2009 Clubman S (70K mile).
Two months ago, at any speed it would shut down and sometimes start back up. We troubleshooted the problem to a bad control board behind the fuse box (I believe they call it the SPEG). A new one was ordered from Mine that matched up to the VIN number and then programed once installed.
After three weeks of no issues, on the first cold morning (30 deg) the red battery light came on but then clears after five seconds. I placed a volt meter on the battery (which is only one year old) and found it fully charged at 12.35 VDC and when the engine starts it has a four second delay before it increases up to 14.3 VDC. Once the light goes out it never returns until the engine has completely cooled down. Did a load test on the battery and it is fine.
Questions:
1) Is there suppose to be a delay for the alternator before it begins to charge the battery?
2) If so, is this a configurable setting?
3) I saw on another alternator replacement thread that there are different amperage alternators available and would it be possible if the right alternator size was programmed?

Thank you for your time and input!!!

 

Quick update:
Called the local Mini dealer and there is no configuration on the alternator. I asked if they could tell me which alternator I had in my R55 S via the VIN number and they said that they could not and the only way to tell was to actually pull the unit out and get the PN off of the side of it.
I hooked up a cheep borescope today and fished around until I could see the label on the alternator. To my surprise, it has a Mitsubishi alternator model number 75762318002 which nobody can cross reference. The only replacements (new or used) that I've found are either Bosch or Valero.

Does ANYONE have any information or thoughts on this???

I'm going to attempt to change the alternator myself (watched the YouTube video's ten times) but I really need to purchase a replacement prior to pulling the old one out.

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

What makes you think you have a bad alternator? If its at 14+ volts while running then the alternator is charging. Alternators do not immediately start charging the battery, it takes a few seconds for them to kick in. A battery's voltage when fully charged should be 13.2 volts or 2.2 volts per cell.

 

Great point but during cold start ups (below 30 deg) my red battery light will come on and then go off after keeping the RPM's above 2K. The battery had a load test done and it checked out fine. I'm thinking that the alternator is kind of running on borrowed time right now (you can also hear it whine at high speed) so I'm just planning ahead to eventually change it.

What are your thoughts? Am I missing something else?

Thanks!!!

 

Although I've been working on cars for 35 years I'm new to minis. A load test is not always definitive to tell if a battery is good or bad. Get a specific gravity tester, the type that samples the fluid in each cell, and see what the individual cells are at. I would pull the battery after it's been sitting overnight with the cars slight draw on it. Then test it. One cell may be bad. If all is good then you've at least eliminated that as the potential problem. Good luck

 

I agree. I purchased the battery new last year at Walmart and when the light came on I took it over to them and they ran a load test which pretty much discharged and charged it without any issues. Like yourself, I'm an older shade tree mechanic and this is my second mini but it is still a mystery sometimes on how they tick. It seems strange that there would be a delay in the voltage regulator (3 - 5 sec) once the engine is running before you see the alternator kick in (voltage jumps from 12.3 Vdc to 14.4Vdc).

Thanks for the support and thoughts.

 

Check your positive battery terminal./ It may have a box that is the battery monitor system. If it has this, your battery needs to be reset. It may be throwing the battery light because it thinks your battery may need to be changed.

 

Good call on checking the battery terminal guspi76 and I wish that was the case (it was tight though).

The solution was pretty much that the alternator was taking too long to kick on during cold starts and since the voltage regulator is part of the alternator, my only option was to replace it. I purchased a cheep cigarette lighter volt meter and sometimes it took over seven seconds for the alternator to kick on and jump the voltage from 11.5v to 13.5v (again it was a cheep meter used just to see the voltage change). However, after digging into this more, I found out that Mini actually ran out of Bosch & Valero alternators and for two months in 2009 and instead installed Mitsubishi alternators. I was fortunate to find a low mileage used one on eBay and after a couple of skinned knuckles its installed and everything is working fine (no lights for three months).

If these mini's weren't so fun to drive...

Thanks for your comment!