r56 Battery Replacement Help
#127
#128
Thank you!
AZdsrt & DneprDave thank you!
I have a normal lead acid battery with a vent tube, and no IBS attachment on the negative terminal of the battery cable. So that makes life a bit easier. Off to Costco to purchase an Interstate Battery H6 (40) 70 Ah. Seems a bit larger than what I got.
I've been noticing a few electric gremlins now. Like the windows not going up after I close the door... I assume this is due to lower Voltage with the battery.
Mahalo!
I have a normal lead acid battery with a vent tube, and no IBS attachment on the negative terminal of the battery cable. So that makes life a bit easier. Off to Costco to purchase an Interstate Battery H6 (40) 70 Ah. Seems a bit larger than what I got.
I've been noticing a few electric gremlins now. Like the windows not going up after I close the door... I assume this is due to lower Voltage with the battery.
Mahalo!
#129
I installed an Optima battery and had another NAMer confirm that the battery worked for them too:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...alled-r56.html
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...alled-r56.html
#130
Okay, here I go with my battery replacement experience- It occurred today, 8/24/2016. It took awhile.
My Mini is an "S", Mellow Yellow- black top, hatchback 29,000 miles. It is 9 years old. The original battery failed completely, yesterday. Everything locked up- Trany (Automatic) & brake pedal, nothing worked. A voltmeter showed battery voltage below 10 volts. Fortunately, the Mini was in the garage at home.
I boosted the battery with battery cables from a battery I keep on a "battery tender" in my shop. I also have a large motorhome.
The Mini started fine.
Now I proceeded to locate a new battery. I found one (by phone) at "Sams club", it is a Duracell 47. I Removed the original battery (read further down) and went to Sam's club- a "return core" in hand. $113.03 later, I now own a new battery-- With a 3 year unconditional return warranty.
Now for the remove/replace procedure. I've replaced a lot of batteries in various vehicles- boats, motorhomes, airplanes, etc over my 80+ years. Never have I had one that took so much time. I worked on my "little baby" for hours.
- First, I looked at the whole plastic cowling that "I thought" I had to remove.
I saw the two Windshield Wiper arms that I thought had to be removed.
But I got smart and looked at this NAM forum and found a fellow that had posted a Battery removal flick on a '08 Mini. I then saw that my cowling was in two pieces. The separation is right below the passenger side WW arm. I was greatly relieved that the Windshield Wiper arms didn't need removal-
- Now I pulled up the rubber, rear hood seal and removed that seal. Then I removed the two 10 mm head bolts, passenger side, that hold the cowl/battery compartment cover down. Then I wiggled the cowling, to loosen the seal from the windshield, and removed that piece of cowling. The battery is now readily accessible.
- Now a "Tall" hex/phillips head screw, about 8-9 inches long, with a 10 mm hex head, appears on the front side of the battery. This secures a small clamp at the base of the battery that attaches to the base of the battery box. I removed that bolt. I needed to get my extendable "magnetic pickup" tool (about 12" long) to fish out the hold down bracket.
And oh, I also had to use this beautiful tool to "fish" out the "rear" cowl hold down bolt, that I dropped, numerous times on this journey, right into the dark abyss of the fender well, which is located immediately below the hold down bolt location. I sure do love that tool---
Now I removed the plastic "Vent tube"- just pull it out, or off- straight down, from the battery case. It's a plastic 90 degree "L" type press on/in fitting.
- I read horror stories about disconnecting the battery and then having to have the computer reset/rebooted, radio looses pre-sets, etc.
So now, I have a "Battery Tender", I use in the winter to keep the Mini battery charged up when we travel in the motorhome-- I don't tow the Mini since it's an Automatic. I won't fool around with a trailer- too much hassle. So the Mini sits in the garage in the winter. I have a Chevy Malibu as a "toad".
Now I hooked up the "Battery Tender" to the appropriate positive and negative battery cables, plugged in the BT, and removed the cables from the old battery. I separated them well from each other, and made sure the positive terminal did not touch any metal parts of the body. I pulled the small plastic vent tube (it's a fitting) out of the battery on the outboard side, I then tilted the front of the battery slightly upward to remove the old battery- there is a permanent small clamp at the base at rear of the battery case that the battery slips under. I had no signs of corrosion.
Now I had to get the shop vac out to clean up the leaves, pine needles, etc that had collected over the years in, around and under the battery.
- The new battery fitted right in the compartment. Just tilt the front side up slightly as you set it down so the rear hold down (into the permanently mounted clamp) will be above the battery base. The new battery is slightly longer in length- maybe an inch, or so- No problem, there is plenty of space for a longer battery.
- Now I tried to get the front battery hold down clamp in place- no luck- not enough space for my hands, so I got my extendable magnetic tool and lowered the clamp, bolt end down (towards the front of the Mini)- not the "clamp end down first", and finally maneuvered it into place. Then that long 10 mm head bolt was eased into place, and bolted down. I then put the plastic vent tube in place. A new fitting and a plug for the other end battery vent hole comes with the new battery. Use the original vent plastic tubing if it is serviceable. Mine was good. Tap the new vent hole plug into the open hole on the other end of the battery.
Now I applied a liberal coating of "Vaseline", yup petroleum jelly, to the battery posts and cable clamps-- An old trick I learned years ago- to help prevent corrosion . Then the cables were tighten and secured. The Mini now fired up beautifully .
- I then cleaned up the base of the exposed windshield and the underside of the cowling cover and put a light film of Vaseline on the seal side of that cowling. I promptly dropped the long cowling screw down into the abyss of the "fender well" as I was trying to "start it" into its receiving nut. Yup, the magnetic tool to the rescue again.
I finally wiggled the cowling in place and properly lined up the cowling holes, and screwed in both fasteners.
I started on the drivers side pushing the hood seal down in place. I then, again used some Vaseline, on the small rubber tabs at each end of the long seal. They are pushed into a small space, going straight aft, into a small metal space.
My original battery went for 9 years- I've never heard of such longevity from an auto battery. I have a Scan Gauge II installed years ago, and I see 13.8 volts when I started it up.
My Mini runs at 222 degrees water temperature all the time, per the Scan gauge. I was concerned years ago when I had nothing on engine cooling water temperature readings and then added the Scan gauge. Transmission fluid temperature, and turbo boost are also monitored.
Phew- Thanks for "hanging in here" for this "episol"- It took me about three hours to complete this first time task, that some said it took them 30 minutes. I guess if I had to do it again it would be much easier, and much faster.
Maybe you can use this info in your future battery replacement- I hope so-
Cheers,
My Mini is an "S", Mellow Yellow- black top, hatchback 29,000 miles. It is 9 years old. The original battery failed completely, yesterday. Everything locked up- Trany (Automatic) & brake pedal, nothing worked. A voltmeter showed battery voltage below 10 volts. Fortunately, the Mini was in the garage at home.
I boosted the battery with battery cables from a battery I keep on a "battery tender" in my shop. I also have a large motorhome.
The Mini started fine.
Now I proceeded to locate a new battery. I found one (by phone) at "Sams club", it is a Duracell 47. I Removed the original battery (read further down) and went to Sam's club- a "return core" in hand. $113.03 later, I now own a new battery-- With a 3 year unconditional return warranty.
Now for the remove/replace procedure. I've replaced a lot of batteries in various vehicles- boats, motorhomes, airplanes, etc over my 80+ years. Never have I had one that took so much time. I worked on my "little baby" for hours.
- First, I looked at the whole plastic cowling that "I thought" I had to remove.
I saw the two Windshield Wiper arms that I thought had to be removed.
But I got smart and looked at this NAM forum and found a fellow that had posted a Battery removal flick on a '08 Mini. I then saw that my cowling was in two pieces. The separation is right below the passenger side WW arm. I was greatly relieved that the Windshield Wiper arms didn't need removal-
- Now I pulled up the rubber, rear hood seal and removed that seal. Then I removed the two 10 mm head bolts, passenger side, that hold the cowl/battery compartment cover down. Then I wiggled the cowling, to loosen the seal from the windshield, and removed that piece of cowling. The battery is now readily accessible.
- Now a "Tall" hex/phillips head screw, about 8-9 inches long, with a 10 mm hex head, appears on the front side of the battery. This secures a small clamp at the base of the battery that attaches to the base of the battery box. I removed that bolt. I needed to get my extendable "magnetic pickup" tool (about 12" long) to fish out the hold down bracket.
And oh, I also had to use this beautiful tool to "fish" out the "rear" cowl hold down bolt, that I dropped, numerous times on this journey, right into the dark abyss of the fender well, which is located immediately below the hold down bolt location. I sure do love that tool---
Now I removed the plastic "Vent tube"- just pull it out, or off- straight down, from the battery case. It's a plastic 90 degree "L" type press on/in fitting.
- I read horror stories about disconnecting the battery and then having to have the computer reset/rebooted, radio looses pre-sets, etc.
So now, I have a "Battery Tender", I use in the winter to keep the Mini battery charged up when we travel in the motorhome-- I don't tow the Mini since it's an Automatic. I won't fool around with a trailer- too much hassle. So the Mini sits in the garage in the winter. I have a Chevy Malibu as a "toad".
Now I hooked up the "Battery Tender" to the appropriate positive and negative battery cables, plugged in the BT, and removed the cables from the old battery. I separated them well from each other, and made sure the positive terminal did not touch any metal parts of the body. I pulled the small plastic vent tube (it's a fitting) out of the battery on the outboard side, I then tilted the front of the battery slightly upward to remove the old battery- there is a permanent small clamp at the base at rear of the battery case that the battery slips under. I had no signs of corrosion.
Now I had to get the shop vac out to clean up the leaves, pine needles, etc that had collected over the years in, around and under the battery.
- The new battery fitted right in the compartment. Just tilt the front side up slightly as you set it down so the rear hold down (into the permanently mounted clamp) will be above the battery base. The new battery is slightly longer in length- maybe an inch, or so- No problem, there is plenty of space for a longer battery.
- Now I tried to get the front battery hold down clamp in place- no luck- not enough space for my hands, so I got my extendable magnetic tool and lowered the clamp, bolt end down (towards the front of the Mini)- not the "clamp end down first", and finally maneuvered it into place. Then that long 10 mm head bolt was eased into place, and bolted down. I then put the plastic vent tube in place. A new fitting and a plug for the other end battery vent hole comes with the new battery. Use the original vent plastic tubing if it is serviceable. Mine was good. Tap the new vent hole plug into the open hole on the other end of the battery.
Now I applied a liberal coating of "Vaseline", yup petroleum jelly, to the battery posts and cable clamps-- An old trick I learned years ago- to help prevent corrosion . Then the cables were tighten and secured. The Mini now fired up beautifully .
- I then cleaned up the base of the exposed windshield and the underside of the cowling cover and put a light film of Vaseline on the seal side of that cowling. I promptly dropped the long cowling screw down into the abyss of the "fender well" as I was trying to "start it" into its receiving nut. Yup, the magnetic tool to the rescue again.
I finally wiggled the cowling in place and properly lined up the cowling holes, and screwed in both fasteners.
I started on the drivers side pushing the hood seal down in place. I then, again used some Vaseline, on the small rubber tabs at each end of the long seal. They are pushed into a small space, going straight aft, into a small metal space.
My original battery went for 9 years- I've never heard of such longevity from an auto battery. I have a Scan Gauge II installed years ago, and I see 13.8 volts when I started it up.
My Mini runs at 222 degrees water temperature all the time, per the Scan gauge. I was concerned years ago when I had nothing on engine cooling water temperature readings and then added the Scan gauge. Transmission fluid temperature, and turbo boost are also monitored.
Phew- Thanks for "hanging in here" for this "episol"- It took me about three hours to complete this first time task, that some said it took them 30 minutes. I guess if I had to do it again it would be much easier, and much faster.
Maybe you can use this info in your future battery replacement- I hope so-
Cheers,
Last edited by flashlightface; 08-24-2016 at 04:57 PM.
#132
Battery Replacement issues
hello, confident that they can help me, several days ago take my Mini to a workshop that will replace the battery because it was damaged, it was not until hours later I go to eat something and pass through a Thru drive that attempt lower crystals and not fall further that all interior lights Mini not work, either signals, and that happened after replace the battery, how can I solve that and everything works as before, is a R56 2011
#133
Make sure the cables are all the way on. They might not be fully connected and wiggled off.
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Customer Service Hours: 8am-8pm EST|Sales Team Hours: 8am-11pm | SAT 10am-7pm 800.924.5172
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Customer Service Hours: 8am-8pm EST|Sales Team Hours: 8am-11pm | SAT 10am-7pm 800.924.5172
#134
hello, confident that they can help me, several days ago take my Mini to a workshop that will replace the battery because it was damaged, it was not until hours later I go to eat something and pass through a Thru drive that attempt lower crystals and not fall further that all interior lights Mini not work, either signals, and that happened after replace the battery, how can I solve that and everything works as before, is a R56 2011
Was the battery you had installed new?
If you're having multiple electrical problems like that inside the car as well as not being able to control exterior lights you probably need a new footwell module. They are extremely frail and just connecting the battery can fry them.
In North America the FRM has an extended warranty via MINI, and is covered 100% upon verification of the failure.
You'll need to find a local dealer and go from there, but it sounds like you're in for an FRM.
#135
I just replaced the battery on my 2011 MINI Cooper S. Very easy and straightforward - took about 30 minutes. Based on pictures on this thread, I didn't have the IBS sensor on the negative terminal cable. I purchased a Duramax H5 from AutoZone as I have always had good performance and longevity from AutoZone batteries in the past. I haven't "registered" the battery with the car and the only gremlin so far is the driver's window "Auto Up" isn't working like it was before. It's been a long time since I programed my car so possibly I can correct this with the programming feature on the stalk. "Auto Down" works fine on the driver's side and both "Auto Up" and "Auto Down" work fine on the passenger side. We'll see if I detect any other gremlins. Is so I guess I'll find a shop that can do the reprogramming and pay to have it done. I'm not to worried at this point because I am planning to sell the car in the next month or two to replace it with either a M235i / M240i or CPO 981 Boxster.
#138
Auto up has to be programmed with a Carista https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ues-fixed.html.
Auto down is standard.
Auto down is standard.
__________________
MINI Guru/ MINI Owner Since 2004 | NEW Lifetime Part Replacement | Local Pickup
Milltek | Genuine MINI | Forge Motorsport | NM Engineering | ECS Performance | M7 Speed
Customer Service Hours: 8am-8pm EST|Sales Team Hours: 8am-11pm | SAT 10am-7pm 800.924.5172
MINI Guru/ MINI Owner Since 2004 | NEW Lifetime Part Replacement | Local Pickup
Milltek | Genuine MINI | Forge Motorsport | NM Engineering | ECS Performance | M7 Speed
Customer Service Hours: 8am-8pm EST|Sales Team Hours: 8am-11pm | SAT 10am-7pm 800.924.5172
#139
Auto up
Are you referring to "one-touch" up or Auto-up with the key fob?
I just replaced the battery on my 2011 MINI Cooper S. Very easy and straightforward - took about 30 minutes. Based on pictures on this thread, I didn't have the IBS sensor on the negative terminal cable. I purchased a Duramax H5 from AutoZone as I have always had good performance and longevity from AutoZone batteries in the past. I haven't "registered" the battery with the car and the only gremlin so far is the driver's window "Auto Up" isn't working like it was before. It's been a long time since I programed my car so possibly I can correct this with the programming feature on the stalk. "Auto Down" works fine on the driver's side and both "Auto Up" and "Auto Down" work fine on the passenger side. We'll see if I detect any other gremlins. Is so I guess I'll find a shop that can do the reprogramming and pay to have it done. I'm not to worried at this point because I am planning to sell the car in the next month or two to replace it with either a M235i / M240i or CPO 981 Boxster.
#140
I just found an old post I made under a different ID on page 2 (Smoke05S) I was really skeptical about the dealer story of needing a reset after replacing with a new battery. I ended up not going with optima red top at 51K miles but a cheap used Eveready for $40.00 3 years ago. I didn't reprogram anything. I have 95K miles now, no signs of battery failure or any other voltage related problem (knock on wood).
#141
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: SF Bay Area/Monterey, CA
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I just found an old post I made under a different ID on page 2 (Smoke05S) I was really skeptical about the dealer story of needing a reset after replacing with a new battery. I ended up not going with optima red top at 51K miles but a cheap used Eveready for $40.00 3 years ago. I didn't reprogram anything. I have 95K miles now, no signs of battery failure or any other voltage related problem (knock on wood).
#142
Rlaced at Advance Auto
My 2010 Justa was ready for a new battery and I read these posts before going to Advance Auto. I bought their Platinum AGM/ 36 mo. with vent for $162 after discount and core charge return. I removed the cover and hold-down and they replaced it in the parking lot using a "battery minder" which saved all my memory settings. All seems good!
#143
#144
#145
Yeah, on a 2009 - original battery, I figure it doesn't hurt to drop in a new battery as my first step at this point.
#146
#147
#148
If anyone in NYC/Northern NJ area wants me to change their battery type and/or register their new battery, PM me. I can do it for 20 bucks. I live near Giants Stadium. I bought the Carly for BMW app yesterday and registered my new battery. Everything seems to work great so far. For anyone that wants to get their own, The app and adapter cost me about $135 total. I would like to recoup what I paid. Depending if you need fault codes reset, It takes about 15-20 mins to do everything. My battery died so a bunch of fault codes showed up as Low Voltage. I had 21 fault codes due to the old battery dying and I reset everything. If there's 10 guys that want to meet up, I can do it for 10 bucks. I'm not trying to make a profit, just get back what I paid.
#149
Grp 48 Interstate Battery from Costco - 42 month free replacement
My wife's 2012 Hardtop has 27K miles on the clock and the original battery was still working but was cranking a little slow, and based on that and its 5yo, I decided that it was time for a replacement.
I bought the one size up, Group 48, Interstate Battery from Costco which carries a 42 month free replacement for $110.
Installed it and it made a very noticeable improvement to the crank speed - it always starts very quickly so don't really have much time to assess the crank speed, but nevertheless its still noticeable.
Reviews are all over the place for Interstate, but thought its worth a try at the price and the 42 month free replacement warranty.
I bought the one size up, Group 48, Interstate Battery from Costco which carries a 42 month free replacement for $110.
Installed it and it made a very noticeable improvement to the crank speed - it always starts very quickly so don't really have much time to assess the crank speed, but nevertheless its still noticeable.
Reviews are all over the place for Interstate, but thought its worth a try at the price and the 42 month free replacement warranty.
#150
Its about that time of the year when its super cold up here in ohio and the batteries go. Swear I have seen like 20 cars on the side of the road since this 0 degree weather hit.
__________________
MINI Guru/ MINI Owner Since 2004 | NEW Lifetime Part Replacement | Local Pickup
Milltek | Genuine MINI | Forge Motorsport | NM Engineering | ECS Performance | M7 Speed
Customer Service Hours: 8am-8pm EST|Sales Team Hours: 8am-11pm | SAT 10am-7pm 800.924.5172
MINI Guru/ MINI Owner Since 2004 | NEW Lifetime Part Replacement | Local Pickup
Milltek | Genuine MINI | Forge Motorsport | NM Engineering | ECS Performance | M7 Speed
Customer Service Hours: 8am-8pm EST|Sales Team Hours: 8am-11pm | SAT 10am-7pm 800.924.5172