Hello everyone. I have a 2003 Mini Cooper S and I've been having some electrical issues the past couple of months. Where to begin......

The first issues I started noticing were the dash lights/tach gauge flicker off and on. That lasted for a couple of days and the tach gauge goes out completely. No power to it at all plus the lights on the main cluster don't come on when you turn the headlights on.

At the same time I had some issues with the ignition switch or what I thought was the ignition switch. I would turn the car off and pull the key from the ignition but the car would stay running. I had a leak from one of the sunroof drains and fixed that but I think water is still in the car.

I replaced the battery and things seemed to work for awhile, except the tach gauge. I did some researching on this forum and came up with the issue of the tach gauge being the 42 pin connector just below the fuse panel on drivers side.

I unconnected it and noticed part of it was burnt and corrosion. I bought new connectors and also some male and female pins/connectors to splice in to replace damaged ones. I believe I replaced 5 male connectors and 3 female.

After plugging the connector back up all of the lights on both gauges were working just fine.

I leave for a work trip and came back and the battery was dead. Thought I had a power draw somewhere so when I left for my next trip I unplugged the 42 pin connector and started right up once I got back.

About 4-5 weeks ago another issue started happening. Once I turned the car off the windshield wipers would come on and stay on. As soon as you start the car they go off. So I had to continue to unplug the connector each time I leave for a work trip.

After coming back from a trip 2 weeks ago the car wouldn't start. The batter was completely dead so I had it jumped. Ran fine for the 2 days I was back home then I left again. This time I unhooked the positive terminal from the battery. 6 days later car was completely dead. Took about 10 minutes to get it jump started.

Has anyone experienced similar issues? I just ordered an alternator today to see if that's the problem.

Oh and I'm stationed in Belgium for the next year and the Mini dealer here won't touch my car unless I have a complete service record for the car. I'm the 3rd owner and don't have the service record. So I'm trying to figure this out on my own without dealing with a repair shop. Any and all information would be greatly appreciated.

 

JBE ( junction box electronics) or FRM footwell module. If I recall your vintage has a JBE. I Recall in the foot wells on the sides and they are suspect able to getting wet and just going bad and overheating. MANY functions run thru this "gateway" and cause all sorts of gremlins. Do a search you'll find some tips

 

It's a BCM in a gen1 car... passangerside footwell/side...
They got wet...mostly from bad sunroof drains, or sometimes a bad windshield replacement....
Check carefully for signs of water....
Melted and discoloration of clips is very bad...I'd look much more closely...

 

Yes. BCM. body control module. I was in BMW train of thought. Sorry. But same basic issue as zippy said. Thanks zippy !

 

Zippy I will check the BCM. I didn't notice any water or moisture on the passenger side. It was on the drivers side but doesn't mean tha it's not wet on the passenger side as well.

As far as the battery being drained while the positive terminal is unhooked what do you think could be the culprit? Bad cells in the battery? It's a new battery. Actually it's a replacement for the new battery as the 1st one didn't last long. Wouldn't charge properly. I have a new alternator on the way

 

Have you listened to the car with everything off in a VERY quiet place....
If you notice a hum....then the PS pump might be still running.... pretty common failure actually...the electronics in it fails, and it stays on...drains a battery very fast....beyond that...time too look at a few how-to threads or on line with a multimeter...common for most any car...some items do start on for 10-15 minutes, so somethings need extra time.

A bad cell on a battery will kill a battery...connected or not.

 

I was driving down the road today and the car lost power so I pulled over. True jump starting it with no luck. It would turn over but not start. I thought maybe the battery but doubted it. I bought a new one and same thing. I then noticed a relay next to the fuse box (drivers footwell) was loose. Plugged it back in and started.

So I used a multimeter when I got home to check the battery I pulled out (only a couple months old) and it held steady at 12.60 volts. I'll test it again tomorrow to see if it's holding before taking the new battery back. Still have an alternator on the way but if the battery holds strong I don't think I'm going to need it.

I started checking the grounds in the car and the passenger side engine compartment looks like this.



What is that black stuff? Is that normal? Haven't pulled the drivers side yet to see what it looks like.

 

Zippy I will have to listen to the fan. The power steering was replaced under factory warranty around March-April 2015 so I would think that was still good. Could be wrong though.

 

The black stuff is potting paste. It waterproofs all those ground leads. Normal.

 

+1
It's waterproofing...kinda like a "goose grease" of old...it get dirty ..but itts just there to stop the copper from corroding....yeah the ground looms can look kinda ugly...

 

thanks! i took up the driver side floor board, well the vinyl between the seat and the door, and right under the fuse panel was a big plugin that was wet and corroded. 2 of the pins were rusted off. fixed them and it all works fine!