my friens owns a 2006 mini cooper 1.6 liter and no current goes to the starter or gauges. I cleaned the battery posts but no go. I finally wiggled the positive cabe and the5 starter got juice as did the gauges. Should i replace the positive cable? It goes off i know not. How big a job is it as it is burried!
thanks all
M yles Mcswineyp

 

Myles
MINIs are very sensitive to loose or corroded ground points. There are any number of threads on here.
All the battery connections need to be taken off & sanded down to clean, bright metal. You should not be able to 'wiggle' any of them.
The major engine ground is under the right-side engine mount, easily accessed under the hood.

(Unless the battery cable is badly corroded & you can't just replace the terminal, you shouldn't need to replace the entire cable; it's very long & expensive on the Cooper 'S'.)

 

i noticed corrision on the pos cable under the plastic insulation. my mom's Accord had the same issue. No start no current. Would replacing the positive cable cure the no start, no crank and no gauges!. And no charging. I wiggled the positive cable and everything came back. Its charging now. I'm going to spray the pos cabble with Corrosion x and advise the owner to have the 2 pos cables replaced. She spent a fortune already but my moving the pos wire brought it to life. Do you think this is a reasonable solutuion?
thanks
Myles [/QUOTE]

 

Myles
It's maybe a short-term fix, but in my opinion, not a solution.
If you can still 'wiggle' the terminal, the problem will keep recurring.

 

i would find the spot where the battery ground is and clean that and all grounds you can locate. Hope this helps.A Curtis

 

She is having something draw current since she bought it. It actually killed her 2nd battery. Im afraid this battery drained itself then froze with all the sub zero temps here in Ma. breaking plates in the battery. I told her to bring it back and have them load test the battery then have then check the pos and neg cables for current draw and resistance. Thats all i can think off. Do you gentlemen have any idea's on whats causing the battery to die. A cpu current draw that its not been diagnosed. Help and Thanks
myles(a 64 year old mechanic) not a tech!
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