completely solid and there is no chance of it moving.

Your responses (thank you again) and other research I’ve done has made me want to electrify the distributor, even if it might not fix the problem entirely. I’ve been having a look around, I’m almost certain I’ve got a Lucas 59D (mini from ‘94) but kits from accuspark and powerspark and others seem to be varying in price quite a bit (isn’t it just a couple of magnets and cables?) and would really appreciate any advice on which to go for if you have any recommendations.

Many thanks again, really appreciate it!

Also one more thing, I noticed the vacuum pipe had come out of the rubber L shape bit that fits to the top of the distributor. I realise how useful these little things can be and I feel like it shouldn’t be loose enough to just be able to slip out of where it goes? Do you think I should be getting new rubber connectors and a pipe here?

Very best

[cal844]

If your mini is a 94 year car it will have a 65D distributor

[cooperd70]

If it helps I fitted the accuspark kit to my dizzy when I bought the car in early 2017 (at around £40) and have had no issues with it. I also didn't understand why the other kits are way more expensive. I fitted this kit as a friend who deals with a lot of minis advised that he'd only ever had one fail on him when fitting them to customers cars.

[Ian Davy(oz)]

Hey Sam,

 

Not sure where you got up to with this, but my Landcrab had a very similar issue last week, turns out the low tension wire from the dizzy to the coil had broken at the connector inside the dizzy where it connects to the points.

Hard to see, but a 5 minute fix.

Worth checking the wire into the dizzy.

 

Ian

[samuelsam]

Hi everyone. Thanks for all of your responses so far. I have some news.

 

I have now converted the distributor to electronic and - wow! The car started without any problems. Great!

 

I reset the timing (made sure the distributor was tight) and also replaced the vacuum advance pipe and joints as the pipe was feeling a little bit loose.

 

 

So I took the car out for a drive and had no issues. But I wasn't sold!

 

Going out again, with a passenger this time, and we had the problem again - except, the car now starts after turning it off and letting it rest for a while.

 

 

I've now collated all of the instances over time that this has happened and have a list of the conditions/steps which seem to cause it:

 

1. Have a passenger in the car with me (more weight)

2. Drive for approx. 20 minutes at varying speeds

3. Stop somewhere, with the engine idling... in a car park, at a junction or at traffic lights and have to wait at least a minute.

4. During being stopped, I notice some anomalies in the sound of the engine ticking over, just the one off blip of (what sounds like but might not be) a missed fire every few seconds.

5. Move off from this stop, and as moving up the gears, the car jumps and stutters all over the place as the accelerator is pressed.

 

What is now new, however, with the electronic distributor is that if I persevere with the stuttering for a good few minutes, it seems to make its way through it and begin to drive like normal again. This didn't happen with the points distributor - with the points dizzy it just did it more and more until the engine stopped completely and wouldn't start again.

 

But it always only happens when moving off, after the engine has been idling, after being driven for a good amount of time.

 

Do these further developments help ring any more bells in what to check?

Thanks to everyone again!

[RustyAutoCityE]

When it is stuttering, is there a change if you apply the choke?