Winding down

[J.N.]

Comments on the noisy steering pump made me wonder about a noise my Cooper makes, I've never heard on another car.

When the engine is stopped, there is a noise of something 'winding down' and coming to a stop.

Reminds me of a gyroscope slowing and stopping on a light aircraft.

Do they all do it? Is it the electrical steering pump? My previous Fiat Punto had electrically assisted steering, but did not make the noise.

[Red & White Cooper 2]

Mine does it too - I also presumed it was the steering pump.

[Rob.]

If it's the same noise as mine. I love it. It sounds a bit like a space ship in movie coming to a stop????
I think it is the engine fan

[ant]

Mine does too and I think it sounds quite cool!

Possibly the electronic fuel pump???

[Hanny]

Can I throw in an idea?

Is it the light unit moving?
If you notice when you start the engine up the lights move up (from memory) if you have the dip setting on 0.
Is it possibly, when you turn the engine off, the light unit moving back down?

Just a thought.

Mine does that as well, and I always assumed it was either power-steering-pump related or some fan or other. I do love the fact that at night you can really see the headlights adjust themselves, presumably if you've got a few fat folk in the car it re-adjusts further? Is there no manual adjustment inside too?

[Hanny]

The manual knob (fnar fnar) is to the right of the steering wheel if I remember correctly.

3 choices which I would grade as follows:
0 = Driver and passenger.
1 = Driver, passenger and one fat fellow.
2 = Driver, passenger rear seat full of fat fellows.

So why does it self-level then?



DBK

[Hanny]

I didn't realise it did self level.
It's not you self leveling is it

[ScottyHP]

I thought self levelling lights were an extra (possibly with xenons, not sure) If you have a manual switch then levelling is manual and vice versa I think.

Park up close to a wall at night, get in, then switch on all the lights and for a milli-second you can watch the pattern change from one height to the next. It's really quite noticeable and that's what I assumed it to be... but will check the owners manual when I get home tonight.

[Paul]

I too have noticed the lights go 'up' when you first power them up, and then go down when you switch off the car (if they didn't, they'd end up turning over).

I'll have to read the manual too.

[Hanny]

I think it just does that, as the low down position (setting 2, also where it rests when engine off) would be use to spread the beam lower down if fat fellows are in the back to compensate for lift of the front.
So if you have the setting on 0 or 1, when you turn on the engine and lights it will rise.
Does that make sense?

[MICKEY]

Winding down. have you all got aircon/climate cont. on your cars ??. havent got my MINI yet, a couple of weeks to wait.
But on my Peugeot if i switch the engine off and the aircon is on, it sounds like an airplane engine shutting down (nowere near that loud you you get my drift)

[Hanny]

Checked when I got home from work and have just double checked before posting.
It is the lights moving.

MINI gets us all puzzled.
Puzzle solved.
The End.