19 replies to this topic

[Blatherskite]

If you own a Mini its worth investing in a multimeter. maplins do a reasonable one for a tenner and there are ones even cheaper on fleabay. It will quickly pay for itself on jobs like this. Don't pay a fortune for a fancy one as most of the time you will be using the continuity check or 20v setting.

Its worth getting a meter that goes squeak if the circuit is good - then you can concentrate on getting the probes onto the contacts without having to look away.

[holmesy]

pretty much every multimeter these days has a built in buzzer just just you may have to press a button to activate it.

on a fluke when you turn the dial to ohms you then press the button on the dial, any other meters then the button is normally on the top left on most metets ive come across.

also jaydee when your looking for for voltage make sure your turn the meter to direct current( that the v with a straight line above it) you will get a incorrect reading if you select volts ac :)

[Jaydee88]

The volt meter I have is a nice good one and I refuse to let myself think I have broken my dads volt meter! id be gutted! but I put a new baytery in it and it still didnt pick up current.. hopefully it was because I put it to V instead of the V with a line!
So grom what everyone said I took the whole dash out checking all the fuses and they were all fine... they were all nicely bright coloured ones... then I followed wire after wire under bonnet etc and eventually found a sneaky fuse under the steering column!! and it was a glass one in a white casing so if it wasnt for the person that told me what they were I would have never known that had a fuse in! so thankyou! I now have a working radio! but no working car haha! xxxxxx

[Jaydee88]

check the fuse's first, like said if you have glass fuses then check them yo see if the thin wire in the middle is in one piece, the ones in the box in the engine bay will easily twist round so you can check. next would be to check for the ones in a plastic tube about 4-5cm long, these simply twist apart to allow access to the fuse, they also corrode on the ends so check check that as well ( scrape will a small screwdriver to get a contact surface)

another thing to look out for are blade fuses, I suspect a few of our minis have been modified for the use of blade fuses, these are a bit harder to see but in the middle of the plastic part will be a zig zag peice of metal, check to see if its in one one piece.

There are hidden fuses behind the dash and and steering column. check the fuses and if one has gone then we can can point you in the right direction to solve the problem :)

you are a genius! I wish I actually properly read the bit that told me to look behind the steering column! it was you that made me recognise the plastic tube one or i wouldnt have looked twice at it!
xxxxxx

[holmesy]

your welcome As long as something gets sorted I'm pleased