Greetings All,

Man, I need some serious help here.

2003 Cooper (non S) Model with 5 speed manual transmission.

Symptoms:

Power Steering pump on / off at times. Then other times on all the time. Then other times off all the time. This lasted about 2 weeks before it completely shut down. "My arms look like "Pop Pie" the sailer man. I never thought that the Cooper would be so hard to steer.

Repair History :

100 amp fuse under engine compartment fuse box : good
5 amp fuse in kick panal fuse box : good
30 amp fuse in engine compartment fuse box : good
Cooling fan : Working good and strong.

Volt Reading at steering pump : 14.6 volts*

* Taken directly from the main wire harness going into the pump with mutli meter. Black multimeter probe to ground wire (brown/white) in plug, Red multimeter probe to hot wire (red) in plug on wire harness. This shows both wires are in good order and not burned out.

Parts replace:

Try # 1 : wreaking yard power steering pump unit / no work
Try # 2 : wreaking yard replacement power steering pump unit / no work
Try # 3 : BBA Remanufactured power steering pump unit / no work

Is it possible that the 3 wire "wire harness" that plugs into the power steering pump units needs to send some type of feed pulse to initiate the power steering pump?

Could it have something to do with the alternator. Looking at the wiring diagram, one of the smaller ( 3 wire harness ) wires ties into the alternator?

Is it something to do with the radiator cooling fan? My low speed on the cooling fan stoped working about a year ago. ( The cooling fan on the power steering pump has always worked and cycles properly.)

Something I noticed, when I shut the car off. It takes about 2 seconds after I turn the key to the "off" position for the car to shut off. This started at the same time the power steering pump was going out. I have to be careful to keep the clutch pushed in until the car is completely shut down.

The battery terminals are cool to the touch in the morning when I go to start the car. So I know no current is being drawn while shut off.

I am at a lost and any help is greatful.

This is driving me crazy.

 

Check the steering knuckle for rust, may have seized.

 

Hello Donjulio,
It is not a mechanical issue. I am able to drive the vehicle with full range of steering. On jacks, the full motion of the steering is free of any binding.

 

Hi, don't mean to thread jack but i am experiencing the same issue as you have described with a new PS from World PAK.

However when the pump is off and i turn the vehicle on there is no voltage to the power cord, however the three prong plug was also disconnected.

 

The ps pump DOES look at the small wire from the alternator to ensure it is operating....
the electronics on the ps pump do tend ro fail...rebuilt or remanfactured often have reused parts...they are not avalable from the oem....so unless it is a factory NEW part, the hydrolics get replaced, and others are reused...
the pump does run in 2 modes...a low speed, and hi speed, not sure where/how the harness is setup to do this.
look at the wiring going to the connector? Look for chafes/cuts?
The delay in shutdown makes it sound like the issue COULD be upstream...never actually heard of a delay in shutting off the car. Makes it sound like the switch/lock is failing. Not sure how the ps pump is interrelated...

 

Hello ZippyNH,

It really did not hit me until this morning what you were saying. So here is my thought. Does the wire that is tied in between the Alternator and Power Steering Pump send a pulse to the power steering pump to say this " hey, I am spinning now, you can turn on as well?"

If someone has an 03 mini non-S and can perform a little test for me :

Can you go out to your car and turn your key to:

Position 1 : Do you hear the power steering pump come on?

Position 2 : Do you hear the power steering pump come on?

Position 3 : Be careful when doing this. With manual transmission in neutral AND not depressing the clutch, turn to position 3, do you hear the steering pump come on?

If the answer is "NO" to all three, then the alternator is not sending the pulse feed to the power steering pump.

Thanking you in advance to who can help me out. I'm going crazy here.

 

I struggled with how to do this test as I wasn't sure I'd hear the pump. But this morning at work I tried it. In all three positions I definitely did not get assist with the steering. The steering was not assisted until I started the car. I hope this answers your question.

Val

 

Hello Val,

Thank you for your help in this.

That is exactly the information I was looking for.

The power steering pump must have an impulse feed from the alternater before initializing.

Time to start tracing wires. DAMN!!!!!!

It is the yellow wire on the 3 wire plug that is the issue I think. At least this narrows it down for me.

Replacement pump from BBA coming in tommorrow. I will give more details on them later.

 

One suggestion....
check your voltage comming off the alternator...
would hate to hear all this was the result of an alternator that was strong enough to keep the battery charged, and not turn on the light, but not putting out enough volts to have the pump sense it, and turn on.
Somewhere somebody posting the threshold voltage that the ps pump turns on at...
tye logic from what i remember was the pump turns off if the alternator fails, giving you a longer run time to get the car someplace to get fixed...thing was the pump would kill the battery, and thus the car in a few minutes....
had a alternator on a honda civic that failed kinda like this....would output lots of amps, but voltage on it was maxed out at about 11.5 volts...no low volt lite yet...not sure if the regulator was bad, but it did have 176,000 miles on it...

 

Hello ZippyNH,

Give me your address, because I have a $ 5.00 bill here with your name on it. I want to buy you a beer.

Thank you for your last post. You have really led me down a different route concerning this issue.

I went back to the Bently Wire Diagrams and reviewed the following:

ELE-242 / Power Steering Electrohydraulic Control
ELE-78 / Charging System (Denso)
ELE-79 / Charging System (Valeo)

Upon my investigation (EVERYONE MIGHT WANT TO LISTEN TO THIS), the power steering IS ACTIVATED by the ALTERNATOR. If there is no feed from the alternator, the power steering pump WILL NOT come on. Now your asking what FUSE controls this. F39 in the fuse box inside the vehicle.

When I looked at the fuse the other day, it did not appear to be blown out. I am not sure what blew the fuse so I will keep an eye out for it.

I replace the fuse and the BBA power steering pump fired right up.

Now a word about BBA. YOU CANNOT GO WRONG WITH THESE FOLKS.

After installing the pump they sent me, it did not work. (The reason is explained above.) Before I found out the fuse was blown, I called them up and told them the pump did not work.

Did the deny, argue, try to pass the buck, no!!!!!!!

Their response, another pump is on the way. You will have it in 3 days. Now folks..................that is the way you do business.

So now I send my core back. They pay the freight.
I have to send the one in transit to me back. They pay the freight.

The BIG PLUS, I now have a life time warrenty on my power steering pump.

Yes, people say buy a new pump only. Figure it this way, you can spend $ 800.00 for a new pump and it will fail again. By time it fails, you will have to pay for it again. Now your at $ 1,600.00.

Or you can buy BBA at $ 385.00 walk out price and that's it. Pump fails, they replace it.

When I have time, I am going to give a better write up on this whole issue. All I can say is, this has been a learning experience for me.

 

I am having this same intermittent problem. I hope that when I investigate the fuse I will find F39 blown. Otherwise, I think you have sold me on the BBE lifetime gig.

 

Mine is '05 S tho.....

 

Just a follow up on this project.

After replacing the F39 fuse, the BBA Power Steering Pump has worked flawlessly.

I could not be happier with this company. I suggest this company to anyone replacing their power steering pump.

To date, the F39 fuse has not blown out. I can only conclude that due to the return line on the resevor leaking, the power steering pump became saturated with power steering fluid, and contaminated the electrics inside the pump causing it to drawl to many amps.

One last word, use the recommended power steering fluid in this car. I CANNOT STRESS THIS. It's expensive, but worth the stress free feeling.

Before my project was done, I went through 3 cans as I refused to recycle the fluid.

 

Do you have a link to BBA?

 

Hello Hockeyman,

Here you go.

http://www.bba-reman.com/content.asp...eering_failure

US Office:
BBA Remanufacturing Inc
300 Myles Standish Blvd
Taunton, MA 02780
United States
+1 508 822 4490
Fax +1 508 822 4491
us-sales@bba-reman.com

 

Hockeyman.....about 90% of folks issues are the pump/pumps electronics controls.
a simple check of the wiring for chafes, and check of the alternator light, and on early cars, the fuse mentioned above...and thats about all the troubleshooting that can be done.
The pump is just a big dc motor...the brushes wear, make dust, and arc, sometimes dammading the computer controler that is built into the pump...it controls on/off, and hi/low...the reman unit are cheaper,but the electronics are just CLEANED, not replaced, the rest is clean, new brushes, and a new hydrolic pump installed....the dc motor is NOT rewound like if it was truely remanfactured, but it fixes issues for some.
My take...if your labour is free, and money is tight, it can be worth a shot, but if you sre paying labour to install one,just go new....doing the job 2 times at $120+ an hour makes new a safer bet.

 

hockeyman,
I would have to agree 100% with ZippyNH on his assessments. If your paying someone to do the work for you, opt for a new power steering pump. It would be the best route.

However, if you like me, and you have PAID OUT THE NOSE to Mini Cooper Service depart, you will do the work yourself.

If you use the Pelican quide as your step by step work guide, you CANNOT go wrong. The Pelican guide is one of the best I have ever worked with.

Here is the link : http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/MINI/47-SUSPEN-Power_Steering_Pump_Replacement/47-SUSPEN-Power_Steering_Pump_Replacement.htm


A comment on jack stands : DON'T RISK IT with CHEAP jack stands. Go out and purchase yourself a very good quality set of jack stands. This cannot be STRESSED enough.

Here is how I lift my car.

I have a good heavy duty set of plastic drive up style ramp.

Rhino Ramps Blitz :

http://www.amazon.com/RHINO-RAMP-12000-PAIR/dp/B0002YTN4I" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/RHINO-RAMP-12000-PAIR/dp/B0002YTN4I

http://www.amazon.com/RHINO-RAMP-12000-PAIR/dp/B0002YTN4I">http://www.amazon.com/RHINO-RAMP-12000-PAIR/dp/B0002YTN4I" /> http://www.amazon.com/RHINO-RAMP-12000-PAIR/dp/B0002YTN4I">http://www.amazon.com/RHINO-RAMP-12000-PAIR/dp/B0002YTN4I

Here is an instructional and she has a cute voice :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvGvEsDsVvU" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvGvEsDsVvU

I use these on the rear. Just simply place them behind the rear tires and back up on them. Set the emergency brake.


For the front, I use a set of heavy duty metal truck (passenger) jack stands. This allows me to get the car up good and high. Most importantly SAFE!!!!!!!!!

Duralast Jack Stands
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Duralast-1-pair-6-Ton-jack-stand/_/N-2562?itemIdentifier=234799_0_0_

Man, I tell you when you have your car up on this set up….you feel safe working under it.

Once you do this, you have LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of working room. Did I mention SAFE SAFE SAFE

I use two types of hydraulic jacks.

The small type hydraulic jack on the side where the jack lift point is on the car. You only need this to lift the car up so you can get the big jack under the front of the car.

Once you have the big hydraulic lift under the vehicle, center it on the cross member. There is a circular lip under the cross member that the big jack pad will sit into perfectly.

Once lined up, jack away and you can lift the whole front of the car with one jack.

REMEMBER : SET THE EMERGENCY BRAKE !!!!!!!

Once up, please the jack stands under the vehicle lift points on the side of the vehicle.

Then work away.

For added safty, you can have a fabricator take the arms from the 6 ton jack stands and fabricate them to custom fit the lift points on a mini. Now your talking safe lifting.

Good luck on your project.

Keep us all updated to your progress
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