Vehicle: 2011 Mini Cooper S (R56), L4-1.6L Turbo (N18), Automatic Transmission/Transaxle

Mileage: 138,437

Problem: The vehicle came in for a crank but no-start condition.

Case Details: First, the technician verified that the engine cranked over but would not start. Next, he checked fuel pressure. It was 0 psi. When he checked for power to the fuel pump, he found no voltage at the fuel pump. While testing, he also noted something strange. The windshield wipers would activate intermittently on their own with the ignition key on.

When he jumped the fuel pump relay pins #30 and #87, the jumper wire started to get hot enough to start smoking, indicating a dead short to ground. He unplugged pin #9 (WHT/BLU) and tried again. The jumper wire began to get hot and smoke, which indicated that the junction box itself had an internal short to ground.

Confirmed Repair: The technician replaced the junction box. After that, the engine started and ran normally. And as a bonus, the windshield wipers quit activating by themselves. After looking a little closer at the wiring diagram, the technician found that the windshield wiper #1 relay was in the same junction box as the fuel pump relay. It looks like the bad junction box affected the wiper relay too. Problems solved!