howdy all,
straight into it, when i go to turn her over i occasionaly get this click noise, my first thought was the battery, nope, battery is perfectly fine. Other times when it's dont this, keep trying and she turns over after a bit of trying. Anyway, happened again last night but this time when i went to turn her over, click again, but saw a crap load of smoke coming from the bonnet, stopped trying immediately, got out and had a quick look through the grille (didnt wanna open it incase it was on fire and put flames to my face).

Anyway, opened it up and found the battery cable to the black box (forgive my noobness, no idea what its called, sits just above the coil) had melted its rubber insulation, and the wire was very hot to the touch.

One of the guys at soccer told me it's more than likely the "bendix spring" in the starter not letting go, or letting go, one of those two anyway.

Just wondering if thats correct or if its something else i have to look for.

Cheers,
Robbie.

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'73 clubby s "cryo" - sold
Operation Evil Sesame Street!

The "black box" is your solenoid I'd imagine.
It does sound like a dodgy starter or solenoid, try another if you have a spare or invest in a rwd gemini one (TD/TE type gemini) from a wreckers and mod as per the sticky on here. In a mini you by-pass the solenoid, by joining the wires on the solenoid onto one pole when installing the gemini starter.

You may also have to change the solenoid too given the drama you describe.

worthwhile checking how tight all your earth leads are as well while you're at it (ie engine bay and the neg off the battery in the boot).

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Dodgey starter i reckon, when it clicks smack it with a hammer , worked for me. i would also remove the starter and see if the spring and cog are all black with dirty oil and sticking, if everything in the starter hole is wet, oily and yuk id be checking the rear main for leaks, if theres no leaks in there id just clean the action end of the starter and relube it smack it back in and try again.......Well thats my opinion any way

Look at the connection where the smoke was coming from. Clean it and do it up tight.

sounds like the solenoid

It does sound like the solenoid. Fix up the wire etc and see if that fixes it.

If it does it again, you can release the bendix by putting the car in third gear, remove the hand brake and rock the car back and fourth until you hear the bendix releasing.

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Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

Don't forget to check the Air pressure in the back tyres.

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DID I MENTION THAT I AM THE BEST SUPPLIER FOR MINI ELECTRICAL PARTS AND REPAIRS?
"Let us remove your "SHORTS"

The solenoid won't cause you to melt the insulation on your battery cable! That is some serious juice the starter motor is pulling.

The problem might have started within the starter motor, hot joint within the solenoid, or the cable from the solenoid to the starter motor being shorted, but now you will have a much wider fault to chase out.

You will need to have the whole lot checked over including the battery cable as now that it is melted from the near short, it might short against the body and cause a fire.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

sounds like the bendix has jammed in the ring gear - put it in 4th and rock the car back and forth until it releases...

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

Sorry to 'borrow' this thread a bit, but our clubman does this. And I rock it in 4th to free it up. I have replaced the starter and solenoid (both from a working functional car, and occasionally it still does it. Just to try and help out, is there anything else we (both) should be looking at as a 2nd resort?

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88 Rover 1.3i "Reggie"
99 Rover 1.3i “Grover”
12 Mini Cooper S "The shitter"
17 Mini Clubman JCW “Noddy”

If you take the starter out, you can lubricate the bendix gear and mechanism to get it moving again smoothly through it's travel. You are supposed to use dry graphite only as oil flung into the clutch will cause the car to slip, but the smallest amount of oil can also be used to slightly grease the surface and have it work properly again. Not enough to get flung off, just enough to cover the metal and get it moving smoothly.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.