[baldrik]

Hello, my wife bought a 2003 Cooper last year, it has 70000 on it and we have just had the power steering fail (while she was going round a roundabout), got it to a garage they diagnosed pump failure. Also the main wiring was burnt off, and cable had burnt through hydraulic hose. Everything has now been replaced, but the pump only works if you disconnect either the main live battery terminal or unplug the two big cables to the pump. If you do this it works fine, as soon as you turn ignition off and on again it doesn't work, do you think it may be a faulty new pump or is there something in the loom that may be damaged, have tried ecu reset, no faults showing. So far cost about £400 please. Any ideas ?

[mab01uk]

BMW seem to be paying 'Goodwill' parts and labour on many more Mk1 MINI steering pump replacements recently.......even on early 2002/3 MINI's with in excess of 100k miles!
Always worth asking your local dealer to put your case to MINI HQ but you may have to pay £70-80 for a diagnostic test up-front to confirm the fault.

Recent Examples on Mini2:
IMPORTANT. Have you had a power steering pump failure? Please vote YES or NO!!! - Page 69 - MINI Cooper Forum - MINI2 Mini Cooper Forums

[dg170775]

Guys,
I have the R50 '02' Mini One and I don't know if my problem is the same being discussed in this thread.
Symptoms are that I hear the whining noise distinctly when I drive. But, there's a lot of oil stain on my drive when I leave my car parked overnight. On examination I found the underside quite oily and have created a thread about this.

Worry!! Mini Oil Leak

BMW Cotswold have looked at the case, during an Oil Service recently, and have quoted me £1000 to get a new steering rack.

Is this a different problem, or is it the same?

[tcbw]

I think you'd know if your power steering had failed. This is probably unrelated, but as suggested on your other thread, you need to get this to a reliable specialist for proper diagnostic work, otherwise a dealer will keep sourcing and replacing parts until the problem eventually goes away (the usual modus operandi).

[insanityprawnboy]

Originally Posted by dg170775

...I don't know if my problem is the same being discussed in this thread. Symptoms are that I hear the whining noise distinctly when I drive...
Is this a different problem, or is it the same?

The distinctive whine is normal, some do, however, tend to be noisier than others but it's not usually anything to be unduly concerned about.

As discussed in your other thread the PAS. oil leak is more likely to be the steering rack than much to do with the electric pump/motor.