Nonsense indicators
 

Hello NAM, I bought my used 2005 mini cooper in January and have not had to do anything to it except change the oil, tires and put windshield washer fluid in it. Overall, I love it.

This morning, however, I was coming home from a camping trip not very far away and the cruise control would not work, the indicator just blinked then went out. I thought it odd but was hoping restarting the car would make it go away. before I got home the emergency brake light flashed on for a minute then went out again.

I picked my mother up to go down the road for breakfast, but when I restarted the car the engine light, ABS light, e-brake light, DSC light and tire pressure light were all on. It drives fine and all of the windows/lights are working. The speedometer also stopped working, as well as the MPG reading. The brakes work fine, the e-brake wasn't on, the tire pressure is where it should be, and I definitely wasn't losing control or slipping/slidding (to make the DSC light go on).

I'm thinking it has to be an electrical problem, a loose plug or corroded ground... If anyone could give me guidance on a location to check for plugs or other simple wiring issues that could be at fault, I would greatly appreciate it. Or if you think it could be something more serious, I would appreciate the help even more!

In addition, I drove the car to an auto part store and they used the fault code reader on it, it came up with two codes (he didn't tell me the codes, but I could always go back and get them) that both said it was a general error.

The ABS/DSC/Tire Pressure trifecta is a sign that one of your wheel-speed sensors has failed or is about to fail (all three systems rely on wheel speed measurements to function). It's a fairly common occurence with the first-gen MINI.

is the battery original?

I replace my bat's at 5 years .... period!

These cars do not like weak/failing batteries . .

Capt_bj: I'm not sure if the battery is the original, but I tested it and it says that it's still good.

I did, however, find a blown ABS fuse. I changed it and started the car to check if the fuse would blow again, it didn't. All of the same indicator lights are still on though. My father said I may have to have the computer reset before the lights reset. I'm about to look into how to reset the computer, one person recommended unplugging the battery for a few minutes, but I think I read elsewhere that the computers have internal batteries.

So, I've been poking around under the hood... which probably isn't good since I'm not a mechanic, but I did find something.. a blown ABS fuse. I replaced it and checked it a few days later, blown again.

Does anyone know what could be causing the abs fuse to be blowing?

Not sure if this applies to a MINI but I experienced a similar situation with my wife's '08 Buick Enclave. Same symptoms, no cruise, stability control, ABS lights. It took me awhile to figure it out. I checked fluid, brakes, rotors etc. and found nothing wrong. I finally figured out that it was low master cylinder fluid level. The level looked fine but was just low enough (from brake pad wear) to trip a sensor which set off the tri-fecta.:eek2: You would think with all the indicators they would just give you a low brake fluid warning like they do with windshield washer fluid. SO.. try topping of your brake fluid and see if your symptoms go away.