fmix.. my best thinking is after a few red stripes / stella. congrats on fixing..  you have to remember even the SPI are almost 25 years old now..  I have real problems with mouses eating the wiring in brit cars. later bc

Last weekend after the family had gone to bed and I had a few beers I decided to crack open the relay box.  I already played with a bench battery and tried starting the car bypassing the fuses and couldn't get anything.  I found one single joint that looked overheated and the solder melted off the prong creating a bad connection.  I reflowed fresh solder to the connection and the Mini starts right up every time.  Been driving it every day to work this week!!!     I figured since I thought the relay was the issue, no harm if I broke it since I was going to replace it anyway.  While open, I also cleaned all the relays with 2000 grit sand paper to ensure a good carbon free connection.

My manual says the wire with the bad connection is the relay to the manifold heater.  A friend found a color wire diagram for an MPI that says it would be the O2 sensor.  Not sure what it does, but it is re-soldered and the car runs.

fmix.. the fuel pump for the SPI is a general motors parts.. think hotel cal posted the part number a couple years ago.. as they are QUITE pricy..  think was only about $59 at Chevy dealer.. and TEN times that mini parts dealer.. later bc

Sorry it has been a bit.  BC, thanks for the offer.  Right now I don't need a replacement tank.  Mine is just surface rusty, so a proper treatment and seal will work fine.


I wired the pump directly to a battery and tried to start the car.  No go.  I have fuel spitting out of the injector with pump wired, but no start.  I need to double check my wire connections to make sure I didn't miss anything.  I had noticed I didn't plug in the coil after I took it off, so I thought maybe it got flooded?  Plugged it back in and no start.  Waited a few hours for gas to settle, still no start. 

As i stated before verify it is bad by running a hot wire right off the battery. It is not the long term answer but i have seen them wired through the rear heated screen or the UK rear fog light wiring and even direct from the switched side of the fuse box and these cars are still running with those short cuts.

fmix. I bought SPI gas tank and fuel pump in the Uk for 50 quid.in the past  off ebay.co.uk  this might be an option. I could stick in the next container coming in late august to NC.. later bc

The paint I got is something that chemically reacts and converts the rust to something else to stop it from spreading and moving, and it also primes the surface for paint.  I was thinking about using one of those latex type coaters after spraying the converter in.  But I found a few shops that will do rust proofing so I will probably take it in to one of them and let them do the work.  The spray I can save for the Mini's body if it ever encounters rust hehe.


As for the fuel issue, I've been metering the line fuses to find the correct one for the fuel pump.  I finally found the actual correct one today.  It had been cut and spliced with a replacement already, the wires were orange with a white stripe.  My manual says it should be "N/S"  Neutral/Slate aka brown/grey.  The new fuse is good, whoever didn't solder it in place so I was able to take it out and test it to make sure everything if clean and has good contact.  That leaves me with the expensive relay box or the power wire feeding into it to trip the pump relay on/off.  The box appears sealed, so I can't get in to clean the contacts.  If I can truly verify the relay is the probable bad part then I will try to open it and clean the contacts.

onetim: you may be right. It has been a long time since i used it... might have been a "two stage" process. In any case, it is a "do it once" procedure!

The POR-15 for gas tanks does really work well, I used it to repair several rusty moped gas tanks, 15 years later they still look like new inside. The version I purchased at the time was 1 part in a quart can. When the tank is clean as you can get it, pour it in, roll it about, and then pour it back into the can for the next job.

What do you mean by "rust correction spray"?
I wouldn't use  suggest a product intended to stop rust as a prep for paint. Inside a fuel tank, it would be a temporary solution that might result in chemical contamination and possible damage to other fuel system components. It also would not correct imminent pinhole leaks - not quite rusted through.
I'd recommend using POR-15, a multi-step process that cleans/preps the inside of the tank and applies a very durable 2-part coating that is intended for fuel conditions. Worth taking the time to do, it is a permanent solution. They offer a motorcycle tank it which is enough for a Mini. It will seal pinholes and they even provide a kit to repair holes without soldering/welding. Mini tanks often have pinholes in the filler neck (results of a foam plastic ring) - mine had many pinholes, but the patch kit sealed and strengthened it. POR-15 can also be painted.

The small beads of solder is not a redneck fix. It's a Bad fuse. The voltage got so hot that it melted the solder in the line. Poor connection. I switch to a blade style fuse holder. You'll need a 8 gang for all the fuses behind the air cleaner. 

 Be very careful with 5 gal bucket. I would use a tubing to a gas can. You want to control the gas fumes or vapors which are highly explosive! Also throw a lot of nuts  in the tank and shake.

It was pretty bad when I replaced it.  But it didn't have a problem gravity feeding gas through it.  Gas came out nice and clear too.  But new filter means I don't have to worry about that.


Since I have the gas tank out I used my pressure washer to spray soap foam inside and then tried to clean it out.  Came out looking a lot better but still rusty.  I will probably soap and spray again then use some rust correction spray.  The tank looks clean enough with just surface rust that it doesn't need to be replaced.

To hotwire test the pump I am thinking I can just connect the fuel pump to the lines and stick some gas in a 5 gallon bucket to see if I can get the car started.  When we checked the line fuse, the one we think is for the fuel pump, a couple little metal beads came out.  It looked like someone dripped solder into the fuse holder to redneck patch a gap in the fuse contacts.  So with 6464 suggestion of the stretching fuse holders fingers crossed that is the issue.

My buddy and I are really trying to figure out why the relay would click off and the harness looses the voltage to the pump connection.  If the relay is supposed to click off, what could make that voltage go away?

Well. that wording is a first, and no one commented on it.

Gas filter must be packed solid

The button is OK. Now I would hot wire the Fuel pump.  Just a single wire from the pos terminal to the pos  blade on the pump in the boot. The fuel pump draws alot of amps. It heats up the fuse holder. The plastic fuse holder stretches and when it cools down, the plastic  creates a space between the fuse and the terminal end to the wire. If the mini runs, it's the fuse holder and replace it.

If you take the cover off the black box . It is the top right relay. But from your description. It is doing its job. So I would not mess with. It is suppose to shut off. 

Now I had a  a problem with my white a red wire right after the connection at the steering column to the wire connection at the curve of the clutch pipe.  To test, I used a straight pin with alligator clips and wire. Rather than tear the wiring harness apart thatwent thru the bulkhead, I just jumped the faulty wire, running a tandem wire.

That black box is expensive i have seen a few Mini's with spi wired direct so you could try that for now to see if everything works.
The fuel gauge on late model Mini's always shows empty and at least 1 to 3 gallons left, just the nature of the beast but at least it is in your favor.
Coil should be available locally maybe Doug L will chime in here.
I would do one thing at a time so you know which item is at fault it is doubtful both items failed at the same time.

Update after today. First, yes I have pushed the button   I also took it off to check make sure it was working. Check ohms and then smack it and recheck ohms, it works.

Had friend turn key and I looked at injector spray, 3 teeny tiny little drops, evaporated immediately.  Took fuel line off throttle body and key on to check flow. Nothing came out.  Figuring maybe fuel pump we tried key on to listen for the pump turning on and heard nothing. I know I have heard it prime before. We drained the gas and took the tank out. Bench test the pump on a 12v battery and it spins every time. Volt test the fuel pump plug. Got around 10v and after a second dropped to zero volts. I noticed the same time my buddy told me 0v I heard a relay click off in the engine bay. It is the large black box mounted over the brake booster. Searching shows that it is the injection engine management relay. Tested pump connected to plug and it won't spin at all ever. So I am wondering what electronics to check for the key on and voltage drop. Anyone know why the relay would click off after about one second every time and pump doesn't turn on at all when connected, or why voltage drops and relay clicks off after about a second??

Found some of the line fuses, checked them and they are looking good.
Lots of rust in the gas tank and around the components inside the tank. First 5 gal came out pretty clear, but there was another gallon or 2 left in the tank that came out diarrhea brown when I turned the tank over to completely drain. Lots of rust dust coming out. Probably some rust correction needed to try before I think about buying a replacement. I honestly thought I had a 5gal tank because even when reading towards empty the most I have ever filled with was 4.5gal.

Last question update info....... We checked the coil and read ~1.2 ohm on the primary side and 4800ohm on the secondary. Does anyone know the values the coil should have? Any coils from a local USA store or do I need to get Mini specific one?


Thanks all for the help and suggestions so far. 

Also make sure the fuel trap is not blocked.

Did you push the button?

Do the simple checks, first. Fuel, Spark, Compression

If you've got spark but it is intermittent, then consider replacing the cap and rotor-- the SPI still uses a cap and rotor even though the distributer doesn't have weights and springs.

The fact that you do have spark at plugs 2&3 is a good sign and I wouldn't worry about the ECU being bad at first blush.

Are you getting fuel at the injector? It's not uncommon for the fuel pump to go bad/weak, especially if you let the tank run low a lot. The fuel cools the pump itself and if it's low then the pump can run hot. Also, tanks that have run empty a bunch and then sit empty will tend to get condensation built up inside on the tank walls and slowly cause some minor rust that gets sloughed off when the tank is run full of fuel again. Anyway, this will cause rust silt to develop in the tank and that will slowly eat away at your fuel pump as well.

If you're getting fuel at the fuel rail, see if you've got fuel spraying out of the injector. That's easy enough to see by looking down into the throttle body.

I witnessed an SPI eat up 2 different (used) fuel pumps over the course of 4-5 years because of silt. The hard /slow startup you describe and eventual no start mimics those same symptoms that I saw with the failed fuel pumps.

Good luck.

Forgot to mention I replaced the 4 vacuum lines I found in the manual and online, along with the fuel trap.  Did that back around March.  One was completely missing on the intake and the one from the trap to the ECU was loose and falling of the fuel trap.  The car was sputtering under full throttle and wouldn't rev until I pressed that one back in.

Will the tach move when I crank the engine?  I guess it would if the starter is actually moving the engine.  I will check tonight.  When I tested the plugs for spark I saw the radiator fan and alternator spinning for sure.

I have not checked the fuses yet.  I only know if the 4 against the firewall.  I haven't come across any inline yet.  I have seen the refurb ECU.  Not a price I want to pay.  I have been thinking of converting to carb to avoid the typical electric issues on injection cars.  But it seemed to run fine up until the other day.  Since a replacement injector assembly unit is so hard to come by, if that is the cause for failure then I will convert to carb.