Disconnecting the battery would make the problem go away for short while on my car. Problem would soon come back. I had the OEM iPod connector. Do you have the iPod connector, CD changer or sat radio in trunk. Try disconnecting them from harness behind radio. Also check for damage to harness. I believe the connector on my wiring harness when bad do to using a iPhone instead of an iPod. An iPhone draws more amperage then iPods. It maybe the cause of the short in my connector

 

Disconnecting the battery would make the problem go away for short while on my car. Problem would soon come back. I had the OEM iPod connector. Do you have the iPod connector, CD changer or sat radio in trunk. Try disconnecting them from harness behind radio. Also check for damage to harness. I believe the connector on my wiring harness when bad do to using a iPhone instead of an iPod. An iPhone draws more amperage then iPods. It maybe the cause of the short in my connector

 

I just want to say thanks to all on the post. I have a 2005 R53 with only a few minor engine modifications... complete exhaust system, MSD coil, 15% supercharger pulley, cold plugs and cold air intake.

I had the exact same problems many have noted...
- Turn signal not working
- Steering wheel radio controls not working
- Brake lights staying on after turning off the car
- Airbag warning light on
- Seat-belt light stays on
- Lights on gauges stayed on with lights turned off and car turned off

I had to disconnect the battery to get the brake lights to go off... reconnected and they stayed of. Started the car and all symptoms returned.

I HAD an aftermarket (DICE) iPod adapter connected to the factory radio - non-Harmon Kardon.

After removing the adapter, everything works as it should! Guess I will have to go back to CD's or an FM adapter.

 

The OEM Aux-in cable is another option. Very simple, plugs into the back of the HU, $30-40 and will get your tunes back. Doesn't charge ipod/phone though.

 

Thanks to all for all the posts!

I too have a 2005 r50 in which I installed an aftermarket adapter.worked just fine for 2 years. The other night some things just started not working, blinker lights, remote, AC, dash lights and the brake lights would remain on even when the car was off.

I was getting real worried when my local guy told me it was probably a computer problem and I would have to take it to the dealer (stealership?)

Thanks to all your posts I was able to disconnect the iPod adapter and 10 minutes later my mini is back in top form. Who would have think it.

 

Hey Phil,

I had identical symptoms on my car (2003 R50). I ended up removing the iPod adapter (oem retrofit) and all my gremlins went away. I now have the GROM adapter where I hook up an external 500gb hard drive and I can select my music off that. It even has the music name & artist displayed on the radio!

 

Well I have the same intermittent dash/creature comforts dance going on with my Mini. It's a 2003 MCS with Harmon Hardon radio, no nav.

When things dont work I get:

- No turn signal light or clicks
- No sound out of the radio
- No Climate controls
- No backlighting on the speedo/tach
- No auto-lock
- No sun-roof

After painful digging around I found that pulling my F27 fuse and reseating it fixes everything. F27 controls the illumination and some other functions of the radio. Should I just rip out the stock radio/speakers/amp and replace and call it good or is there something else going on ? I also do have a half-assed security system synced to my stock key/remote. I have played with the wires and connections on the BC1 to no avail.

Any ideas ?

 

Hi. I have the exact same problem as you. Could you tell me how did you solve it?

 

Ypu, basically the Harmon Kardon amp shorted out inside, messed up my HK stereo deck and created a pure chaos mess for the body control module. Removing and replacing with aftermarket radio, amp and speakers solved my problems, all of them.

 

Had very similar issue in my R56. Turned out to be a bad FRM module.

 

Anyone else having this issue?

I had my car parked for about a month in the garage. Its been garaged since 2012 that I know of.

Yesterday I decided to drive my mini to work. I got in and no dash lights, no turn signals, etc. Turn signals still worked, heater and all the bs still worked. After a few minutes of driving they popped back on. After I got to work I did some searching and came across this post. I figured, I'd just disconnect the factory ipod adapter when I got home. I did and NO JOY. Its still having the same issue. So, I removed the entire radio, still....NO JOY. Now I didn't want to ruin my awesome day (NEW TIRES) by getting angry at the car, so I left it alone. I haven't pulled the F27 fuse.

One thing I noticed on my way home from work (before removing stereo) is that the volume would go way up, or I would have a delayed reaction if I was using the steering wheel controls.

Even after I removed the stereo I did notice is that I still have the DING DING DING when I take my key out as if my lights are on. Sometimes they are, then I fiddle with the switch or just turn the key on/off a few times until SOMETHING makes it stop.

To recap, I still have the same issues of the dash lights (turn signals etc) not turning on, or turning on and not turning off.

Interested if anyone still had this issue after removing the adapter or entire stereo for that matter.

Determined to fix, I will post the solution.

 

Try a little electronic switch cleaner in the ignition switch.
It may be that simple.

 

The DING is there because the lights are on and they don't shut off with the switch on the turn signal stalk. They just turn off when they want to and I have to fiddle with everything until they do. Once the lights are off there is no DING with the key out.

 

My guess is that there's a sticky contact somewhere.
The ignition switch has some commonality with the turn signal switch & the radio controls - I'd start there as it's easy to get to.
Then the turn signal switch
then the steering wheel contacts, except they are buried behind the steering wheel & don't look easy to get at.
Try the cleaner & work the switches a few times - it's cheap & can't do any harm, just don't flood it.
Since the car has been sitting, it won't hurt to clean the battery grounds - there are several. (Also cheap & easy to do!).
You might disconnect the battery overnight to let all the computer memories drain & see if that makes any difference.

 

Figured out that if I disconnect this plug (see pic) then everything works just peachy but the stereo. Not sure if it's a compromised plug or another area somewhere in the harness, but once I clip it back together it's bonkers!

 

I'm glad you fixed it!
Do you know what that plug is for?

 

It's not fixed yet. That plug makes the stereo work. Without it connected I have no stereo. I'll inspect the plug & see if I can tell where it's failing.

 

SSuperCooper did you figure it out? On my 04 S it was a short in the round connector on the factory wiring harness for the OEM iPod connector(or disk changer). I Think of the car components as a network and all the pieces talk. On my 04 the short was from audio to the CAN BUS which stopped the network from talking. Since you removed the radio and it went back to normal I would think the short is in the radio. When I removed the radio nothing changed. It wasn't till i cut the white( can bus) wire off the car side of the round connector for the iPod that it went back to normal. Its been 4 years now and still good.

 

I had someone take a look and found it to be the stereo. It started trying to eject a cd whenever it was plugged in. I gave up and just disconnected it. Sold it before I got a new CD player. It was a great car, but I wanted something faster. Don't get me wrong, it felt fast and was fun to drive. But I figured I could buy a corvette cheaper than it would be to make the mini really fast.

 

Thank you for posting this Discovery. My 02 MCS appearantly went into Emergency Light Operating Mode. I don't know why but the 15 amp fuse in the driver's side fuse panel reset it.

The door chime dinged once as I unplugged. The fuse was not blown. Plugged it back in and everything is back on.

Things that went out:

A/C
Turn signal indicator
Behind the wheel radio controls
Remote door locks
Some other lights naught have gone out but this happened during the day
Thank you, thank you spidertnt;3828995]I!!!

QUOTE=spidertnt;3828995]I am having this same symptoms. I just tried unplugging the 15amp fuse for the radio with out removing the after-market ipod adapter. Now everything is starting to work again.

Sunroof,dash-lights etc..

It seems like the BC1 was in emergency mode.

http://www.bmw-planet.com/lib/mini/BODY%20CONTROL.pdf

Emergency Light Operating Mode
An emergency backup hardware circuit completely independent of the BC1 will ensure certain lights can
function in the event of a failure within the BC1.
During normal operation a cycling frequency from the BC1 deactivates this emergency circuit. This cycling
frequency should be at least 15 Hz. Emergency operation is initiated if this does not take place.
The emergency mode provides the following lights from ignition position 1 regardless of the light switch
position:
 Front sidelights
 Rear sidelights
 Low beam lamps
 Left and right brake lamps (when the brake switch is active)
The following functions will not operate in Emergency Mode:
 Direction indicator lamps
 Hazard warning lamps
 Main beam lamps
 Front fog lamps
 Communication via the K-bus
 Instrument/switch illumination[/QUOTE]

 

This has been intensely frustrating. Occasionally, and maybe related to a rain event, imy R50 does the following. The tachometer stops working, dash lights all light up, the CVT starts shifting very erratically, (like to first gear on the highway). Sometimes clearing the OBDII codes fixes it completely for two weeks.

It seems like the "rain in the BCU problem" but I don't see any sign of water. I've had the MCU out and checked, soaked the wiring harness in the cowl area to no affect. The BCU looks fine but there are many splices in the harness to the four connectors (look like old dealer repairs).

As bizarre as it seems for a $1000 car, I'm planning on replacing the entire wiring harness, the BCU, the MCU, and the battery box and lid.

And I don't know if this will even resolve the problem.

Peter

 

Disable your radio and amp and see what happens for the next several days

 

My sincere thanks to all the posters here. I had the exact problems in my 06 R53 that ghshamblin listed . I took out the iPod adapter and all is well. I hadn't used it in years anyway

 

Hello everyone,

I know this thread is quite old already now, but I am facing the same issues as other people have described before. Indicator on the dashboard not working, brake light stays on, etc. on my 2007 Cooper S Convertible.

Interestingly my radio also started to say „Disabled“, but only once the engine is on. When the ignition is on it still seemed to work.

Anyways I wanted to start by removing the iPod Cable since people have reported that this once is causing the issues. I already checked multiple spots for moisture but everything seemed to be dry.

I saw the instructions on how the cable is installed and it involved a lot of changes on the radio, including the crimping of cables. When people write here „They removed the cable“, did you reverse engineer the whole thing or just removed the single cable that connects to the iPod?

Thanks a lot and all the best from Germany