46 replies to this topic

[mercenary62]

well thats it last chance for my mini   its been hard to start since i got it, previous owner was an supposed  genius rebuilding minis, its a miny city running a 1275 spi engine ,running now a reconditioned hif44 carb  as the old hif 38 had no seals left in the throttle and choke shafts , ive replaced the two? yes two inlet/exhaust gaskets that were on it stuck together  with a new turbo gasket, new plugs, leads ,new fuel lines ,cleaned every earth on the car all connections to all wires , still the bastard is hard to start  it runs a bdl needle in the carb  which is new  ive tried altering the mixture on the carb 100 times still doesent want to start easily , when I do get it to start it runs well , but when you switch it off its a ******* to start  unless its hot , then it misfires and finally clears  itself and runs well again, oil pressure is around 50lbs when running ,and there is no smoke from the exhaust , only thing I haven't replaced is the coil but its the ballast version , il replace that tomorrow  with a normal coil ,  failing that itl be breaking for spares  soon

[Minigman]

Before doing something as drastic as breaking it for spares have you considered taking it to a rolling road to have it looked at and tuned?

[mercenary62]

Before doing something as drastic as breaking it for spares have you considered taking it to a rolling road to have it looked at and tuned?

no mate spent too much on it already , cant justify spending much more on it ,nearest rolling road is 35 miles away  ,id need it picked up and dropped off there , so more expense, b4 they even look at it ,probably better to shove it into the back of the garage and forget about it for a while  

Edited by mercenary62, 02 July 2020 - 11:48 PM.

[GraemeC]

So if it is a ballast coil, does it have the correct wiring to suit?

[RustyAutoCityE]

We all know the feeling, sometimes it is better to just take a break and let the fustration pass.

 

If you are really stuck, maybe a local member might be able to take a look (fresh pair of eyes on the problem) or help with parts to swap out?

[MikeRotherham]

What is the condition of the rest of the car like. If it's good I think it's worth persisting with the engine problem. Assuming you don't have a deadline then it won't matter how long it takes and most people seem to regret selling their mini.

 

The advice about getting someone else to look at it is good. It sounds like the engine is far removed from how it left the factory. You need someone who has good diagnostic skills. Rather than just swapping bits out on the off chance some one who could see how the bits you've got at present are working. It may need nothing more than adjustment.

 

For now though as some one said take a break from it.

 

It's frustrating now but just think how you'll feel when you crack it!

[mercenary62]

So if it is a ballast coil, does it have the correct wiring to suit?

il check over the week end cheers

[mercenary62]

What is the condition of the rest of the car like. If it's good I think it's worth persisting with the engine problem. Assuming you don't have a deadline then it won't matter how long it takes and most people seem to regret selling their mini.

 

The advice about getting someone else to look at it is good. It sounds like the engine is far removed from how it left the factory. You need someone who has good diagnostic skills. Rather than just swapping bits out on the off chance some one who could see how the bits you've got at present are working. It may need nothing more than adjustment.

 

For now though as some one said take a break from it.

 

It's frustrating now but just think how you'll feel when you crack it!

 

rest of the car is very solid  has been well looked after b4 the previous owner got his hands on it ,on another note ive a mk1 that sat from 2005  fitted an hs4 carb and she fired straight up and ran sweet 

[mercenary62]

might just get a new std coil and wire it up somehow , but don't know if its compatible with electronic ignition , im no good with electrics

[mercenary62]

So if it is a ballast coil, does it have the correct wiring to suit?

 

Christ knows im hopeless with electrics

[mab01uk]

I have an spi engine with HIF carb that has similar problems......pretty sure it is an intermittent fault in the electronic control module on the 65D distributor but not tried replacing it yet.

 

IGNITION MODULE FOR ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTOR:-

http://www.minispare...65.aspx|Back to

http://www.somerford...roducts_id=5284

Edited by mab01uk, 03 July 2020 - 09:00 AM.

[mercenary62]

I have an spi engine with HIF carb that has similar problems......pretty sure it is an intermittent fault in the electronic control module on the 65D distributor but not tried replacing it yet.

 

IGNITION MODULE FOR ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTOR:-

http://www.minispare...65.aspx|Back to

http://www.somerford...roducts_id=5284

god knows mate im sick o the car now

[GraemeC]

The coil type has no impact on the electronic ignition per se - the electronic ignition will tell the the coil when to make a spark, the coil will then give that spark to the plugs (via the dizzy cap and rotor arm).  The electronic ignition doesn't really care how that coil makes the spark.

 

So - if you have a ballast coil first check that you have two wires to the +ve terminal.  Should be one pink/white and one white/yellow (I say should be - this is the most common colours but others were used).

Then check that there is also a whit/yellow at the starter motor solenoid.  If one end of this cable is disconnected it could cause a problem of the symptoms you describe.

Make sure that the +ve cable to the electronic ignition unit does NOT come from the coil terminals, but the -ve cable does.

 

If you choose to change the coil to a 'normal' 12V you would need to run a new wire from the fusebox, off the terminal that presently has a white wire (ignition 12V).  That would go to the +ve terminal of the new coil. You must not use the pink/white or white/yellow.

[mercenary62]

The coil type has no impact on the electronic ignition per se - the electronic ignition will tell the the coil when to make a spark, the coil will then give that spark to the plugs (via the dizzy cap and rotor arm).  The electronic ignition doesn't really care how that coil makes the spark.

 

So - if you have a ballast coil first check that you have two wires to the +ve terminal.  Should be one pink/white and one white/yellow (I say should be - this is the most common colours but others were used).

Then check that there is also a whit/yellow at the starter motor solenoid.  If one end of this cable is disconnected it could cause a problem of the symptoms you describe.

Make sure that the +ve cable to the electronic ignition unit does NOT come from the coil terminals, but the -ve cable does.

 

If you choose to change the coil to a 'normal' 12V you would need to run a new wire from the fusebox, off the terminal that presently has a white wire (ignition 12V).  That would go to the +ve terminal of the new coil. You must not use the pink/white or white/yellow.

thanks mate il take some pics of whats what and go from there cheers

[cal844]

Fit a 12v coil suitable for the distributor then run a 12v feed from the fuse box