2 replies to this topic

[James1345]

Dear mini enthusiasts
Hoping for some advice I’m new here names James
Thanks for letting me join
I recently purchased a automatic mini that needed some tlc
It’s 1996 1.3 spi or mpi not sure of the difference
Automatic
Had problems holding charge when it arrived but this was a loose fanbelt
That problem solved but now I have discovered that :
It will start with gear selector in drive guessing it’s the inhibitor switch
And will cut out when you select gear or when you stop moving
How ever it does not always do this sometimes the fault is not there at all
It starts fine and runs strong although it does smell a bit rich , it will tick over for long periods of time and then sometimes cut out but starts back up although it seems like it has flooded
I haven’t much experience with old minis but know my way around having read through a few posts
I’ve some ideas but was hoping for more clarity on it I haven’t looked at anything yet U see the bonnet
Can anyone help offer any advice
Many many thanks for reading
J

[68+86auto]

Does it still have the SPI setup or has it been converted to a carb?

The first step is to inspect the engine bay carefully for any hoses which may be disconnected or leaking. It's quite common for the vacuum hoses to need replacement.


The inhibitor switch may need adjustment, you need to put a meter on it and determine if it's an adjustment issue or a bad switch or wiring.

[James1345]

hi thanks for the reply 

it has the spi set up

since I last wrote I have inspected the the vacuum pipes connected to the air filter but not any other pipes , but these all seem in good shape , the car is very low mileage and every thing looks newish

I took the inhibitor switch out and put it back in I noticed a wire had been repaired , mini spares told me to just join the wires up but that would not fix what its already doing by starting in gear , if the switch was faulty surley it would not start at all ,so not sure what's going on with it , I managed to advance the idle a little with adjustment , started it back up and it seems to have solved the problem of the car cutting out when you put it in gear

other things I observed were , had a bit to much oil in it so let some out , there is no heat in the cabin , the pipes going in and out of the bulkhead are hot but not too hot , I was wondering if the water temperature controls how the car runs from cold 

I also checked the rotor arm cap and leads not much wrong there

what am I looking for when I test the inhibitor and how is it adjusted?

Many thanks