So here is the story. R53 74,500 miles ....Going out for a Drive today and My Wife driving the mini stalled it at a light, Started it back up Made a High pitched wine, drove about 1 mile to a safe place and turned it off. Now when I put the key in the ignition and turn it on i get no light's on the dash, the radio does not work and the window / sunroof will not close. I got an OBD2 code reader and it reads FAIL. The battery is good. I had it Towed back to my house and I have been looking on line for answers.

 

So here is the story. R53 74,500 miles ....Going out for a Drive today and My Wife driving the mini stalled it at a light, Started it back up Made a High pitched wine, drove about 1 mile to a safe place and turned it off. Now when I put the key in the ignition and turn it on i get no light's on the dash, the radio does not work and the window / sunroof will not close. I got an OBD2 code reader and it reads FAIL. The battery is good. I had it Towed back to my house and I have been looking on line for answers. I need help to figure out if it is somthing I can handle or weather I need to talk to the dealer. I have had the car for about 3 weeks and just drove it 2000 miles with no issues .

 

dude the same thing happened to me, no worries. my R53 had the same miles as you and the batterie just died like that....i looked at the batterie and it still had the little green dot so i took it to the dealer and they said that something was wrong within the cells of the battery and that i would just have to replace it. i did that and everything went back to normal.

 

Thank you for the reply. So far I found a Bad Ignition Fuse under the hood. i moved one and all of my Dash lights came back on. now when I try to start it i get a Wine... but no crank of the engine. sounds like the Starter is not engaging the fly wheel. I had to go to work today so i did not get to look any further...

 

Ok , So I have been flat out all week... i now have the service manual, and it appears that removing the starter from the top is the best choice. but as i have been looking around for a source for a new starter... does any one have a sug for a reasonably priced one.

 

Before you spend any more time or money, Take the battery out and have it tested and charged. Then do the hard stuff, have not heard of any mini starter problems.

 

So , Just to update, The battery is good, The starter is shot, and new ones are expensive... i have replaced the 50amp ignition fuse that blew. So does any one have a good source for getting a rebulit starter?> BTW removing it is a Pain.

 

Had the same thing happen to me a few days ago. Car started just fine and after a few seconds just went all black. The indicator needles on the dash are all frozen in their last position. Put in a brand new battery today and still the same thing. BTW it's a 2005 S Convertible 6spd w/105,000 miles. Any advice?

 

Check the ignition 50amp fuse under the hood.

 

I'm at work and the Mini is stuck at home . Would the ignition fuse shut the entire car down? I mean even with the new battery hooked up I am not getting any kind of lights or nothing at all. Thanks for the help.

K

 

Yes , take a gooood look at all of the fuses on the right hand side of the engine, they are MAXI fuses and have a round Copper ring at the top. one of them should be listed as ignition Fuse, it will kill everything except for the hazards. Good luck Rob

 

Guys,

thanks for all the advice. Problem solved last night by my electrical engineer neighbor . Turns out that one of the harness cables that runs from the battery to the little junction box next to the battery was so corroded that it wasn't sending a current to the car. As soon as he cleaned it a bit the lights lit up like usual. He's going to help me change the rusted cable sometime this week, so this will only cost me a cold six pack and a Macanudo .

Thanks again,

K