Hello,
I drive my car fine 2 days ago and today the battery was completely dead. Attached jumper cables & a whining sound started.. When I put the key in position 2 the sound stopped.. Then when I turned the key to crank & Fire the engine won't start. I've attached a video; hopefully it will work. Any thoughts? Thanks.
-05 cooper S
-mike

 

Bump

 

Sounds like a cooling fan (either radiator or steering). I would guess the relay has stuck in the on position so the fan continues to run, with the dead battery when jumped does not apply enough power to crank the engine since the fan is running and draining what you are appling with the jump.

I would find the fan relay in the and swap it with another to see if that stops it from running (or at least just pull it to get the engine started).

Relays have contact points, they can arc together and stay in the on position.

You may have to disconnect the battery and get it charged up then connect it fully charged when you are ready to crank the engine. MINIs really do not like lower power conditions.

Best of luck...

Motor on!

 

It can take a few min minutes of charging with the jumper cables on the car if the battery is very dead....
Think of it as a sponge...
Attach a GOOD set of 4 guage jumper cables (many sold are 8 or even 10!!)...wait about 10-15 minutes...start.
The buzz might be a PS fan, PS pump, etc....might be WHY the battery is dead...once running...might want to shut it off and look for the buzz..... I'd try to move the steering wheel..
A run on PS pump is common enough to have been covered under an extended warrenty for many cars...

 

Makes sense. I'm going to pull the battery & get it tested for crank amps & get it charged then try again to start the engine. I will also try to swap the relay & try to find out if it's the power steering. I did get a letter for the extended warranty on power steering pump so hopefully if that's the case; it goes well with the dealership. Thanks guys.

 

Quick update. My battery was completely dead and unrecoverable. Bought from pepboys & was still within warranty so they gave me a new battery for free. Put it in the mini & the engine fired up just fine.
However, when I turn the ignition off, I can still hear the whine of something spinning just like in the video. To avoid it fromdraining my new battery; I disconnected the battery. I still need to find out what is making the whining sound.

 

Checks the PS pump as noted...should be off with the key out...
As I stated above, the common failure mode is it keeps running till the battery dies....
If you park the car half way up on a curb, you can slide under the car check ..
The oil pan in in the center front ..behind that you will find a small (almost like a computer fan) fan, on a bracket, the pump is above that.

 

If it is still buzzing once the car is shut off my money is with the other posters...power steering issue. It is an electric pump. When they go it either quits completely or will continue to run sucking the battery dead.