Does anyone ACTUALLY know if a MCS battery harness will fit in a MC? I want to relocate my battery to the trunk and don't know what my options are. Then today, I was like....MCS harness! The chassis is the same and all the parts are in the same location. I just might have to mod the floor for cutouts, I think. Appreciate the replys!

 

I dont see why it would not fit, but to buy the battery box, and relocate your spare would be a hassle. Just mount the battery on a batter box, and buy some 4 guage cable. I would imagine the factory harness would be quite expensive..

 

The factory cable is actually in two parts, a 4-gage cable that is run inside the car along with a fuse box and 250amp fuse that connects the underhood fuse box to the battery, and a 2-gage starter cable that runs under the car to the starter/alternator (and to a MCS-specific 'jump start' terminal. This starter cable also incorporates an explosive charge-equipped 'safety terminal' that connects to the airbag system to 'disconnect' the battery in the event of a severe accident. Reason for this is if the starter cable were to short out up front, the circuit will have no means to protect itself and most likely start a fire. You cannot successfully 'fuse' a starter motor, so instead a small charge is placed in the terminal to separate it from the cable. Finding all these components from MINI would be rather expensive, and a MC does not have the connection for the safety terminal into the airbag system.

Your best bet in this case is to use a race-style battery relocation kit preferrably with a disconnect switch. It's much cheaper and since the safety issues are not easily teransferred to the MC with OEM parts, the aftermarket solution would esseentially be just as (un?)safe.

 

That's cool but I no longer have any airbags. So that feature would be obsolete. I'll just go on a secret squirrel mission to find my answers.

 

In that case, use the 'racing' relocation kit, and run the cabling under the car as it would be done on a MCS. In fact, you can procure the clips used to fasten the cabling under the car and have a clean install. It's also lighter than using the mini setup (which uses two cables) and cheaper, and you have the greatest flexibility when it comes to locating your battery.