The engine will start, but every light on the dash remains on and the lights continuously run their test cycle. Check engine light remains on. Wipers immediately begin operating and cannot be shut off. No power steering, no ABS, gas gauge goes from full to empty. MINI service tells me that I "might have a blown fuse" but I checked every one of those and they are fine. Any ideas?

 

Check the battery and all connections. MINI's are known for weird electrical problems when a battery is going bad or is bad.

 

The battery was the first thing I checked. I removed both positive and negative connections, cleaned the terminals and made sure everything was tight and secure. THe battery still shows "green" status, but I have little faith in that stupid battery status light. OBTW, that piece of #@^! plastic battery cover snapped off (broke) when I was cleaning the terminals. It's like these things were made by Fisher Price!

 

I would still get the battery checked out. I never believe those status devices.

 

That's a really good point and one of the easiest things that I can do for troubleshooting this problem. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

What year is your vehicle?

 

Battery!!!

 

The vehicle is a 2008 Clubman S. The battery is the original, so I definitely plan to check it out. I've just never owned a vehicle where the battery is a problem and the car still starts, but my MINI is different than anything I have owned previously in SO many ways...both good and bad. Thanks again for the assistance. VERY much appreciated.

 

Battery tested at 12.25 volts, which is probably OK, but I still plan to replace this battery since it is the original. I hope this resolves the problem and I will let you guys know.

 

IMO this sounds low. In my experience it should be around 12.6.

 

I'll be at NAPA tomorrow at 8 AM so by 9 AM I should be able to let you know if this solves my problems! I hope you are right, Braminator!

 

Good luck keep us posted.

 

Definitely keep us posted. I'm very curious cause you seem to have several systems that are effected. In the end I don't think it will be the battery but its never bad to check something and eliminate it. I think I would take one symptom and attack it that way. I have no idea why a mini service department would tell you they thought it was a blown fuse but who knows.

 

Update: The new replacement battery from NAPA did not resolve my problem. Car still starts, but all warning lights cycle, ABS warning light flashes, power steering malfunction light flashes, air bag light malfunction light flashes and the wipers run continuously. It was a good idea to replace the battery anyway since it was the original battery and tested fair. So off to the dealer she goes today. I'll let y'all know what my trusty MINI dealer finds as the root cause of the problem.

 

I was hoping it did. Good luck at the stealership.

 

MINI service department has been digging into my problem for three days and they have yet to figure out the root cause of the problem. They think it might be a wiring issue...possibly due to the subwoofer wiring that I did. Oops! I hope not! That subwoofer is much needed to help with the lousy bass!

 

MINI service is on day #4 with my problem and they are saying that the issue is most likely the "General Module". Fortunately all of the wiring that I performed with my subwoofer installation appears to be OK. So they have placed a new General Module in my car now and they are reprogramming it to see if this resolves the issue. I have a really bad feeling about the potential cost for this since they told me that their "expert electrical guy" has been working on my car all week and he is not sure of the root cause of the problem.

 

 

Poltergeist, possibly in the steering wheel column wire bundle that wraps around. Did the steering wheel get really wet recently?

 

My MINI has had no exposure to water recently. The car was not exposed to any puddles, flooding, etc. It sat in my garage for nearly 24 hours immediately before the problem developed. The dealer asked me about flooding issues with the car and they confirmed that there were no signs of any flooding after they started to tear into it. Bizarre!

 

 

Day #5 with my MINI still sitting in the service department. I called the service tech and he was short "I'll call you when I have some new information".

 

Day #15 update: MINI service called me today to inform me that they have found the root cause of my problem! It is the power steering module! That's the good news. The bad news is that MINI does not list the module as a stand alone part, but the entire power steering assembly is the part that contains the power steering module and sells for $1,500. Whoa. So my MINI service advisor tells me that they have identified the exact part number for the power steering module, but they are not sure (1) if MINI will accept or reject the order for just this part and (2) if the part they have on order will work with my VIN. So the saga continues. More to come!

 

After three weeks in MINI service, my issue has been resolved! The problem was due to two modules: (1) EPS and (2) JBE
Total cost: $1,135.33 (ouch!)

My MINI service tech explained that the EPS module is the power steering module and replacing this did not fully resolve all issues until they replaced the JBE module which controls the wipers, interior lights, dashboard lights and much more. The MINI service department invested over 30 hours troubleshooting and running diagnostics. They determined the modules were at fault only be replacing and reprogramming each one at a time. Unreal. I remember reading something in this forum months ago when somebody said "MINI's are amazing when they are running right, but they can become a nightmare when they are not" Now I understand what he meant by that comment.

 

Dang, three weeks and $1100. That's down right scary!

I bought my 2011 Clubman used 6 months ago with 6000 miles on it on a whim and while trying not to read to much into the issues reported on this forum I'm not sure I will keep it for long. I really don't like a few things about it the biggest being the turbo lag. Mine is loaded with every option available except nav so there's a lot to go wrong. It's a quirky little car that I like the looks of but some of the little quirks really get on my nerves.