Hi there! Sorry for the low post count: I'm a frequent reader but not much of a poster!

I recently got my dream car: a Lightning Blue / White Top 2004 "Justa" Cooper. Would have gone for an S, but I'm a student and it was a bit too much for my budget.

The car has a LOT of mileage on it (145k+), but until recently has run absolutely fine!

Recently, I've had issues with a DSC and Service Engine Soon light. I've ignored them ultimately due to the fact that when I had my car inspected, they said it was simply a sensor.

Over the past two days, my battery light went on. Today, I was driving, and all sorts of scary things began to happen. First, as always, the battery light went on. Then, after driving it for around 5 minutes, the DSC and Service Engine Soon light went on (but I was used to this occuring). After that, I continued driving, and noticed that my clock was not working. Then, I noticed the ABS and Brake Lights go on. After this, I noticed that some other random objects weren't working: notably my tachometer, which stated that I was only at 1,000 RPM going 35mph in 2nd (should DEFINITELY be higher), and soon after, my power steering immediately stopped working while I was turning.

Luckily, I was extremely close to home, but I decided it was a better idea to get it off the road, so I took care of all that. My big question is: what is wrong with it? I've done quite a bit of research here on NAM, and as we all know power steering is a huge issue with my generation. However, with the clock and battery icons, I'm also seeing things that have to do with the alternator. I'm still questioning as to why my tach wasn't working properly.

Any ideas as to what I should be checking first, hopefully ones that won't ruin me financially?

Thanks in advance and I look forward to your replies!

-Fccardiff

 

Alternator died on you is my bet.

 

Just saw that this post was here - I actually had posted it over a week ago, was waiting on its approval.

I called up my dealer and they said that it sounded like a Harmonic Balancer failure. What do you guys think?

 

found this thread, not sure how helpful it will be - https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...y-failure.html

sounds like the alternator though

 

Since the car did not overheat, I bet it is just a bad alternator...
If the harmonic damper fails, you loose EVERYTHING...so no alternator,no ac, no sc (if an s) but more importantly no waterpump...
Sounds like the alternator died, and you drove on as the battery got weaker...and weaker...and as the voltage got low...odd stuff happens...once the battery light comes on, it means the voltage is low...first to shut off (as intended) is the power hungry PS pump...then the time you can keep driving depends on the load (lights, etc) and how good the battery is...

 

Alternator.

Mine did this last month on the way to work. Electrical items started turning off one by one. Made it to work, ordered an alternator, put it in the next day, charged the battery and have been fine ever since.

Nik

 

+1 Alternator died on you is my bet. Mine did the same thing.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2004-Cooper-R50-Base-Coupe-L4_1.6L_W10B16A/Engine/Electrical/




If you go to the 110 A from the stock valeo unit , you will need the power cable and the short cable for the conversion. Pick up three 07130770522 new bolts also.

Thanks

 

Okay. Thanks guys for all your help.

One more question: I was quoted around $600-700 for the Harmonic Balancer. Is an alternator around that area? Any of you guys have experience having a dealer replace one?

 

Same general area and you can access that through the passenger side wheel well. The alt is towards the front and easier to replace when you more the core support, front end bumper.

11237829906 Harmonic Balancer

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/11237829906/



And the hex bolt: 11237829918

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/11237829918/




So now you have the part prices to figure in.

Thanks

 

A failed harmonic damper on a non-s is fairly rare...
And the fact the car DID NOT OVERHEAT, but failed due to no electric power leads me to believe the damper is OK....the damper on the s and the non s are different...the rubber that fails on the s is a much thinner strip...and seems to last longer.
Still...easy to look at...
Heck...charge the battery up, and run the car...should run fine as long as the battery is charged.....
If the dealer is quoting you repair costs on items you don't know what they look like....
I might be inclined to tell you to just get it to the shop..tell them what happened...and let THEM look and trouble shoot...you could say..and qualify it .." I'm guessing the alternator or something like that failed, can you check to see what the problem is.."...do NOT be specific, as they may take it as an instruction and do what you ask....
Another tip...
Dealers tend to charge 2x the price per hour for labour, and while the parts they sell are TOP quality, they are sometimes 2x the price of what a local shop can get...
So a "quality" alternator might be half the cost of the dealer unit...and cost you half the install cost...
Going to a dealer with a 10 year old 140,000 mile car....they will likely do a "free inspection" and scare you by listing $5000 in "needed" repairs... Then tell you, look at that great new car....no money down, lease it for $200, your trade in is all you need for a down payment....

 

I completely agree with you - my main problem is that, from my research, I haven't been able to find a lot of mechanics that specialize in Minis. [Northern Virginia - anyone have any recommended mechanics?] I'm worried that they are a bit different from your 'normal cars', so I'm a bit hesitant to go to a mechanic that doesn't work often with Minis.

That being said, I'm heading to the dealer to get a basic inspection done. They still are charging me for this ($120ish I believe). If they quote me anything above $1000, I'll look around for a mechanic. I'm sure that the dealer would love to tack on various unneeded repair costs, and as such I'm not too afraid of this yet!

 

If the car is drivable by charging the battery, it is NOT the harmonic damper...(or a $30 belt..you looked right?).
As I stated before, the car would overheat in a couple minutes (cause no water pump) if it is a harmonic damper...
A decent shop could (most likely) replace an alternator pretty easy...
Just yank the right frot tire, remove the wheel well liner...then change the alternator...no "service mode" needed...
I would caution you from getting a $100-200 "lifetime" alternator from auto zone...they are junk...and will fail multiple times, almost yearly for most folks (cheap Chinese junk)...a typical shop will sell about a $400-500 unit to you...the dealer is usually selling remanufactured units with a 2 year warrenty for a bit more.

 

Okay. I'm actually going to make a call today and ask a ton of questions.

Thanks for the price point, it's going to be very helpful to have that on hand!

 

D:

The dealership just called me after a week or so of my poor Mini sitting there, and I was quoted $990+labor for an alternator. With my miles, that's around half the value of my car. Am I going to have to go ahead and buy another MINI?

Any options in the DC Area? From my research, 990 looks absolutely outrageous, even without labor.

Maybe it's time to go ahead and get a lower-mileage, more recent S?