My girlfriend drives a 2005 mini cooper. Yesterday we were driving it and the battery light turned on. At a standstill, the temperature would rise and the a/c would blow hot.

This morning while driving it, the battery light came on but the a/c and temperature seemed fine. It wasn't showing any signs of overheating and the a/c was cold as ice at all times. However, after the initial turn on and about a half mile of driving, all the gauges seemed to reset as they do when you first turn the car on.

After some more driving (about 8 miles), the power steering went out. About a mile after that, the car completely died.

Yesterday I was thinking it was a loose belt, but now after today I am thinking a dead alternator. It won't turn over at all and simply clicks.

Short of taking out the alternator and taking it autozone to have it tested, is there any way to find out if it truly is a loose belt (which I doubt at this point) or if it is the alternator? Any advice? Thanks guys.

Edit: Also, I should note the issues appeared after a burn out.

 

Are you still on the original battery? We just changed ours in the '05... it was due.

 

I'm not sure. We bought it earlier this year used. I'll take the battery to an autozone and have it checked now that you mention it. But I don't think that would cause the other issues, would it? Thanks!

 

It's worth a shot to check it out. Personally, the PS fan and PS pump come to mind... overheating. You may have more than one thing happening.

You said "Mini Cooper"... so NOT the "S", right?

 

:(

And nope, not supercharged. I guess I'll check the battery when I get out of work and update the thread for more input. Thanks!

 

will it start with a jump?

if so drive to AutoZone and they can check the entire charging system - battery and alternator.

 

It's ok if you don't have the "S". There are just other issues that happen with the "S" and the crank pulley/AC and other crap. Let's just hope that your problem is just an old battery... something simple.

And welcome to NAM.

 

Haven't tried a jump yet. I will tonight. They can check all that without pulling out the alternator? Because that would be great.

That would be great if it was simple I'll try some troubleshooting tonight and let you guys know.

Thanks for all the super friendly help

 

They can check all that without pulling out the alternator?

yes if you can get the car there (or to any good chain parts outfit)

they just plug in a gizmo that will check the alternator output and the battery. I have seen the test say a battery was OK when it really wasn't tho . . . happened on the 02 last year. Had a totally wasted cell and wouldn't take a charge altho a tester said it was OK. Go figure.

I'd bet a dollar the battery is toast and if it were me I'd just bite the bullet and put one in. If you have access to a good battery - even one that doesn't fit perfectly I'd swap it in. If all is well you know 4 sure.

 

Great! Then my first order of business tonight will be to jump the car and see if it starts. If not, I can tow it with my truck to a nearby Autozone and have them check the charging system and battery. Thanks!

 

So I was able to jump the car. If I let it charge for about 10 minutes off my truck, it would drive about a mile. So I got it to an autozone and they checked the battery and charging system. Battery was said to be fine, I even got them to bring out a new battery, and hook it up just to make sure. Same issues.

So it's the alternator. It died about 3 times on the way home. I had to keep recharging it

I ordered the alternator ($215) and it should be here tomorrow. So does anyone have a good DIY guide on how to remove and replace the alternator? Thanks for all the help!

 

Well that kinda sucks... but at least you have something else to go on. I bet there ARE some DIY's. Good luck! Thanks for letting us know how it went.