So this is the 2nd time in two weeks that this has happened.

Local driving in hotter temps (today was 80 and humid, before the rain - last time was 90 and hot). I go and park the car. Didn't hear the fan come on (not sure if the fan is shot or not - might be an option.)but it usually does when I'm looking for parking for while. But the interior light is barely on, seatbelt light is blinking but very weak, windows don't open a little when the door is opened - basically seems like the car's battery is dead.

HOWEVER, first time - I just let the car sit in the 7-11 parking lot for 10-15 minutes, car starts right up and I rush home and park it. I thought I did something to the electrical since I was playing around with my driving lamp wiring - but that isn't the case the 2nd time since I disconnected anything that wasn't stock wiring on the car.

Today, I parked the car - everything still seemed okay. Took the keys out of the ignition - doors unlocked. Got out, window moved. Locked the car, central locking still works.

20 minutes later, I unlock the car (window still moves) and goto turn on the ignition - car completely dies. A few minutes later, interior light is faint, along with the seatbelt light. I wait a few minutes thinking it's the same issue as before. I go to acc, and then ignition - car completely dies again.

I call a friend to help come by and jump the car, thinking the battery is toast. We go to jump the car (the proper way, from the front terminal and the chassis ground point - '02 MCS) All the electrical comes on, I go to start the car, goto 2nd acc - I hear the fuel pump come on, and goto start and I hear a loud clicking noise - thinking it's the starter - car doesn't start, electrical system resets.

I take off the jumper cables, car has no power. We repeat. Same thing. We try a third time to start the car without the jumper cables, car fires up. No problem. I drive 30 minutes, mostly highway back home, park the car. car still seems to be okay right now.

I'm stumped.
- Could it be the battery is on its way out completely?
- The starter?
- A fuse I missed? (I checked the engine bay fuses so far - not the square ones or the kick panel yet however)
- An issue with the low/high speed fans? (A/C is not working, broken condenser/evap line).
- Could it be a bad key - I don't know how that system works. (Bought a new BCM and found out the buttons on the key don't work because the key was bad - was tested at a MINI dealer. Tried replacing the key's battery and still nothing)

Anyone have similar issues/ideas?

 

sounds like a bad connection at the battery terminals. or possibly a bad ground connection.

 

didn't seem like the connections were bad. I'll check the battery in the trunk and that bolt connection in the front since I have R53.

 

Did you tap into anything at the fuse box recently ?

 

Not recently. The only thing tapped into the fuse box is my v1 and my driving lamps from last year.

 

So I took the battery to autozone to get it tested. The report came back as a good battery, no problems. Even put the battery back in, drove it for a bit - everything seems fine. Not sure what else to really look for. Terrified to go motoring in case I get stuck somewhere and it really doesn't turn over.

 

Have you tried disconnecting the tapped wire in the fusebox that goes to the V1 and driving lights for a day or so? Its worth ruling it out...

 

Yep, took them off after the 2nd time this happened.

 

Any result on this? same problem here

 

I have this exact same problem, plus another symptom. Sometimes when i let the car idle, like at a red light, it feels like its about to stall. While idling and pulling into a driveway it felt like it was about to stall and all of the electrical systems started blinking on and off, so i blipped the throttle and it was ok, rpms went down and it happened again. The second time this happened i turned off the car. When i went to turn it on i had zero response from any electrical systems, including door locks and windows. When it wouldnt start on me the first time i was on a hill, so i started to let it roll so i could pop the clutch and see if it would crank that way. when i went to do that i had the ignition in the ON position (but none of the electrical systems would turn on) and i let the car roll about half a meter and all of the electrical systems cut on without even touching the clutch and the car in neutral. after that i was able to crank the car normally WTF is going on? This has happened twice. Help me, please