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Last weekend, while I was washing my 2003 Mini Cooper, my little girl was listening to the music in the car and drained the battery out. Ouch!
I did jump-start and it came up right away. I ran for a while and parked the car and it seems OK.
However, I can feel that the battery condition is not 100%. It needs a bit longer crank to start up the engine. If I miss the first run, second run is a bit difficult. I need to wait about 5 minutes and crank longer and it runs again. Once it starts, all seems to be OK.
The battery is the one with BMW MINI logo. I don't know if this is the original one from 2003 - I bought this car 2 years ago.
I checked the battery condition indicator and it was green. I checked the voltage without running the engine and it was about 12.35V. Charging system seems to be OK. Based on these, I think the battery is OK.
In fact, I haven't run the car more than 20 minutes since that incident.
So, the question here is... how long does it take in general to charge a battery fully?
depends on the charger and battery condition. Usually no more than 12 hours. But if this is the original battery I would start looking for a replacement. The OEM batteries are notorious for rapidly failing. Don't trust the green dot......
when I take a battery down to zero by accident I try to go for a good hour drive at highway speeds.
right now I house-sit a place including watching a car. I take it out for an hour every 2 or 3 weeks.
note that at idle speed many vehicles are barely producing the amps needed to keep the car running much less charge the battery. You need to get the RPMs up for a while. I accidentally took a Suburban I was watchig to zero and a hour on the highway after a jump was plenty for strong starts the next day.
I also suspect that IS the original battery and any battery over 5 years old is very suspect. Now a'days they'll test good today and be toast tomorrow. I'm fairly religious about replacing 'em at 5 years. Or b sure your AAA is paid up. Any 'good' battery will do and any good autoparts store should have what you need for a GEN1 MINI.... AutoZone, Advanced, PepBoys ...
In my 79 I prefer OPTIMA RED TOP but that's really overkill for a daily use car IMO. Collector car folks like them cuz they "can not leak"
I have another car next to my Mini with a jumper cable ready.
I'll try an hour driving and see. I was about to replace the battery but if the battery is good enough, then keeping the battery is good for our environment. :D
Sometimes a battery will never fully comeback from being depleted!! Discharging a battery below about 80% of their capacity can cause damage, and permanently shorten their life. It is Likely if the car is a '03 that it may have been already replaced at least onetime under warranty.
A long drive...a few hours minimum, or perhaps borrow a battery charger/tester from someone.
Generally you should use the slowest charge setting you have time to use on an automatic charger if you want the best chance of a good outcome. Some newer testers/chargers now have a de-sulfate mode to try to rehab older, weaker batteries.
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l 2005 MCS l 11-04 Production l owned since new l RMW Tuned l Craven -17% Pulley l Craven Speed STD l Dinan CAI l JCW 380's l H&R 19 MM Swaybar l MSD Ignition l Power Steering Fan Duct l LightInSight l "EURO" MINI Armrest l Euro Parcel Shelf l Brake Light PULSAR(gen2)l Detroit Tuned Tensioner Stop l Blitzsafe/xmradio l Cobra 19IV CB l 4.5' Francis CB25 CB Antenna, mounted on the rear tow rig!!
Most car batteries will take at least 5 to 7 hours drive time to fully charge,
if this battery can have the caps up top taken off you can buy a tester that will tell how much of a charge is in each cell. If any of the cells are dead or below 75% after a full charge then the battery is not holding the charge and should be replaced. The plates in thr battery break after a period of time and this can give you a dead cell, that is why the battery can be fine one minute and the next it is dead. Also keep in mind once the car is started everything runs off the Alternator.
__________________ Burn-em upus asphaltus,04 MCS Indi Blue, Auto Climate Control,Cruise,Heated Seats, Nav,JCW Carbon Fiber shift knob, Blue LED Speedo and Tach, Front and Rear Fog lights, Sports Package with DSC, M7 Air Diverter, 15% Helix Pulley, Helix CAI, Aero Grill, 17 inch Rota RBs in Hyperblack
i remember many times walking into a lobby and being approached by the bldg. manager or owner and being asked how long to fix the elevator?
all you can really say in responce is ...well how long is a piece of string?
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HERBIE HIND
04 mcs hai, 15%, alta full,mm oil cooler, auto meters, modded bpv,konig 16's ,faulkins,tex spd wrks rotors , m7 strut brace . webb head, methanol inj.380cc helix's,giac tune. m7 cc .
Finally, my battery looked gone completely. No starter in the Saturday morning. I replaced to AC Delco 47-6YR and it was a perfect fit.
After replacing the battery, engine started right away, and it feels like acceleration is better than before.
As you guessed, battery indicator of original battery was still blue. That indicator is useless - or should it be green? ;)
This is the time of the year that batteries will typically fail, the summer is really what kills them, but the extra load required to start a cold car is when they normally fail. Personally I never go more then 3 years on a battery, I dont like to get stuck.
I replaced mine about a month ago as the scanguage was only showing about 12.6 volts when on the highway and that seemed low. So I replaced and now it is normally 13.7 to 13 .9 on the highway. the old one was just not holding the charge anymore.
__________________ Burn-em upus asphaltus,04 MCS Indi Blue, Auto Climate Control,Cruise,Heated Seats, Nav,JCW Carbon Fiber shift knob, Blue LED Speedo and Tach, Front and Rear Fog lights, Sports Package with DSC, M7 Air Diverter, 15% Helix Pulley, Helix CAI, Aero Grill, 17 inch Rota RBs in Hyperblack
ScanGauge's Volt-Meter can also provide you a "Load-Test" which will give warning for battery replacement befor getting stranded.
Click it on before engine start and note your voltage drop during and just after starting (my R56's Alternator does not start charging for several seconds).
If your voltage reading prior to start, is less than 12.2 your battery needs to be charged. With engine running, you should see 13.7-14.1 with a healthy Alternator.
During the high load of the starter, it is normal to see the voltage drop down into the 11's, (fully charged) but when you see that it is dropping below 10, you will know that it is failing your "Load-Test" and is due for replacement.
__________________ 28April2008, 'Trixy' Cooper Automatic+Sunroof+AutoAir+HiFi+CruiseControl+15" Rotator Six Spoke
Mods: European Center Armrest+Wet Okole w/Lumbars over 4" Memory Foam(see Gallery)+XM-Radio+ScanGauge II
'79; 02 S {02 - 09}, 07 S
Burn-em upus asphaltus ,04 MCS Indi Blue, Auto Climate Control,Cruise,Heated Seats, Nav,JCW Carbon Fiber shift knob, Blue LED Speedo and Tach, Front and Rear Fog lights, Sports Package with DSC, M7 Air Diverter, 15% Helix Pulley, Helix CAI, Aero Grill, 17 inch Rota RBs in Hyperblack
28April2008, 'Trixy' Cooper Automatic+Sunroof+AutoAir+HiFi+CruiseControl+15" Rotator Six Spoke
