Dead battery tonight results in a question -- what is that little box next to the passenger side of the battery? The box is about 2" x 2" x 4" and might be made of plastic -- didn't get a great look before the tow truck took it away...

And does anyone have a decent picture of it?

 

Its an auxiliary terminal for jump starts. It explains it all in your owners manual.



You can just pop it open and there is the positive terminal for the jump.

 

If you are looking at the battery, which is under the carpet in the boot, I believe it is a fusible link. If you are looking under the bonnet, then that is the jumper cable junction incase you have a dead battery. That is what miniman101 is referring to. This only applies to the MCS. MC's have there battery under the bonnet.

 

Isn't there also a small tool kit in the battery compartment. I thought my 2003 MCS had a styrofoam box that included the tow hook.

 

In this case, I was referring to a 2" x 2" x 4" plastic black and yellow box.

 

Close MINI-IZED. If he is talking about the little orange box connected to the battery terminal, then it acts kind of like a fuse. If the airbags deploy, then the airbag controller sends a signal and blows the box, disconnecting the battery, thus keeping the wiring from short circuiting on any metal that it may have touched.