She was fine last night. This morning - won't start. Makes horrible clicking noises as the interior lights flash on and off. Battery appears to be fully charged, but for the heck of it we put the charger on her this afternoon. No change. Also attempted to jump start her. No luck. Pretty sure the starter motor is gone. (any other thoughts on this?)

Since I will now have to tow her somewhere to get her fixed, does anyone have opinions on non-dealer shops in the DC area? Ideally, closer to Arlington than MINI of Sterling. And who could handle putting a starter motor in her at a fair cost. I dread the cost of a tow to Sterling and towing on my dime to Towson (always my perference for service, in fact Isabelle has never been anywhere else!) is too far to consider it.

I am out of warranty........figures......third time I'll be towing her......

 

I got my tires changed from run flats by these guys and they gave me decent prices and did a good job. No idea how they are on other stuff but they are local and have multiple locations. I went to the one in Falls Church. http://www.currysauto.com/

 

It sounds like a low battery.... Got anyway to jump it?

 

Sounds like what happened to my MINI when I was having battery issues. First time, the battery just went completely dead and refused to hold a charge, and I couldn't jump-start the MINI either. Got towed to the dealership, they replaced the battery, and everything was fine.

Second time, same thing. I borrowed my brothers car, and schlepped the battery around to a couple of auto stores. First one said the battery was fine, second place charged it for a few minutes, then said it was fine. Went to put the battery back in, and noticed that there was the slightest bit of corrosion on one of the terminals. I wiped it off, made sure that the terminals were on tight, and she started right up.

So, long story short, make sure the battery terminals are on tight, and try a new battery! (Or borrow someone else's to test)


-Paul!

 

Currys is a good call - there is a location in Falls Church - when you talk to them - mention my name (I used to do their IT support) - or I can call ahead for you and make sure you get taken care of.

 

Down on Four Mile Run J&R Motors does BMW's and can accommodate a MINI. Also LeeLex (Lee and Lexington) has a really good and consistent Consumer Checkbook rating as well AAA. I would trust either

 

Or using your other car, get a new battery, and see if you can fix it yourself without paying for a tow or service. May end up with a spare battery, but may save a wallet of green too...

 

Have tried to jump the car using a Ford Bronco and Michael's S. No luck. He checked all the battery terminals and all are tight and not dried out.

 

If the battery has a shorted or bad cell you may not even be able to jump the car as long as the bad battery is connected. Not the likeliest scenario but I've had it happen. I had 'eliminated' a bad battery thorugh the steps you mentioned trying but turned out in the end it was the batt after all.

Pull his battery and disco yours and try that.

Good luck!

 

That's the plan for tomorrow. Michael is off.

 

You going to have a running MINI for the world record attempt sunday?

 

Why would you ask that, when she doesn't even know what the problem is yet?

 

Well yes, no matter what had happened, because we own two.

Last night we took Michael's battery and put it in Isabelle and PRESTO! working MINI. So it was the battery. Michael will go out today and get a new battery.

So - these sight glasses on the batteries with the colors - like the one that is bright green on mine and should mean the battery is fully charged - do you just ignore them?

 

Hooray!

In my experience, yup. When my battery gave up the ghost, the little indicator was bright green, but the battery wouldn't hold a charge at all.


-Paul!

 

Cool, glad that's all it was. I had a hunch.

 

Maybe the battery color doesn't indicate charge... Maybe just corosion of the fluid. And since the fluid probably just breaks down, but doesn't corrode, then you keep the same bright green color.

But of course SA's and MA's will say otherwise until you prove them wrong, or if they know you know better already.

 

Jen - you may have already bought the replacement battery, but if you haven't, consider getting an Optima... they aren't cheap but they are amazingly longlasting and durable batteries. I won't buy anything else after seeing how they cleared up problems in my Mustang back in the 90s.

 

Jen, did Michael already go to Sterling to pickup a battery? If not, get in touch with me and I can have one waiting there for you at a discount. Or, get yourself the Optima, they are slick, usually sealed and very long lasting. I am thinking of getting a couple for my scooters.
Mike

 

We got one, wish I had seen the post about the Optima before! Thanks for the offer!

 

I'm glad you got her fixed! And something so simple too...

 

Sight glass? What sight glass where? Oh that one. Ya ok there is one how about that.