Jump to content


Photo

My Electricity Has Run Away


  • Please log in to reply
No replies to this topic

#1 Elwyn

Elwyn

    Speeding Along Now

  • TMF+ Member
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 332 posts
  • Location: Warrington

Posted 02 December 2020 - 05:40 PM

Hello

 

1993 L reg SPI Cooper

 

Context

I am an idiot

 

Background

Air filter box, throttle body and inlet manifold removed

Inlet manifold expertly refurbished by Roger Carpenter (Mini Forum member and all round good guy)

All sorts of things disconnected, lying loose and dangling

Including the pull cable that runs across the top of the air filter to the heater valve

The cable with the circular wire end that hooks onto and pushes / pulls the heater valve 

 

Enter Stupidity, Stage Left

On receipt of the returned, truly wonderful inlet manifold and in unbridled desperation to get the thing reassembled and the engine turning over, I clipped the maintenance charger onto the battery terminals for a top up while I was working.

Car battery terminals also still connected

The bare metal circular metal end of the pull wire that goes to the heater valve was tucked out of the way while I reassembled things

It must have pinged free from its wedged location

The bare metal end made contact with the engine block (I think)

Arcing, fizzing, unpleasant words and some panic

I whipped it away after about a nano second

I disconnected the maintenance charger and the car battery terminals and carried on

 

A few days later, I reconnected the battery and turned the key

Nothing

Not a click or a buzz at the starter motor

 

Next Steps

I changed all fuses

It cost less than a tenner so I thought, why not?

I disconnected the battery and charged with a normal battery charger

I reconnected the battery to the car terminals

Turned the key

Nothing

Not a click or a buzz at the starter motor

 

Immobiliser

I have an immobiliser

It usually has a flashing red light on the dash

I usually hold a "thing" to a "receiving thing" for a few seconds, the light goes off and I have 30 seconds to turn the key and start the car

I'm sure you know the type

I currently have no flashing red light

I'm assuming the immobiliser was affected by the arcing / fizzing event, but is there more to it than that?

When I've had a failed immobiliser in the past, there's still been power, the starter motor still had a go, but now, this time, nothing fires

It is just all dead

 

Other info

Fuses

I changed the 4 glass fuses in the Lucas fuse box in the engine bay

A previous owner must have changed the inline fuses and inline fuse carriers for a bank of blade fuses

So I changed all of those too

Before this, everything was fine

No electrical issues at all

None

 

Any ideas?

 

In eejit friendly plain English (as you'll have gathered, I'm no mechanical or electrical genius)

 

Is there another fuse / set of fuses somewhere else?

 

Thanks in advance you wonderful people

 

Regards

 

Elwyn the Numpty

 

Attached File  Glass fuses replaced 02122020.JPG   71.99K   0 downloads

Attached File  Blade fuses replaced 02122020.JPG   73.83K   0 downloads


Edited by Elwyn, 02 December 2020 - 05:47 PM.





0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users