Hey guys,

On Sunday afternoon I spent some time in the driveway cleaning the interior. I had the radio on, etc. The next morning the car wouldn't start... just click click click click, and nothing. The windows rolled up and down very slowly, only one headlamp lit up, etc. I figured I had drained the battery all the way down.

I put the battery on a charger for five or six hours and had another go... no luck. Oddly enough my beat up old charger said the battery was at 100%.

At this point I figured, hey, six years is a long time for a battery... time for a fresh one. I picked up a new, charged battery from MINI today. Little green dot in the window, etc. I dropped it in this afternoon... CLICKCLICKCLICK (expletives) and then on a second attempt it fired up. I left it running for a few minutes, feathering the throttle a bit, until the temp gauge was sitting in the middle. At this point I shut off the car and started gathering my tools. It was pouring rain. I tried to fire it up again... and nothing. It seemed deader than before. The drivers side window rolled halfway down and wouldn't go back up. The dome light flickered a bit and went dim.

After flipping out and trying to tape bags over the open window to keep the water out, I used jumper cables from the OLD battery to the NEW one and got enough juice to roll the windows up, at least.

I now have the new battery on a trickle charge. Is it just the battery isn't actually charged? I live in an apartment with no plug-in outside and no one to jump start me, so charging the battery is a huge hassle (remove, haul upstairs, etc.) and I'm at the end of my rope.

Any suggestions?

 

try to get your alternator checked. could be why the new batter is now dead. running the car for a little bit probably drained the new battery.

 

+1

 

Thanks for the reply! I just spoke to my dad who told me the same thing

Since my first post, I picked up an extension cord so I could connect the charger outside... I was able to jump it off the charger after a few tries, so if I can make that happen tomorrow morning, I will drop it off at the shop. On the bright side, MINI is just a few blocks from work.

 

Should a bad alternator throw a CEL?

 

it should, it should also through the little battery symbol in the dash too. (the battery symbol means recharging system not the battery itself)

 

Hmm, it isn't showing any error lights at all

 

Battery might have a bad cell.....
You can sometimes jump a car with a bad battery with a failed cell, but they typically will not hold a charge. If the battery checks out as ok (BOTH voltage AND load check), then you are down to looking at the grounds on the car, or something that is a vampire...draining power.
Since this happened after sitting in a car with the radio on for a long time, sounds like the bettery is the most likely issue.
One thing to remember...starting batteries do not have lots of capicty to sit and play a big radio...and discharging a battery deeply will sometimes CAUSE a failure......vibration also can cause a battery to physically fail....so make sure the new battery is bolted down tight (the lead plates can fatigue, and tear/beak, leading to a bad cell....if a plate has 70% break off....the entire battery is now only as strong as the failed cell...so it might be ok for a bit, will loose most of the capicity).

 

Thanks very much for the suggestions everyone! I hate it when these threads don't have a conclusion, so I will admit my foolishness.

I jumped it and left it at the dealer this morning. All day I was worried it was the alternator or worse. I got a call in the early afternoon saying my car was ready to go, and she would explain when I got there. It turns out, I had the washer on the wrong side of the connection to the negative battery terminal. Evidently, the washer is not conductive, so there was a very weak/no connection to the battery.

My initial problem was indeed a battery dying of old age, and my problems compounded when I installed the new one incorrectly. Pretty stupid mistake, I know, and it cost me $60 in labor to learn the lesson! I was prepared for much worse though, so kudos to MINI Victoria for getting it fixed quickly and not replacing my alternator

 

Thanks fir sharing that lesson with us, Danny. Most people could laugh about such a mistake months later. You can laugh about it today... good stuff!

 

??? I thought that the power from a car battery comes from the clamping action around the post. I wasn't aware that there was a washer that was in the clamp that could act as an insulator. Perhaps it was keeping your clamp from getting tight enough.

Val

 

Bet they cleaned the post and tightened it down....
A non conductive felt washer is often used to limit corrosion at the terminals....
But what counts here is is sounds like the issue is fixed, and for a pretty small $$. Just proves, sonetimes paying for a pro can be a good thing.
Congrats on having thr car back and running good!!

 

I think that's right, actually... thanks for correcting me there that makes a lot more sense.

 

Indeed, I don't mind feeling a little foolish and spending a few dollars if it means I don't have to continue cycling to work in the cold and the rain this week!

 

So glad everything got sorted out and it was a minor fix.
I've noted everything and will remember this, just in case. Which for me, could be any day...