Folks,
   I recently had an adventure with my 2002 where the car would simply refuse to fire after being used hard, or for an extended period of time.  My "hmmm" moment was when the car would spring to life at the slightest whiff of Starter Spray.  That indicated to me that the ignition was OK.  I needed to find out what had the capability of shutting off the fuel to the car completely.  I first replaced the fuel system fuse, with no results.  I then debated whether to replace the Fuel Cutoff Switch or the Fuel Pump Relay.  Mark at Towne assured me that failures of the Cutoff were unheard of, so I opted for the $16 Fuel Pump Relay.  It is located in the fusebox inside the car, near my left leg in my Mini.  After plugging in the new unit the car now springs to life immediately when asked to.  No hesitation, no chuffing, and you hardly get to hear the starter motor now.  I took an X-Acto knife and took the old relay's cover off.  It consists of an electromagnetic coil with an integral set of points.  One side of those points was completely gone!  Inspection inside the pale green cover revealed heavy charring and burn craters.  So, if your Mini is experiencing symptoms that indicate the $600 Fuel Pump (complete job), give the $16 Fuel Pump Relay a shot first!  Cogman