H Guys,

It;s a R53 2006 Minicooper S Manual

I know as soon as you guys see this, you will say alternator is out. But I wanted to get your experience/help before I did the expensive repair that is replacing the alternator. Because couple of "issues' happened before this took place.

The car had SES light come on two weeks ago, saying that it has P2404 (Evaporative Emmissions / Leak Pump Detection) code. Then I replaced the fuel cap thinking that was it because it was not in good shape, the rubber was cracked, the light came back on, and I kinda ignored it because nothing else was up. Then my wife did mention the car was a bit "loud" (it is her daily driver), I thought it was because she had the windows down.

Then today when we went to dinner, i heard a "whirring" noise, that kinda went away when i revved a little, more like belt/bearing noise. It didnt come back, but when returned in the night, and I had lights on, as soon as I pulled out of the parking lot, the battery light came on and lost power steering. I know the car has electric power steering pump, so I thought that might be it, but then ABS lights and tracktion light also came on. I stopped the car to check thinking a belt might have snapped on the alternator, then it won't start back up. I am assuming it's too low on battery. Had it towed home since i have AAA

The belts look good from what I can see.

Wanted to give the background info incase anyone else had similar experience, and be able to advice me before I take it to a shop. mostly because it can't start on it's own, and I am not sure if it's ok to drive it with the power steering out.

Any help is very much appreciated.

 

I had the same issues you described except the whirring noise. I lose power steering like half a mile from home. Pulled in the driveway and turned the car off to check everything out. Went to start the car...won't start. Had the battery checked and it came back good. Replaced the alternator after that and haven't had problems since. The power steering will turn off when the alternator is putting out enough amps as the power steering pulls a bunch of energy from the system, so it gives you more time to get home safely. Did it happen to idle high before it wouldn't start? That was the only other symptom I had that you didn't describe as the car was trying to draw enough power to stay idling without dying. Let me know if you have any questions. I just did the repair last month

 

Your crank pulley may have separated (outer ring from inner center) so the belt may not be spinning as it should (no charging, no blower, no A/C...). Ask me how I know...

ETA: this, by the way, wouldn't stop the engine from starting, but an uncharged battery might.

 

Thank you both for the responses.

nshannon29 - It didnt idle high. But did you also had SES light issue the time before this happened? How was the repair, do you know how much it cost? who you did it with (dealer vs local store), or how many hours quoted to do it?

Filmy - The AC is blowing (I think, I didn't really check) I will check in the morning, but I remember turning it off before trying to start the car.

My worry taking this to a shop is, 1 - is it ok to drive with a jump start or push start without power steering? 2 - if it can't drive off without it's own start would a place like a dealership release without fixing it?

 

I didn't have an SES light. I did have the abs and dsc lights come on though like you mentioned. I payed $140 I believe for a rebuilt Denso unit through Advanced Auto. Same unit as what was on the car (not the knockoff or cheap units) but just rebuilt with new parts. The job is quoted around 4 hrs and that's what it took me but the only real part that made the job difficult was trying to get the belt off without the belt tensioner tool. After that you just put the car into service mode and you can just pull the radiator support and ac condenser forward. Have you ever done any maintenance on the car yourself? The job is time consuming but not difficult at all. Basic hand tools and an extra hand is handy but not necessary (I did it myself). I linked a video that shows the whole process:

 

Thanks! I've seen the video, that's what actually made me worried because I don't have a tentioner tool. How did you do it without that? What did you mean by put the car in "service mode"?

I can do minor repairs like brakes, have replaced a radiator during college days when I couldn't bother to pay for it. But it was brutal

4 hours isn't bad if I can find a decent mechnic who understands mini's. most ones i've dealt with don't know enough about these cars and mess something up in the process.

I checked Advance Auto , the denso was $350, and auto zone had a different model for $179 +core

 

So how did you know, and what should I look for?

I am trying to see if there is a way to find if it's the alternator for sure before i do the repair

 

I used a 17 mm socket on the front of the tensioner then an Allen key in the top hole of the crank pulley then found a long break bar to hold off the tension. If you can find somebody to either hold the tension off or to put the other Allen key in the 2nd tensioner hole to hold it permanently it isn't hard this way. If you are definitely doing it by yourself just buy the tool off Amazon. I think it is around 30-40 bucks last time I looked. I got the one that was 179 through advanced. Don't worry though it is still the Denso unit, it's just rebuilt instead of brand new like the other unit. About service mode, go to that guys YouTube page and you can find him explain how to put the car into front end service mode. Basically you just are pulling the front bumper, crash bar and the radiator and ac condenser forward on long bolts so you have more room to reach the alternator!

 

Thanks for the info. I think I might have to find that tool locally, as all options on Amazon won't ship fast enough. Dealership wants $1100, which makes sense for 4 hours labor and part. But I don't know that's worth paying right now.

 

Yeah 1100 is pretty steep, where are you located? I say try to find somebody local to help you and get the tool locally. Or try to find a independent dealer that works on minis.

 

Yeah, that was going to be my last resort. I am going to pick up the alternator today for $170. And then have a mechanic who usually doesn't work on mini by works on all of my friends cars install it. Since I've seen the video of how to do it, I can do it along side him.

Question, one auto part place asked me if it's Bosch one or the Valeo one I have on my car. Is there two different fitments? which one is ours.

Autozone just had one model they say is a fit. which is a re-manufactured, but I dont care about that it not being new.

 

The original one I pulled off my car was a Denso and the one I replaced it with was a remanufactured Denso. If I was you, I'd go with the autozone one cause it more than likely will be Denso that is just rebuilt.

 

Thanks!

 

No prob. Just say something if you need more help!

 

Looks like I am going to fix this up tomorrow.

Got the battery charged, and started the car. Everything except the power steering is working, and i have the battery light on. Is it safe to assume the car has a way of knowing that alternator is not working? I thought it went off the battery voltage. if it does know, that's good, it means its a bad alternator.

Second, did you battery light just go away, and power steering automatically come back on when you replaced the alternator? or did you have to do anything to "reset"

 

Nope it just went out! I'd say it's safe to assume that it's the alternator. That's pretty much exactly what mine did. It would run with the battery fully charged but It didn't like to idle correctly and I didn't have power steering.

 

Wow so many people with the same alternator issues. I too had the same symptoms and it turned out to be my alternator. I would suggest getting the pulley tool for $30 on ebay. Although some people are claiming issues with it, I had no problems and it actually was a black bar instead of the golden one thats pictured.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/381576217965?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
I also bought a used alternator from a scrap yard for $50. Now you may want to buy a brand new one but if you're cheap, a used one isn't bad at all. Also if you do end up buying a used one, don't bother going to an autoparts store to get it tested. They rig those so it always fail if you're not using their own alternator.

If you do end up using modmini's DIY video, you can get the bolt extensions for the radiator support at any hardware tool. Just make sure to bring one of the nuts so you get the size right the first time.