I bought a 2007 R52 with 11,200 miles.

I have a few questions.

It came with 2 keys, on one key the buttons do not work. Potentially the battery is dead, how long does it take to charge?

The radio does now work well is ECS Tuning the best place for a replacement radio?

What about speakers? I have the non HK radio.

How do you pair a Phone there is no Sync Button. Are those buttons worthless?
When the top is down the redlight on the top button keeps blinking.

Any specific things I should check?

 

I'll comment on the topic quoted only. If like my (sig) R53, one key fob was likely never used thus totally dead and wouldn't charge in the vehicle while driving or outside (inductive cordless toothbrush charger method). If yours likewise, replacement soldered-in battery will be required. Not difficult or time consuming, however be careful not to de-solder anything other than the battery contact leads. Once done, re-initializing the key fob to the car as outlined is simple. I bought (2) batteries for $14 from this seller: 2pcs Battery For VL2020 BMW Key Remote Fob Rechargeable PANASONIC 90 degree 2pcs Battery For VL2020 BMW Key Remote Fob Rechargeable PANASONIC 90 degree

BTW, welcome to NAM with that being your first forum post. Congrats scoring such a low mileage R52 example! Perhaps post some history and condition details plus pics in a new topic...

 

I think the owners manual said the battery was supposed to get enough charge to last 6 months after 45-60 minutes of driving. That being said, my keys still have a charge and the car hasn’t been driven for about 2 1/2 years now. You can try to re-pair the remote to the receiver. If that fails the battery is probably dead and will need replacing as mentioned above. Besides needing to remove and re-solder a rechargeable battery, the fobs are sealed and need to by cut apart for access. If you’re unable to DIY, Valvashon, an old NAM member, was replacing the batteries and offering other fob repairs. You can do a search on the forum or search MINI key hospital on the web to see if he’s still doing them.

Regarding the radio, the normal system and the HK system used the same radio in the 1st gens. The HK amp/system just “unlocked” the HK settings in the radio. I would go with a used factory radio if you’re ok with the stock radio. Look for a date code after mid 2003 if you want an aux input, or after mid 2005 if you also want to play mp3 cd’s.

For the speakers, any matching 4 ohm speakers and separates should work. They should be easy to find in all price ranges as 4 ohm is standard for car audio. The HK system used 2 ohm drivers so avoid those if going used.

 

Congrats that sounds great! . We have a new to us 2007 as well with about 84k

As mentioned, this generation of car charges the key when in use so when we had our 06 hatch, we used to try and swap keys in use to keep them charged

 

The Key was fine it just needed Programming and I used this sequence that worked for me. Thanks for the suggestions!! If you have more than 1 key you need to program each key as the car will "forget" any remotes not programmed during the sequence. Have all the keys on you when you get into the car.

1. Get in car and close doors. (don’t open them until you are finished programming).

2. Insert key into ignition.

3. Turn key almost to the point of starting and back 4 times and take key out within 5 seconds.

4. Now hold down the unlock button, while continuing to hold it down press the lock button 3 times, then release the unlock button. The doors will now lock and unlock. DON’T open the doors or door yet.

5. Repeat step 4 for ALL other keys (if you have more than 1)

6. Once you’ve finished doing this to all the keys you can open the doors and/or use your keys in the ignition.

7. Try to lock and lock the doors remotely with all the key fobs. If they don’t work try again but make sure the sequence is followed completely as it’s critical.

 

After all that and still no pictures!
Welcome to the wonderful world topless MINI motoring.
Only four reasons I've found for running up the canvas.
1. It's raining
2. It's snowing
3. My co-pilot/navigator is whining about being to hot or cold.
4. Some guys throwing empty beer cans in the back seat and didn't invite me.
Topless motoring IS motoring at it's best.
And, two must have drophead care products: Raggtopp and Liquid Wrench dry lube for the scissor joints.

 

In this generation of bmw, the Bluetooth module and phone cradle (for then popular phones like ericcson, Nokia, iPhone 3G,) were required and they were call only, not music streaming. That didn’t exist yet. On the cradle was the sync button. I don’t know the 1st gen mini ever had a TCU or ULF option. I converted my e46 to TCU which doesn’t require a cradle or sync button, but again is call only.

in short, yes the call buttons are useless and no music streaming option existed.
on my sons I replaced the wired aux with a Bluetooth receiver aux (can find all over Amazon and eBay) with a wired mic,
on mine I just got the dongle to convert from lightning to headphone and kept the aux jack.
Both work fine for calls, as long as you mount the phone somewhere on the down tubes where you can hit the Siri button or screen.

 

and don't forget the hair-do getting messed up

Had always heard it was designed to work in Europe, but not sure. Closest they got to streaming was the iPod jack in the glove box.

 

...and don't forget the hair-do getting messed up.

She has a couple of hats in the door card for just that issue.

 

It makes me think of one of my favorite VW commercials...