Hello everyone. Been a lurker for a few years and have learned a lot. Now I finally have a need to post. I have a 2005 Cooper S that has a starting issue. To rewind a bit, last year I would have some trouble getting it started once in a great while. It looked like it still had the original battery as it said MINI on it so I went out a got a new one. Cleaned off all the connectors and installed the new battery. Was still having random issues so I took and had the battery tested and it was showing fully charged.

What I have since found is that if I drive for 20-ish miles, it will usually start up OK the next time. I go to work and that seems just long enough to allow it to start after work. If I leave for a short trip during the day, say for lunch, it will usually start after that but not when I go to leave work. So I thought it may be the alternator.

What makes me wonder about that though, is that I can't even jump it from the battery at all, no matter how long I let it charge up before trying. I left a battery tender on for a while with no help either. When it won't start, the only way I can get it jumped is using the bolt under the hood. It will start up immediately doing that every time, but never directly from the battery.

I searched the forums and it was sounding like loose cables, or corrosion or that accident explosion squib thing. So last night I took everything off and cleaned them all up and tightened them all down, checked the grounding cable under the hood as well. It did start up, but I also had driven home from work. So I let it run for a while, shut it off to test again, and it wouldn't start. All the lights come on, nothing is dim or low powered, I hear a click, but no turn over.

The only thing I can think of is it's an issue with the cable from the battery going to the front of the car. I am going to go out and get a multi meter so I can test, but in the meantime, was wondering if anyone has any other ideas of what to look at. Luckily I am not without the car as everything works great once started, it can just be a little annoying to have to pop the hood and jump it almost every time I go somewhere.

 

Plenty of juice in the battery, lights on the dash, just a single click from position 2*, intermittent problem: I see a starter in your future. Just be sure that all of your grounds are clean, and that you are getting more than 14 volts when the car is idling at 2K.

*You said one click, right? If it goes *click* *click* *click* *click*, then you do have an amperage problem.

 

If the battery tests full...then no alternator issue....
Sounds like you need to get the car on a lift and get it looked at...
Might be a starter....but might be worth looking at the battery +cables...extensive corrosion could reduce the amps supplied to the starter to the point it will not crank a coo/cold motor, but has enough to turn over a warm motor.....
By jumping it with the + post you are bypassing the cable......

 

correct, just one click

 

Figured I would respond to this, even though its old, just in case anyone else has a similar issue. It turns out that the bolt under the front hood wound't tighten enough for good contact. When I would jump it from this bolt, I wasn't actually being successful due to the jump, the clamp was just pushing everything together. The fix was to place a couple washers under the bolt so everything touches that needs to touch. Knock on wood I haven't had an issue in a couple months.

 

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