My son has a 5 speed 2003 Mini. Earlier this week his cousin got in the car which was running with the emergency brake on and threw it into first gear killing the engine. :crying:When my son went to start the car the starter would not engage and he now has to push start it. Any idea what the problem could be? Thanks, Steve
Pull the starter out, inspect the gear for damaged teeth, place it on a bench and secure it, connect a 12volt batt to the terminals and make sure it rotates and throws the gear forward. Could be a stuck or jammed shaft, any auto elec would be able to rebuild it if required.
My son doesn't have any tools or mechanical ability. Since the starter shouldn't have been engaged at the time of the stall out I'm thinking it must be some sort of switch or something. Does anyone know if there is a switch that could have gotten jack up?
The only other thing which comes to mind is that if it had a sudden jolt, there is a switch under the drivers side vent cowl tucked under the left hood hinge which is an inertia switch for fuel cut out. It may be enough to prevent the starter from functioning but I'm not aware of any other safety switch. Its a press to reset switch so it may be worth considering. Other than that, you will need to put a code reader on it to check for faults. Its very strange that stalling a car due to having the hand brake on has killed the starter unless its managed to damaged the solenoid on the starter.
If nothing is happening, that is the starter motor isn't running at all, dead, rather than spinning but not engaging, sounds to me as though it has ripped the guts out of the starter motor. Spinning but not engaging, teeth are gone.
If you turned the key and starter got sound but not able to crank engine it could be starter or battery problem. But if you turned the key no sound and nothing happened at all then it could be key problem, or EWS problem or ignition ring or whole ignition wiring problem. Is better put in scanner to diagnose first.
No noise when you turn the key is most likely a dead starter and considering it started with a push tells me its not safety switch related.
As stated by Milpol above try whipping the motor out and test it on a bench..
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