I've only had my Mini a couple months so I'm new Mini gremlins, but I can't figure this one out. I'll start by saying I have a 2005 Mini Cooper S.

99% of the time, when I release the Emergency Brake the "Brake" light goes off, within a minute it comes back on and about a minute after that the DSC light comes on. Now, when on the interstate the Brake light usually goes off, but the DSC light stays on. If I pull of the interstate, turn off the car, restart and quickly get up to speed, the Brake light usually won't come on, or at least stay on long enough for the DSC light to come on. My neighborhood has speed bumps, so there is a lot of downshifting.

When I bought the car I had to put a clutch in it. That didn't make a difference. Sense then, I put a new clutch slave cylinder on it. This also didn't make any difference.

Any ideas?

 

So the " Brake" Warning light comes on. Not the Brake senor light ?

I would check that center console connection, there is a trigger switch on the E brake mount under the E brake boot, its sounds lie its making contact over bumps. On the DCS, it could be the clock spring or something else. Check the wire in the center console , something does not sound right.

 

Correct, "Brake" not break sensor.

I'll pull the boot up and see what I can find.

I will say I'm 85% sure it has to do with the clutch / brakes. If I don't press the clutch to the floor, and am quick, and I can sometimes get out of my neighborhood without the light coming on. If I just hold the clutch down, even when I'm trying to back out 100% of the time the light will come on. And the DCS only comes on after the Brake light.

Oh, and of course I checked the Brake Fluid, it has plenty and doesn't seem to be loosing any.

 

ok, Yes , you might have a a harness or wire being pulled on. I would get it up on the lift and check all around the bell housing of the transmission.

 

if the brake fluid level is ok..makes me wonder if the switch in the handbrake console is bad...maybe sticky?

 

ECS: I've got to put it on jack stands this weekend anyway, so I'll check around the bell housing. Anything specific I should be looking for?

Zippy: It's possible. At this point I'll track down any lead tossed my way!

 

Update Time:

I can now reliably get my "Brake" light to turn on or off by... (Drum Roll Please) Turning my AC on or off at low speeds...........

If I leave my AC off while driving at low speeds around town, the Brake light never shows it's ugly face and therefore the traction control light never comes on. If I turn the AC on while cruising the interstate, my brake light never comes on. If I turn my AC on while at low speeds around town, within 40 second the Brake light will come on. If I turn the AC right back off, the light goes off in about 40 seconds and the traction control light stays off, but if I leave the AC on, the traction control light will come on. I tested this all the way from Chattanooga to Knoxville this morning, as well as playing around town last night.

So, any ideas?

 

Took it by the Mini Dealership and was told they have no idea, but for nearly $200 they could look at it with no guarantee they could find the problem.

In more testing today, I believe it's somehow speed related not RPM. I could clutch it downhill at speed and I got no lights, but I could keep it at 3000 RPM in traffic and the lights still come on.

 

This is still going on, and I've just about run out of ideas. Here is the current problem:

I have a 2005 R52s. Since the day I bought it, I've had problems with the Break light and DSC light coming on at what first seemed random. After some testing I've been able to narrow it down to this:

If the ac compressor isn't on, the Brake light will not come on. If I have the AC on at low speeds, like around town, the brake light will come on, followed about 45 seconds later by the DSC light. It's always in that order. If I get up to speed, or turn off the AC the Brake light will go off but the DSC light will not. If I'm running interstate speeds with the AC on I get no error lights. Confused yet? It get's better.

If I'm running interstate speeds with the AC on, and turn my windshield wipers on, they'll go up, then on the way back down they will slow, then stop. I have to wait a few minutes, to try and get them back down. If I don't have the AC on, they will work perfectly fine.

The headlights can sometimes cause the wiper failure as well.

And this is the HandBrake light, not the break wear sensor light.

The battery seems fine, even with a load I'm getting around 13v at the battery terminals, and at the battery terminal under the hood.

I'm pretty confused at this point, and don't know what else to try. Any Ideas?

 

Just my opinion, but you've got a lot going on there.
My sense is that either:
You've got a loose or corroded ground somewhere. Take them off one at a time, sandpaper them off to clean them & maybe re-assemble with a thin coat of di-electric grease. Don't just look at them!
Or you've got a loose or corroded multi-pin plug somewhere. Much harder to find, just methodically work your way through them. Use a really good flash-light & carefully look for any signs of corrosion, moisture, rust, burning/arcing, bent pins etc. Again, just a touch of di-electric won't hurt.

 

It's Fixed!!

Now that we are back into summer weather I've started using my AC again, and all my error lights are coming back. Also spring here in Chattanooga means a lot of rain. With my windshield wipers stopping midway through a sweep I was researching possible causes. I ran across this thread:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...roblems-2.html

During lunch today I ran the magical ground wire. It's fixed! My wipers work, my AC doesn't cause the brake and traction control light to come on anymore. It was all because of that ground wire.

TLDR: Ground wire from wiper to body fixed possessed Mini.

 

Good to here that you found the answer to your problems here.

There is an immense amount of information here at NAM between the threads, the members and the vendors.

I am going to move this this to the Gen1 Problems/Issues folder.

 

Thanks r53Coop!

 

Ah that's great news!