Does know anyone know whether there are any special precautions one needs to following when changing the boot-mounted battery in a Cooper S ? Does anything need to be reprogrammed by the dealer? Or is it okay to simply disconnect the battery and put in a new one ?

Thanks,
Joe

 

I've unplugged my battery numerous times when doing installs.

You will loose your clock setting and whatever mpg, ave speed you
had in your computer. That's about it.

Even the stereo has memory backup and therefore you will not
loose your stations and EQ settings, etc. :smile:

You should not need to get anything reprogrammed at the dealer.

 

Thanks, Kenchan. It's a relief to read your quick response. when checking under my car and fixing an exhaust line rattle, I noticed some battery acid residue around a drain hole under the battery case recently. When checking the battery compartment in the boot, I could see more such acid residue all around the bottom of the battery compartment.

My dealer is over 100 miles away so I want to take the battery out and clean up the residue with baking soda myself and then see if it reoccurs again, before taking it to the dealer for a new battery if necessary.

Joe

 

No problem. :smile: wow, a leaking battery, huh?

Did you quick charge the battery at all or it just started leaking on its own?

 

No, I didn't quick charge the battery. And I'm not even certain whether the case itself is leaking, or whether it might have been too full to begin with and "boiled over" a little with normal charging. This is what I want to determine by cleaning up the dried up residue of the leaking acid.

I first discovered this when, looking for the source of an exhaust rattle, I took off the heat shield beneath the two exhaust pipes just before they exit at the back of the car. That's when I discovered this hole in the underside of the battery box which had all this dried up white battery acid residue around it. Investigating inside the battery box itself I saw more of the residue all around the bottom edges of the battery box. (The battery itself is white plastic and I couldn't detect whether there was residue on the battery case or not.)

So now I want to clean up all the residue with a baking soda solution. Then look again in a month or so to see if evidence of more leakage comes back. If it does - the car will go to the dealer with a complaint ( it should just be about my 10,000 mile checkup time anyway).

 

I see....hummm... If it's not making a hiss noise after a long drive
I think it won't release itself anymore. Perhaps the manufacturer topped
off too high.

Ive had some batteries spill a little like that during a quick
charge at 10A for kids that wanted to use their dad's old battery to
use as a power source for their RC car battery charger... usually its
one time that it spills and won't spill any more...ofcourse the next
time I used a lower amp rating for them although 10A is normal for
quick charging standard 12v car batteries.
Hope its ok. :smile: