Any input would be appreciated......
About 6 months ago I went to start my 2007 mini (53,000 miles) and I got a clicking sound when turning the switch so had roadside service tow vehicle to E2 Services in Winter Park, Fl in an effort to save some money but still paid $600 for a new starter.....a month later, I replaced my 6 year old battery with a new manufacturer battery because of its age only as the old one was still holding a charge. Approx 2 months later, the car would not start again but just clicked, so when roadside service arrived I tried it one more time and it started and continued to start for another month. On Sept 6, I left for a 2 month RV trip out west and left the mini at home in the garage with a 1.5 amp battery maintainer hooked up until I returned. I drove the car on three trips of about 20-30 miles upon returning the first part of November. Then on November 19th, I tried starting the mini and it would click but the starter would not turn over and continued to fail to start. So I called roadside service to take it back to E2 Service in Winter Park, Fl thinking it was a faulty new starter that they had replaced and it was under warranty. After checking the system and tracing everything, Eddie at E2 Service called and said they finally found the problem that it was the Alternator over charging that was causing the problem and I would need a new alternator!?!?....and the cost would be little over $1000!!!....I could not understand how this could be the problem?!..but I'm not a mechanic so I have to assume I am being given the correct honest assessment of the problem!?.....I was first told by E2 that the battery tested to have a bad cell and it is brand new!?!....possible!?!?....when the ignition would click the lights did not dim which indicated to me that it was the starter?.....I can only assume they know what they are doing but now I'm questioning the repair.......Any experience or comments on this subject would be appreciated as when I go pick up the car I want to ask more questions!.....and is $1000 a fair price to replace the Alternator?!?.....Thanks for your input...

 

Every time you drain a Lead Acid battery to empty, you sap a large chunk of its performance, and this is unrecoverable damage , and may include dead cells. (sometimes they can be recovered using a special charger, but you are dealing with a physical contamination on the plates)

Meanwhile, any garage who can't tell the difference between a bad stater motor and a bad alternator should be avoided.

Finally, with those low miles I assume it doesn't get driven or started enough, so a dying starter along with/causing some battery issues are conceivable.

I suspect your battery maintainer was hooked up to the cigarette lighter, and experienced a connection issue because relay I01151 disconnects the cigarette lighter (E28) from the power (Fuse 32) when the ignition is off.


Without some measurements of the battery it is difficult to be sure about what is wrong.

You would need to take the following.
1) drive the car at freeway speeds for 30 minutes
2) wit the engine running, measure the voltage across the battery (AC Off). Expect 13.8-14.4V
3) Turn off the car and remeasure. Expect ~12V
4) Leave car overnight as normal.
5) Remeasure voltage the next day. ~10V is a totally failed battery. ~11V is going to turn over slowly and is on the limit of leaving you stranded.
5b) before replacing a battery, perform the test again but disconnect the GND to the battery, testing the battery only to look for excess current draw.

 

Thank you for your comment Joylove, FYI, I had the battery maintainer pluged into a 110 AC electrical outlet........the battery was holding a charge and voltage was not going below 12 volts.....I only kept the maintainer 1.5 volts on the battery while I didn't drive it for two months since I was away.......the lights and all electrical components were operating when turning the key to start the engine. The lights were not dimming down, just the starter was clicking and not turning the engine over...:(......

 

The 1.5A trickle charger was connected to the car how? At the battery is OK, at the cigarette lighter is not OK.

About the lighting cars are a bit more advanced these days with disabling excess loads during cranking, and the dash is all LED illumination so can work at a much lower voltage. Additionally the starter is one or two orders of magnitude greater load then the dash illumination.

Try higher load items like the fan blower and the electric windows, to really see how low the battery is.

Sorry this post is rambling, but there are no questions there?

 

Lol...a battery trickle charger is always connected to the battery.....the power source would be the AC 110 outlet.....

My overall question here is "what could cause the ignition to click and not start the car?!"...I already replaced the battery and starter (both new). Now after E2 services replaced the starter 6 months ago, the car is not starting again!......so, could the new starter from mini be faulty?.....E2 services now tells me it's the Alternator?!?!?!?........the battery is holding a charge and all windows, convertible top, lights etc is not dimming but has plenty of power to operate!......I'm not satisfied at this point that the mechanic working on my mini knows what he is doing......they have had the car a week now!.......and if it ends up that the Alternator is the problem, is the $1000 parts and install labor a fair price?.......those are my questions love joy!..

 

On a S.....
there are TWO + battery cables from the battery in the trunk AND a battery disconnect devise on the unfused cable that goes to the starter....so it is possible to have good lights and battery but not enough amps to run a starter....
So I would look at the orange box that has the battery disconnected that is activated when the airbag is activated....water can sometimes get in them...and corrode the contacts...
Next the cable might be suspected...a few mini's have has the cable replaced over the years due to chafeing....then some corrosion on the copper...makes a mess...
The reason for the two cables is simple...fusing a high amp cable is pretty $$ and not very reliable...so one unfused one is run JUST FOR THE STARTER, with the disconnect...ensuring the cable is inspected after a major accident for dammage....and the regular cable to the fusebox, etc...
If you are sure the battery is good, and the starter is good... It sounds like not enough amps are getting to the starter to let it crank......corrosion on the disconnect is common enough in mini's with trunk leaks to look for...simple easy check...battery cable is more of a pain to look at....

 

Always? Because this one, and many others, connect to the cigarette lighter.


A flat battery or burned out starterYes, it could have been faulty or it could have been damaged Then I would ask for the details of the measurements he took to arrive at that conclusion, and for his confidence in that replacing the part will resolve your issues, and consider asking him for a guarantee.Assuming your R52 is a non S built Jan 2007, your alternator would be 12317550997 at $547 from BMW or Bosch AL0840X at $200 at FCP Euro. For the labour, I would assume 4-6 hours but I'm not a mechanic so I don't know. A full day sounds generous with all the correct tools. My mechanic is $50/h so that's $300.

 

Signature says 2007 mcsc....

P.S.
That starter...if bought from mini has a 2 year warrenty.....
My guess 3 hours labor MAX.... At closer to $100-125 per hour in most shops...
The S uses a DENSO alternator in most cases...same internals as the same amp ratings on most toyotdas...heck have one sitting in my driveway with 212,000 miles...still oem alternator... Same denso unit.....
I really wonder why a car with a bad alternator, BUT A FULLEY charged BATTERY would fail to start the first time if the battery is ok....their logic is crap...
Look at my above post...you might need to educate the shop...

 

Cooper S would be BMW 12317515030 at $715 or DENSO 47A2BA63 at $254.

Denso are OEM to most Japanese auto makers, no concerns with using them for electrical at all.

 

Was it the alternator? My problem sounded similar and was the ignition.