I went to drive my mini tonight and discovered i wasnt going far. The engine was shuddering (bunny hoping) as I accelerated in every gear! I wasnt sure if a engine steady had broken as it only did it under load. However I checked that and appeared ok with not much light and continued to drive but the shuddering continued and the alternator light was flickering on and off as the shuddering occured. It only did this when driving under acceleration or a bump. But when taken out of gear does not shudder. I will have to check the engine steady's in the morning with good light but has anyone got any idea what the problem could be. Thanks

could be a porly ground wire to the engine since you got the warning light.

yep sounds like an electical fault of some description... jumping about may be just the effect of a bad missfire (not necessarily anything broken).. could be as simple as a cruddy earth.. earths are realy important in auto electrics.. any impedance is going to cause a drama..
do any manualls recomend checking and cleaning of all terminals and earth points?? if not, they should ...
check these first its free and easy to do.

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No longer Ms Westwoods mini outside her original kings road shop

Most definately the nut behind the steering wheel.

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[NATHAN] -- Sold everything mini related and am back in big beautiful BMWs

yes, its gotten loose :p

Ok - I'm no mechanic, but it's late so let's have a go....

bunny hopping = power on then off then on then off... hmmmm

first thoughts - engine, pistons go up, pistons go down? hmmm unlikely
gearbox or clutch? dunno - maybe?

then you say warning light - ah lucus strikes again!
ok lets follow that logic
spark = bang, no spark = no bang
where does spark come from = plugs
wher do plugs get power = dizzy
where does dizzy get power from = coil - nah coil is constant power from there - back to dizzy

I'd check - plugs, leads and dizzy

Now lets see the experts show you why I'm completely on the wrong track

ahhhh but whodat if it is not earthing corectly you will get the same simptoms is this a clubby if so there is a distrubution block that the main battery feed runs of make sure the termanals are clean neaxt make sure there is no mosture under the cap also cheak the earths one at the battery and one frome the motor to the bodie
makka

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If the earth strap is the problem, and it has a poor connection, the accelerator cable will become the best earth on the engine.

See any sparks coming off your accelerator cable??



I would say to check / try another distributor.

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[NATHAN] -- Sold everything mini related and am back in big beautiful BMWs

sounds like your points need replacing in your dizzy.

The distributor current drain rises as the revs rise - if the car shudders and misfires at higher revs - try turning off the headlights and see if that improves the situation a bit, then turn the headlights plus the wipers on and see if the shudder increases. All this could b down to an alternator not charging sufficiently (possible causes - loose alt belt, faulty 4TR control module, faulty alernator), or the battery bust or a loose connection.

If you have an multimeter test the car stationary. The charge should idealy be around 12.5 Vdc with the engine off. And rising or atleast the same with the engine on at fast idle. And really shouldnt be falling too close to 12v with the headlights and wipers on.

Could also be that the points are set too close. When this happens it runs really weird, as the gap (if any) is affected by the slop in the dizzy bearings.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Not really enough information?? If the clutch was slipping then you might get the same symptoms? slips then grabs and nearly stalls...genny/alternator says awww come on !! I'm trying to charge here!!

Loose distributor?

Points as stated...

blocked fuel supply?? do you got a filter in the line??

In all gears points to something engine related?...........

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"Show me the Mini!"

been busy today but had a quick look and drive. Made sure all leads, earths etc were ok, and went for a drive. the car now drives properly until it reaches about 4 and a half thousand revs, then it starts again, but not as strong as yesterday. i run a N12 Pulasr Dizzy on a 1275 and it occured in every gear last night. will check out the alternator tomorrow, thanks for your help.

I had the same problem..checked everything, ended up being a loose alternator belt

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Ok will definitely check that in the morning thanks