Source for motor & controller cover rubber grommets?

Discussion in 'Cooper SE' started by Todd Swift, Apr 30, 2021.

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  1. Todd Swift

    Todd Swift New Member

    Hi all,
    We are loving our SE. Picked it up 12/31/20.

    At some point in showing my friends the top of the controller/motor/crash cage under the hood, I lost two of the grommets that hold the plastic cover down. Does anyone know of a source to buy some extras? (I have not tried the dealer yet).
    Love the forums and information sharing!
     
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  3. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    It's not a good design that those grommets can so easily come out of the cover. My body shop ordered one of those grommets from the dealer last year. Still waiting.
     
  4. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    I just called the body shop and they said the grommet is in! They meant to tell me...
     
  5. Todd Swift

    Todd Swift New Member

    That's great! Sounds like my best option is to call the dealer... any chance you have or could get a part number?

    Thank you for jumping in on the thread to share.
     
  6. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    I just returned from the body shop. The grommets (they came as a packet of 4) that took more than 6 months to arrive are the wrong grommets! So I cannot give you the correct part number. I'm waiting for a call-back from Motor City MINI, who obtained these grommets from MINI. I will ask them for the correct part number.

    To make my needs clear to the dealer, I removed one of the remaining 3 grommets in my cover so I could make the annotated photo below. To my surprise, the grommet was difficult to remove! I tore it in the removal process!! I expected it to almost fall out in my hand--I don't understand what happened to make the missing one disappear so easily when I was showing off what's underneath the cover. So now I need 2 grommets.

    upload_2021-4-30_15-50-9.png
     
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  8. GvilleGuy

    GvilleGuy Well-Known Member

    Crud. I’ve pulled that cover 3 times. I better go check for missing grommets!
     
  9. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    My advice would be to twist the grommets every time you remove the cover. They should twist easily if the rubber retention prongs are not crowding the grommet hole as the grommet prepares for its escape.
     
  10. GvilleGuy

    GvilleGuy Well-Known Member

    I checked yesterday and my grommets are still behaving themselves.
     
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  11. Chicago

    Chicago Member

    >>every time you remove the cover<<

    Is it repetitive curiosity or are mice getting under it and that is why you guys are removing them?
     
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  13. GvilleGuy

    GvilleGuy Well-Known Member

    Lol - when I show friends and relatives the car, they want to see the electric motor.
     
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  14. Todd Swift

    Todd Swift New Member

    Me also! Just for fun
     
  15. Todd Swift

    Todd Swift New Member

    Thanks for keeping us posted insightman!
     
  16. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    There's so much to show off under that cover. Our MINIs look pretty much like every other MINI, so it's natural to want to display the most important difference. If I could pop off the inverter to show off the actual motor, you know I'd do that, too.

    Look what you could see if you could just pop off the wheel and fender (where's the heat pump in this mess of hoses?):

    upload_2021-5-6_11-36-32.png

    Do you know about the frame that holds the engine and inverter? MINI designed it to attach to the same mounting points as the engines in the ICE MINIs. It also helps protect the components inside the frame in an accident. Orange wires! Everyone expects to see orange wires under the hood of an EV but you can't see them when the cover is in place.

    I wish there was a guide with labels and arrows describing all the components under the cover because through decades of owning and repairing ICE-powered automobiles, none of my experience helps me understand what I'm looking at under the cover. I like to point to the smooth vertical cylinder in the right front of the motor compartment and say it looks like something I'd expect to find in the debris field at a flying saucer crash site.
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2021
  17. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    My Motor City MINI parts guy told me he is arguing with MINI's corporate parts department. He tried to order part 11-12-7-614-138, but they told him he was wrong and sent 11-14-7-799-108 instead.

    When I googled 11-12-7-614-138, I found images of the grommets we need, but also the grommets I received with the same part number!

    I'm happy to learn these grommets are also used for BMW engine covers instead of being a custom part made for only the MINI Cooper SE because that increases the chances we'll get what we need and at a reasonable price.

    upload_2021-5-6_11-48-46.png
     
    Akanaten, Todd Swift and GvilleGuy like this.
  18. Puppethead

    Puppethead Well-Known Member

    Since we're talking the innards (maybe there should be a dedicated thread for this?) and I ran across these nice pictures showing the battery layout (once again shamelessly from the Electric MINI Enthusiasts Facebook group).

    [​IMG]

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    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  19. Todd Swift

    Todd Swift New Member

    Thanks for the new update! Are you going to order some of the 11-12-7-614-138?
     
  20. Chicago

    Chicago Member

    Sounds like you need a dab of high temp silicone to hold the grommets in the cover retainers and a bit of PTFE spray on the four cradle pins and you guys are all set to catch those mice!
     
  21. Puppethead

    Puppethead Well-Known Member

    Add a couple drops of peppermint oil, that works well to keep mice away.
     
  22. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    That reminds me that I have to learn how to check the cabin air filter to see if there are any critters who have set up house there. Oh, I just watched a video and it looks easy. Perhaps with its location away from the motor compartment it's less prone to vermin infiltration than the one behind the glove box in our Clarity. The Inside EVs Clarity forum has a whole thread where people show their unfortunate cabin filter photos: What's in Your Cabin (Filter)?
     
  23. Chicago

    Chicago Member

    I love it when a single mouse can carry an entire peanut butter scented glue tray off the top of an engine, place it behind the vehicle and appear to laugh at you when you step in it. Putting a nice juicy walnut meat in the center of the tray-gets them every time!
     
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