Here is a weird one that could have been MUCH more serious than it turned out to be.

Made a run to the post office (5 miles), and on returning to my Mini and restarting my 2003 MCS I got about 100 yards, noticing a chug chug chug pulsing sound coming from the engine compartment. I pull over, put in the clutch, put it in neutral and there is a loud, continuous chugging or pumping sound coming from the engine! I turn the key off---but the sound continues! Upon opening the hood I can tell the starter motor is engaged and turning the engine over! It is not turning the engine over like when you start it however. This is more of a slow pulsing, not a steady running of the starter motor. Then the smell of burning wires. Then the smoke begins! I frantically open the trunk to get my tools and undo the negative lead of the battery, BUT, there is only the jack and tire iron in the Mini tool kit. (Is that all we get?!?) Now it's serious panic time. Smoke is pouring out of the engine compartment! I grab the negative battery lead and frantically start working it back and forth, where the lug is bolted to the frame. In what must be the longest minute of my life, the lug finally fractures and the negative battery lead comes free. The smoke starts to subside, and there were no visible flames ever seen coming from the engine compartment.

Lesson 1: Carry a tool that will definitely disconnect the battery connection ASAP. (even if it's a cable cutter. I would have used a cutter here in a second rather than mess with a wrench! Trust me on this one!)

Lesson 2: Carry a fire extinguisher.

I have never heard of this happening before, and I sure hope nobody else has this happen to his or her Mini.

My Mini now sits at the dealer undergoing a complete new main wiring harness/starter motor installation. Thank goodness this is under warranty as the dealer has said that the starter motor was the culprit. (I was thinking a stuck solenoid---maybe it's integral on the Mini starter motor).

Hope this helps....

Marty

 

Man oh man oh man. You dodged a big one. Popping the hood could have had catastrophic consequences. All that fresh air could have been all it and you needed to be engulfed in flames. Good to hear you're ok.

...Les

 

Les,
I think it was a slow process and not "instant" flames. (I never saw flames). I think the starter motor wiring probably handled the current fine for a minute or so, but I don't think it's designed for continuous cranking for five minutes! I'm curious what actually failed in the first place. Maybe someone here with more knowledge of the Mini starter motor will be able to inform us all about what could have failed.

Marty

 

Unusual failure!

It could have been a welded solenoid. It could have been failed electronics driving the solenoid ... I have heard of one MINI that (rarely) keeps the engine running when the key is switched off, even removed! Not quite the same fault, but maybe related ...

Glad you and the car are basically OK; the dealership should be able to sort it.

One question: when you got out & left the car to go in to the PO, was the car making the noise then? If there was a solenoid failure, it would have stuck from the last use - which was presumably when you started the car at home before the drive. So you would have heard it when you stopped the engine.

 

Cool.....I'm sure they'll fix up your MINI good as new. Perhaps the dealer will show you the parts when they're done.

...Les

 

holly crap!


you're brave to have thought all that and unplugged the battery before more damage happened! fast thinking.

 

No GBMINI, everything was normal when I shut the engine off at the Post Office. When I started the engine to leave it all reacted normally, but what got me was that the noise I first heard I now realize was the flywheel spinning the hell out of the starter motor because it didn't release on start-up. I forgot to mention (and it's a strong clue) that the first noise I heard was a screamingly high RPM starter motor spinning. But I didn't know that at the time. When I started to slow down and pull over (around 15 mph, first gear, and taking the enginie out of gear) was when I actually first heard the starter motor going chug chug chug. It was a strange sound, not at all like a starter motor normally sounds. That makes me think there was something else going on. Perhaps a bad start signal from the electronics? Or, maybe this all resulted from a mechanical failure of the starter motor not kicking out of gear when the engine started. I just don't know. Maybe the dealer will have some more info for me tomorrow. I will be sure to post it here. All I can say is I sure hope nobody else has this happen. Watching your Mini starting to melt down is no fun at all...

Thanks guys,

Marty