6 replies to this topic

[welshdan]

 

 

 

so my not so trusty mpi cooper that I use daily has been playing up over the last few days.

you could sometimes flick the key but nothing would happen - all ignition on, but the engine wouldn't turn. just a clicking from the starter relay

if you tried again, it would fire up straight away on the second, and later the third or fourth try.

the battery was past its best so replaced this. cleaned the battery leads, they are on tight.

whipped the grill off, cleaned and inspected the starter wires, all seemed to be in good order. it then fired first time without issues

tried again an hour later and it would only spin intermittently again. this then changed to only turning over occasionally. or sometimes just turning over once, before stopping, before the engine could fire up.

so due to the intermittent nature I thought that there might be a dead short. firstly I replaced the starter relay which did not change things.

I whipped the dash out and the steering column shroud off to see if there was anything obvious with the wiring. there wasn't. also checked the connection to the mpi immobiliser box which was ok

but it now fires up first time. I moved the wiring looking for issues, im thinking that maybe a section of wire or a connector might be damaged?

as it works ok now that's ok - but wasn't happy starting last night again

has anyone else has similar issues, or can anyone thing of anything obvious that I should be checking?

[Sean.D98]

I had a similar issue and i fitted a new earth strap and it starts first time every time. it also helps if you clean the contacts on the starter

[ukcooper]

Had sort of the same problem, clean all the connections on the starter and the seem to sort it. Disconnect battery first.

[Fast Ivan]

Dan, have a look at the main relay pack in the engine bay, check for the obvious bad connections loose wires etc.

But it does sound like the issue is most likely the starter itself or the soleniod

[welshdan]

on Saturday I changed the starter, also swapped the large black engine relay box.

 

this starts great, but earlier on one occasion It just clicked on the turn of the key. tried again and it was fine. so the problem is still there. im now thinking it could be ignition switch/a wiring /earth problem. not sure what else to look at to be honest? cheers, dan

[Sean C]

I had this problem with the spi for a while. I traced it down to a sticky relay (black box) next to the master cylinders. I had to give it a tap now and again but its been ok for the last few months now :)

[welshdan]

cheers, i swapped this for a different one...