x2 about blaming the alternator. I can send you a snip of the SPi - with JDM supplement type of wiring diagram. If you want to send an email ( mine is under my user ) also, x 2 where folks have said someone has worked on your harness before. Best of luck, MSH

something is backfeeding the power supplied to your ignition system. I know someone who had an Jap Spec SPI and he had the same problem He was able to find the issue in some part that was not available new and he just ended up putting a switch in the wire. I think it was in one of the black relay boxes on the US passenger side up by the subframe mounting bolt-- I believe it was on or adjacent to the brake booster.

Anyway, I had a problem with a BINI that was similar-- I sold the car to someone and I had no issues, but when he went home from DMV after transferring it into his name, it would not shut off. I had him take it to Heritage Garage who at the time was working on BINIS as well as classics. They had it for several days and were running diagnostics using some $10K Snap On machine and all sorts of stuff. After 2 days of no joy, Graham put it up on the lift while it was running and with the key in the off position and just started unplugging stuff. When he got to the electric steering pump (mounted down low at the base of the firewall and subframe junction) it turned off. He plugged everything else back in except that and it started and turned off. He then plugged the power steering pump back in and started it and it would NOT turn off. Bingo. As soon as he unplugged it, it shut off.


Alternator is the easy component to blame because everyone knows it has diodes in it (or whatever those things that make sure the current only goes one-way). But it doesn't have to be the alternator...


Good luck.

Yes. At least I can see the photos you posted. 

Oh wow, not sure how I missed that haha.

 

Are the pictures on my previous post not showing up?

MM has a built in picture poster. Just to the left of the space where one types messages there is a big green button (I'm looking at it right now as I hunt and peck this message) for attaching pictures.

Sorry for the delay, it took me a while to upload/figure out to post these.





Here's the kanji under the hood.


Here's some of the fun electrical stuff going on under the ignition barrel

Hey guys, sorry for the late update.  There's actually a cars and coffee event tomorrow at the storage facility where I'm keeping it.  I'll snap some more photos of it then, and post as soon as I can!

post a pic - would love to see it

They drive on the opposite side of the roads to NA, so yes, the Japanese spec Mini's are RHD.

I don't think they write with Kanji in Ol' Blighty, so that's a pretty big clue !

Somewhere, you have way too many wires hooked up.  I'm very surprised your coil is not cooked and your battery dead. (seems like your ignition system is always active.)

Dr Mini, it could be. It sure looks like a Japanese SPi from all of the ones I've seen.  There's even a sticker under the hood that has some Kanji on it.  It's right hand drive, were the Japanese spec Minis RHD?  The gentleman I bought it off of lived just west of Portland, and he didn't seem to know too much about it either. I'm not sure who the original owner was.

I do have a Haynes manual, but I'm not very good when it comes to decoding electrical schematics.
Anyway, once I get a chance to look at it again, maybe I could snap some pictures for you guys.

Thanks!
- Duncan

Just out of curiosity is this a Jap spec car? From the ones I've seen, the Japanese folks do odd things with adding accessories to their Minis and I'm amazed they even work at all. Good luck in your endeavors. If you don't have a Haynes manual then you should get one.

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

like ve9aa said, I actually had a clutch issue the other day and wasn't able to shut the car off by stalling it.  I had to pop the hood and start yanking plug wires till it shut off.  I'll take a look the next time I get chance to see what wire(s) feed the coil.

 

and minibitz, I've actually tried that as well.  Shut the key off, motor still ran.  Unplugged the wiring loom with the key in the "OFF" position, and the motor still ran.  I remember noticing the T-taps coming off the old loom, so I'm sure the person who owned it before me did some of their own stuff.  It just seems odd that this problem would come up intermittently.

 

I had an issue with it starting the other day, but I traced that to a bad fuse in the fuse box.

Ditto above, something is adrift inside the ignition switch.

Easiest way to verify this would be to separate the connector between the ignition switch wires and the main wiring loom when the key is off position but motor is still running. If engine switches off when connector is separated then it's definitely a switch issue. If motor keeps running.....well there's something very wrong wired up somewhere else!

As also stated above, alternator has nothing to do with the ignition side of wiring, it just charges up the battery. 

I don't know very much about SPI's, so read with a grain of salt.

If your ignition switch is NOT interrupting the 12v signal to your coil, of course it won't shut off.

All your alternator really does is charge your battery.

Fuel + spark + air, with the correct timing makes your engine run.

Stop one of them and it'll shut off.

Easy to break the tiny wire to the coil and verify. I don't have a schematic for an SPI to tell you which tiny wire, but it's easy to figure out.
Yank one...doesn't shut off? Yank the other.

I'd be surprised if it WASN'T the ignition switch you just replaced. (or some type of hog wiring going to it.  Sounds like some PO messed with it before you had it. (just a guess)

Good luck

Hey all.  I wish I could tell you what year my Mini is, but I'm still having trouble with that.  What I can tell you is that the motor is an SPi motor.  I recently replaced the ignition barrel because the car wasn't starting.  After I did that, the car started up just fine, ran fine, and shut off just fine.  However, recently it started to sporadically not shut off when the key was turned off.  Now, it's to the point where it won't shut off at all when the key is turned off.  As I said, I replaced the ignition barrel recently, it's probably less than a year old.  All of the lights on the dash/tach shut off when the key turns off, so I'd be surprised if the ignition barrel is the culprit.

 

I also read on some forums that perhaps the alternator could be the problem.  I don't know much about the alternator in the car currently as it was already in it when I bought the car ~4 years ago.  The alternator looks almost brand new.  I tried the diagnostic method that I read; they said to unplug the alternator and try to start/stop the car.  They claimed that if the car could shut off, (with the alternator disconnected), then it's probably an alternator problem. So I unplugged the alternator started 'er up and tried to shut it off, and no dice.

 

My only other guess is something might have got mixed up on the fuse box, I haven't had a chance to really diagnose which wire should connect to what on that box. There are some open ends on the fusebox, but no disconnected wires.

 

I'm wondering if anyone else has run into this problem or if anyone has any suggestions.

I also apologize in advance, I won't be able to take a look at it again for about a week.

Thanks for any and all advice!