PLEASE help (car won't start)
 

Was vacuuming out the car, and must have had the interior lights on too long and the battery in the car died (05 MCS). I tried jump starting the car which gave enough charge to turn the headlights on (which flickered 6 or 8 times), and the interior lights came on. However, no luck getting the car to turn over.

Please help me. I have to get to work in 10 hours. :(

leave it attached to the jumper cables for 5 minutes and leave the headlights off

or get a battery charger 6 - 10 amp and leave it on for 8 hours

Leave the leads connected to the car for 5-10 minutes with the other car idling.

That should give you enough power to start the car up, then leave your car running for 30-40 minutes or go on a drive for about 15 minutes to charge the battery up.

Read the manual about jumping the car too. There are a few thing you need to turn on before you discount the jumper cables on the MINI. If keeps the electrics safe from any surges in power.

push ur car and pump the clutch!

If there isn't enough battery power to "Click" the starter then push starting won't work.

Once you get it started and get to work (and back home) get it on a charger for 6-8 hours minimum. Nothing less than that or a real looooooooong drive will get the battery charged back up to full capacity.
-s-

skip, I saw your name on another thread as to the culprit of this battery issue.....the power steering pump failure. And that is exactly what's causing the battery to die. I can hear the thing wheezing away until it eventually tires out the battery and everything shuts down completely.

Nice of the guy, Joe (Downey Motors) to disclose this obvious problem to me and check over the car he's selling to make sure its road ready before selling me a car that left me stranded. I am contacting him tomorrow, having the fine folks at AAA jump the car, and driving the car 3-4 hours back to him with the request of a full $ refund. This is absurd. I have never sold one of my previous cars to someone without at least the common decency to list significant faults of the car.

Chalk it up as a lesson learned the hard way. I'm so beside myself I can't even sleep.

Guy refuses to work with me (shocker). So looks like I'm screwed and need to order the parts and do it myself.

Can anyone out there recommend a place I can purchase the power steering pump from? What exact parts do I need? And is there a DIY for this project?

Thank you.

Does this pump stay on after key is off???

You said earlier that you were vaccuming it out. Did you maybe have the key on/radio etc...Depending on how you flip on and off the ignition(if just turned back to the accessory position), I have seen the PS pump stay on.

Chad

Xymox;
Just to be safe, get the battery fully load tested when you're all done with this. That business about running it down and then trying to start the car is hard on batteries. And if it's the original one, it's 3 years old. Odds are it's starting to go south on you.
-skip-

The power steering pump stays on after the car is off and the key is out of the ignition. It makes a fairly loud wheezing noise for roughly 15-20 minutes before it drains the battery and the car loses power completely.

In the meantime, I disconnected the power steering connections (3 including the PS fan) and I'm going to try to get the car jumped and see if it will then hold a charge and fixes the problem.

The guy that sold the car (Joe Downey) should "man-up" in my opinion, and do the right thing. He mentioned to me this morning he had to jump the car yesterday to get it to start, but said that was because the parking lights were left on. I don't buy that. The power steering pump obviously runs loud enough that you can hear it 30+ feet away from the car and drains the battery.

Ok, so you definitely have a pump problem...thanks for clarifying. I agree with him stepping up to the plate on the problem, but not everyone has morals. On another note, a thorough checkover is in order before purchase. I see too much stuff from used car lots, independent sales and the such to scare me. Even the little stuff adds up. I hope you get it all worked out.

Chad

All three connections to the power steering pump have been temporarily disconnected. Car took a charge, cranks up straight away with no issues. It's gotta be the power steering pump thats "sappin' my sentry" (to quote the engineer from TeamFortress2).

I suppose this means its time for a new power steering pump and fan, no? Who is my go-to-guy for these parts?

I should note, I'm currently driving the car without the power steering pump switched on until I can get a new power steering pump. Obviously this isn't the best option, but I should ask, am I damaging the car in any way?

Not really causing any damage to the car, but you're gonna wear you arms out.
-skip-

Hah. No kidding, Skip. It's not bad when you're driving around the country roads, but as soon as you have to make a 90 degree left or a right turn from a stop, you really have to be committed to your wheel. ;) Thanks for the heads up. Ordering my replacement pump and fan tomorrow.

Anyone?

Ok, I tested out the power steering fan by letting the car idle for awhile and then switching on the A/C. The fan is fine. A replacement power steering pump will be arriving this Wednesday. It's going to take some contorting, but I should be able to swap everything over.

New PSP is in place. New passenger strut mount as well. Also new front brake pads and rotors. Basically everything that SHOULD HAVE been corrected on the car before used car dealership sold the car to me has been completed.

Everything's working good! ROAD TRIP!! Drive that puppy 'till your nose bleeds! :lol:

Glad all is good, now. Word of mouth on that crappy dealership is the best revenge. Tell everyone you know.
-skip-

Welp, after 6 hours of exterior detail (wash, claybar, polish, wax, polish) pictures are up. I apologize for the crappy shots (grainy--I need a new camera), and it was full sun when I shot the car. I also picked up 4 S-light wheels off a dude from Maryland (since mine were horribly curb kissed).

https://lh4.ggpht.com/sdillow/SDy3NJ...o/DSCF2365.jpg
http://lh6.ggpht.com/sdillow/SDy3kpg...8/DSCF2369.jpg
http://lh6.ggpht.com/sdillow/SDy4HZg...I/DSCF2379.jpg
https://lh4.ggpht.com/sdillow/SDy3NJ...0/DSCF2364.jpg
https://lh5.ggpht.com/sdillow/SDy3NZ...E/DSCF2367.jpg
http://lh6.ggpht.com/sdillow/SDy3-pg...E/DSCF2378.jpg

Pictures:
Linky no worky.

Eh, Google Pictures kinda sucks.

http://picasaweb.google.com/sdillow/...36705850818322

Just a note regarding all the threads on weird low battery behavior - NAM is awesome! My MCS died and jumpstarting would not work. The other odd symptoms like windows moving on their own, headlights flickering with the key in start but the light switch off, and other weird behavior had me worried there was a much bigger electrical problem. So I searched the forums, saw all the reassurances that a dead battery results in these behaviors, and then picked up an Optima 34R per others' suggestions. It started right up! Thanks!