Engine stalling when cold

[KillerByte]

My 2002 MINI Cooper started playing up this morning. I got in and started the engine while I was putting some stuff in the glovebox, then set off to work. No more than 200 yards down the road is a T-junction which I pulled to a stop at. As the car came to a halt it studdered and stalled. I started the engine again and set off. It still felt a bit shaky initially but as the engine warmed up things returned to normal.

This evening, I got into the car and again started the engine as I was putting stuff in the glovebox. I drove to the end of the road and then downhill towards another T-junction. I pressed the brake pedal and then as the car approached the junction I put the clutch in, and the car came to a halt and then cut out. No shudder, no jolt, it just cut out. Again I started the engine up and resumed my journey and the car seemed fine.

It was about 6ºC this morning and 10ºC this evening. The car has been fine in temperatures much lower than this in the past. At last check the oil level was fine, and I can't check it tonight as it's too dark but I will check tomorrow morning. I should also note that no dashboard lights came on prior to the engine stalling.

Any ideas why my MINI might be misbehaving from cold?

[supa-dupa-cooper]

Maybe shes coming out in sympathy for Bow's buzzing speedo

Hopes shes ok

[iain cooper]

bad petrol? condensation on electrics ?

[KillerByte]

Quote: Originally Posted by iain cooper (original)

bad petrol? condensation on electrics ?

I'm a third of the way into this tank of fuel. It's Shell V-Power from the garage I usually fill up at.

Not sure about the electrics.

[Peartreeproductions]

My Cooper for the last 2 or 3 (cant remember) winters has juddered in very cold weather, and very occassionaly stalled, less than 5c, and got very close to stalling at T-junctions and traffic lights.

The mini dealer failed to diagnose it twice always taking so long to book it in that the weather was far warmer by then. Anyways this summer I replaced the air filter with a K&N filter and the old original filter was horrendously filthy. This year there have been several mornings when the weather has been less than 5c and it hasnt juddered at all, perfectly smooth. So, touch wood, I was wondering if it might have been the air filter not performing so well in very cold weather.

I now have 43,000 miles on my MC and recently had a service however they don't touch the air filter at that time. It may be that replacing your air filter might be worth a shot. K&N etc. are only about £25ish.

Hope this helps.

[KillerByte]

Ah, that's a good idea.

I'll check it this weekend. Thanks.

[MINI-Morgan]

Id say just check all the connections like plugs especially..... reminds me of my problem I had a couple of months ago with vanished again before I found the root cause.

[KillerByte]

It did it again this morning and it wasn't particularly cold (12ºC).

Want to get a local garage to look at it as I don't want to pay dealer rates.

[MINI-Morgan]

Any luck? hope you get it sorted

[wincakes]

Hmmmmmm. your not having much luck ATM, are you Kev?? Hope you get this sorted soon!

[KillerByte]

The car's staying with the dealer overnight. They haven't managed to find the cause of the problem but did find that the rocker cover gasket is leaking, one of the sidelight bulbs needs replacing and one of the wiper blades also needs replacing. They'll have another look at it tomorrow morning now after it has sat overnight in the cold.

So now currently car-less waiting for someone from work to give me a lift home.

[oldmots]

Quote: Originally Posted by KillerByte (original)

My 2002 MINI Cooper started playing up this morning. I got in and started the engine while I was putting some stuff in the glovebox, then set off to work. No more than 200 yards down the road is a T-junction which I pulled to a stop at. As the car came to a halt it studdered and stalled. I started the engine again and set off. It still felt a bit shaky initially but as the engine warmed up things returned to normal.

This evening, I got into the car and again started the engine as I was putting stuff in the glovebox. I drove to the end of the road and then downhill towards another T-junction. I pressed the brake pedal and then as the car approached the junction I put the clutch in, and the car came to a halt and then cut out. No shudder, no jolt, it just cut out. Again I started the engine up and resumed my journey and the car seemed fine.

It was about 6ºC this morning and 10ºC this evening. The car has been fine in temperatures much lower than this in the past. At last check the oil level was fine, and I can't check it tonight as it's too dark but I will check tomorrow morning. I should also note that no dashboard lights came on prior to the engine stalling.

Any ideas why my MINI might be misbehaving from cold?

Stalling has a number of causes: low fuel pressure (pump, filter, fuel pressure regulator, fuel pump relay), low battery capacity, throttle body idle motor failure, ECU software glitch. From the sound of it, I would get the battery load tested and themn get the ECU reflashed to catch glitches. The EPROM memory in these ECUs seem to be more vulnerable to voltage fluctuations than some cars.

[REDHOT CHILLI COOPER]

How many miles have you done? Had any problems starting in the damp/cold?

I'd go for simple first - Spark plugs and air filter.

Replaced mine last year after 25,000 miles. The filter was black and the plugs were twice the gap they should be. Don't know how these dealers get away with the service intervals recommended.

After changing the above I also got an extra 50 miles out of a tank!!

[KillerByte]

Update: My car was looked at by Sytner Nottingham two weeks ago for this issue. While it was in, they could not get the car to repeat the fault I was describing and said they could not find anything which would cause the issue. The diagnostics computer picked up no faults either. While it was in they did find some other things - an oil leak for which they replaced the rocker cover gasket and cylinder gasket and some other non-engine bits and pieces. I was quite shocked about the oil leak as I've never noticed oil under the car and as far as I was concerned the oil level hadn't dropped. This was quite expensive as you can imagine from the labour costs the dealer charges.

After getting the car back, it seemed fine for a couple of days and then it started playing up again last week. This morning it stalled twice on the way to work. The sequence of events was as follows:

1. Start the engine and let run for a moment (idling at 1,200 rpm)
2. Select 1st gear and pull away towards the end of my road
3. Slow down for junction and put clutch in
4. As soon as the clutch was in, the revs dropped to 300-400 rpm and the car cut out

It did this again for the next junction I stopped at and nearly did it as I waited to turn right on a hill. It's not like I'm not using the car often enough - I did 200 miles over the weekend.

Due to the age of the car, I have taken out a new warranty through a third-party company so I shouldn't have to pay too much this time around. I'm just fed up of people behind me wondering why I keep stalling my car!

[supa-dupa-cooper]

My car wouldnt start on thursday night It just kept turning over, then sounded a bit rough when it did start

I wouldnt have minded but I was parked somewhere I shouldnt have been, ie. in the middle of a cement works with 3 other MINIs