When your car is running normally everything is fine, however if it begins to have frequent problems you may possibly start to question, especially if your motor vehicle won’t start. In this post we will teach you where the starter of a Mini Cooper is, it will help you to resolve your ignition problems. To do this, we will first describe the function of a starter, then, where is the starter on a Mini Cooper , and, finally, how to change the starter of a motor vehicle.
Role of the starter on your Mini Cooper
We start this article by explaining the function of the starter motor on your Mini Cooper. The starter is an electric motor which is powered by your battery, its job will be to make your engine run at a high enough speed to start it (usually around 300/400 rpm). It is made up of three main parts:
- The Solenoid: This component is an electrical relay that will act as a switch, it will be activated by the key of your Mini Cooper and let the current from your battery to the engine unit of your alternator.
- The engagement pinion: This is the last component of your starter, it is the toothed wheel that will be in direct contact with the flywheel, it enables to send the force from the starter to the engine.
The engine unit: Main element of your alternator, it is the one that will drive the flywheel of your Mini Cooper and create enough speed for your engine unit to start.
Where is the starter on a Mini Cooper?
Now that we have fairly quickly detailed what a starter is and how it works, we will answer the question that most of you have to ask yourselves where is the starter found on a Mini Cooper? It is quite easy to locate a starter, in truth, it is a large component that will almost always be situated in a similar location. We let you see the two possible places for your motor vehicle starter below.
Location of the starter on classic Mini Cooper
First and most basic case, where to locate the starter of a Mini Cooper with a conventional motor (implied without start and stop). The starter has a particular objective, to start the engine unit of your motor vehicle, for that, it must always be near the engine unit flywheel of this one because it is the component that it actuates when it is used. The flywheel is found at the junction between your gearbox and your engine unit.
Location of the starter to Mini Cooper with start and stop
And now second possible starter location of your Mini Cooper . This case is much less frequent. It only relates to engines built with start and stop, and a good component of them will be equipped with a starter situated close to the flywheel. However, on some particular series or engines, the starter of your Mini Cooper may be included in your alternator, it is then known as a starter-alternator, to locate it nothing easier, identify your accessory belt and you should find out the big starter block.
How to change the starter on a Mini Cooper?
Finally, we’ll explain to you quite fairly quickly how to change the starter of a Mini Cooper. This procedure is not necessarily complex, it can be considered by people who have a lowest of simple mechanical knowledge and adapted equipment. Adhere to below the main steps to perform this intervention:
- Disconnect the battery on your Mini Cooper, if you don’t know how to do it, don’t hesitate to seek advice from our article which details how to do it without taking any risk.
- After locating your starter, loosen the fasteners that hold it in your engine unit block, there will usually be 2 or 3
- It will be time to disconnect the power cables from the starter motor of your Mini Cooper, however before doing so we advise you to take a picture of the set up to avoid making a mistake when reassembling.
- It’s possible that to take out it you may possibly need to take out parts like the gimbal.
- Remount the new starter, being careful when connecting the connectors.
- Reconnect your battery and test your starter.
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If you need more guides on the Mini Cooper, go to our Mini Cooper category.
