The 78 Auto that I did for my brother had one - surely the inhibitor circuit would be tied in with PARK on a later car, as you really don't want to start it in gear.

Alex, an 84 998 auto would not have an inhibitor/alarm circuit would it, presuming it is a true 84 which it should be with a 998cc as the later ones were all 1275's.

Check the wires and switch on the ignition inhibitor circuit - an Auto will merrily switch itself off if these are playing up.

Not sure but I just wanted to give you more reading material.

Sometimes when batling these stuff you don't know where the answer might come from.

Well, I read the first page, but then stopped. Could this be a case of the carb freezing, or the fuel boiling? Seems like it first happens after long drives.

Rich

Don't give up. The Mini will be worth it when you get the bugs worked out. Every Mini is a learning experience and before you know it, you'll know the in's and out's of what makes your Mini tick. At least one good service manual is a must to have and sometimes several manuals is better. I've never driven an 850 but here in Texas you'd get run over by some cowboy in an oversized pickup with a bumper guard. Keep an eye out for a bigger displacement engine like a 998 or 1275 and if all possible with a standard transmission for future replacement. Hope to hear that it's "all fixed" soon.

The wrong coil would maybe cause the same issue. As for running like crap and blowing a head gasket it was probably ready to fail anyway if in fact it did have a bad head gasket and not a crook for a mechanic.

A black and white wire should not need a ballasted coil. it should have a full 12 volts at the terminal as i remember. I would replace the coil, points and condenser and see what happens. Pick up a Haybes manual and learn how to do these simple jobs yourself it will save you a lot of grief and expense in the future.

Good Luck.

I checked under he hood before getting on the bus (ugh) to go to work. It says "for ballasted engines only" and has b/w & white wires coming out of it.

As per below does this mean it is NOT a ballasted coil and therefore to be used with a ballasted engine or are my wires just old and this was switched out at some point?

While I'm on the bus, I'm going to toss a little theory out there: let's say that original place saw my faulty points and didn't bother also changing the condenser I gave them. When they change the points the engine would still run lousy because driving around like this blew the head gasket. When I took it to the new place they changed the head gasket but not the points. Got it home, car rumbles out, towed back to the place and they tell me the points burned out because they must've installed them wrong. Points replaced car runs fine until another day later. They say it was the timing and the points needed to be adjusted just a little.

What if it's the condenser or cap? Is there anything else that would continuously ruin the points? They seem to be the common denominator...

Rich

Do minis even have a vacuum modulator?

//www.minimania.com/web/threadid/109524/msgthread.cfm

Take note of what Spank posted there are two different coils one has a ballast resistor (white / red i believe) 9 volts and the other has a white / black wire 12 volts or if they are not visible just check the coil with a voltmeter it will read 12 or 9 volts, you need the correct one for your particular car.

Feel free to chime in if i have the colors wrong or backwards, just typing from memory.

Rich, I'm not in the LIMNEY club, mostly due to time constaints. I'm a british car owner for more than 40 years starting with the Austin Americas in the 70's. Same engine as the mini. 1300 transverse front wheel drive. I'm thinking it's not the tranny, but more basic stuff.

If you had a bad head gasket internally, you might have engine oil that has a milky consistancy/color. This is because the antifreeze would seep into the engine oil. Pull the dip stick tube and check the color. It should be golden amber if new oil, to a dark brown if older oil. Not milky looking. If the head gasket was compromised to the outside, you'd hear a hiss like sound as the exhaust gasses leak out under compression of the piston. a sound like phoot (sounds like foot) phoot-phoot-phoot-phoot

I work Saturdays and Sunday can be free for checking the car out. If the weather promises to be better Sat than Sun, I'll make arrangements with you to come Sat.

Eek, that would suck. I can guarantee that I did not put them back the wrong way. I had done that once and it's really obvious when that happens.

You didn't accidently get the wires in the wrong order did you? There's a diagram floating around to double check the wires.

ve9aa - Don't apologize for saying things that were mentioned before - it shows that several people are separately coming to the same conclusion.

When the points were replaced, I purchased the cap and wires as well and gave it to the guys. I would like to assume that they put them in (I know, I know) - but I will definitely replace the ignition coil. Btw I personally replaced plugs and wires.

I cannot tell you how much your responses have renewed my faith in having a Mini that actually functions.

Cheers,
Rich

If you are indeed burning up points, the first thing I would replace is the $3.00 (or whatever) condensor (capacitor) under the distribuor cap before doing anything else at all. (they all sound like rip-off artists, so I would just go ahead and do it myself, not believing it was actually done.

Secondly, bad plug wires, breaking down under load will cause the same symptoms.

Third thing, plugged fuel filter.

Fourth, new coil.  (by the way, do you have a tachometer? Certain ones that are failing affect the coil, thus affecting your whole ignition system.

PLEASE Stop throwing big money at this.  Start with the three or four small ticket items mentioned above.

I only skimmed over the responses, so I apologize if these have been mentioned before.

Thank you all for your replies! As I have a full time job and am not yet tech savvy enough to do most of the things that have been suggested (I was hoping owning a Mini would SLOWLY teach me!) I will go back to that mechanic armed with these forum comments. I'm having a feeling that the head gasket needed replacing as a result of the engine over-revving at high speeds (not kicking into fourth) and while they did fix a symptom they have not fixed the actual issue.

jedduh - this last time I had it in they told me they drove the car around the city for the whole week. I asked them if they had taken it up to highway speeds (as that was how the problem reoccurred) and they said there was always traffic on the FDR drive (which IS 100% true) - but the issue always seems to come back after I have it out on the highway.

Minimike, I'll send you an email now - even if it is "fixed" by them during the week I'd like to take it out there sometime this weekend for you to look it over. I'm planning on driving down to New Orleans on February 7th and want to make sure I'll make it there in one piece (or else I'll be posting from somewhere in Tennessee looking for someone to fix my car!). It would also be great to finally meet a LIME-NY member. I'd been meaning to go to an event but I bought the car in September and I've been having this issue since early november.

Cheers,
Rich

Have you changed the Motor Oil?

Gives the tranny the best options for a flush or fresh fluid in the converter too. Dirty oil could be keeping the torque converter from disengaging. and then stalling out the engine.

Perhaps your mechanic that did an oil change when you  the Head gasket - but WE do not know.

 Dirty Motor oil is worse for AUTO Mini Transmissions.  Change every 2000 miles or less!

 

OH Ill also suggest -  perhaps take a ride with the mechanic - show them your driving style and they can compare = perhaps you are a slower / more careful driver, or you are more agressive , with more hard stops and abrubt go's  than the person doing the driving tests,-   if vastly different then they cant replicate your symptoms by driving the same style you do. and getting the same problems from the car.

 

 

I drive a 998 auto with HS4 in a clubby estate as a daily driver, doing over 250 miles a week.

Start by pull the inspection cover off the shifter cable on the lower RH side of the transmission (black and held in with two bolts). Make sure that the triangle linkage that the cable attaches to and the outer sleeve of the cable are tight and have no play to the transmission case. Also be sure the shifter cable is correctly adjusted for drive and reverse or Park and reverse depending on early VS late auto. Not fulling engaging drive will cause the auto to never down shift as oil is not completely diverted, and thus causing slipping while in fourth.

Then check that the kick down that connects to the carb is not bent and causing a bind on the lower lever arm sticking out the trans. Also check the housing that the kick down connects to as it is plastic and becomes cracked and leaks oil, and can cause the inner section of the arm to become disengaged inside the transmission. Also be sure that the linkage is correctly adjusted as it can be adjusted to the point where it will not kick down.

Another issue could be the internal bands need to be adjusted as they car wear and cause funny drivability issues as they begin to slip/ not slip I have seen one that would not slip as the as the servo was at then end of its stroke and would stick.

Hope this helps.

I'd check the dashpot of the carb and make sure there's enough oil in it. The top of the carb has a black screw top. Unscrew it, and you'll see an inner ring/ledge. You can fill that with your standard engine oil 10-W30 for now, if it's low. Reinstalling the black cap/plunger will give you some resistance when you gently push the piston back into the carb. Tighten the cap, but don't overtighten it.

Next I'd check for a vacuum leak. Use a propane torch. DO NOT LIGHT THE TORCH. The idea is that if you have a vacuum leak, it will suck the gas into the engine and you'll hear it speed up. Use the torch around the mounting area of the carb, intake manifold, distributer vacuum line.

Is the vacuum line attached from the distributor to the carb? Is it cracked at any of the elbow ends?

I'm in Westhampton on LI. I'd be glad to take a look at the car if you can get it out here. My em is in my profile. mike