So, I have a fun electrical issue. I went out to my car this morning to head into work, unlocked it with the key fob, tossed my stuff on the passenger seat, and put the key in to start the car. It 'dinged' once and all the dash lights came on, and then everything turned off completely. The car is completely unresponsive to the key or the fob, and the hatch won't even open from the outside. It's as though the battery is completely and utterly dead. (I don't have a voltmeter handy, so I can't check to see if that's what it is—and whether Autozone owes me a new one—until I get home from work.)

I'm a little iffy about it being the battery, though—it doesn't look like either of the other times the battery in this car has gone out, and this battery is less than a year old. (Once, I left my lights on, and got the classic crazy dash lights, and once, it just didn't have the oomph to start the car in the dead of winter, but otherwise functioned normally enough.) I don't think it's the alternator: I went somewhere last night with the lights on both ways, and didn't notice any of the dimming I'd expect if I were about to kill the battery.

Assuming it's not the battery (if it is, which I should know by tonight, Autozone owes me a new one), what's next? It did just come back from a new mechanic, who did the PA inspection and replaced the tie rods. Could he have knocked anything loose? Are there any fuses/connections/ground straps I should check before I do anything more drastic?

 

your story sounds very similar to customer who went to my mechanic in philly. Though his car would die only when he tries to start it. otherwise everything comes on. Long story short, the ground strap to the engine was loose. it is located on the the engine mount, passenger side. keep us posted

 

Supposing I had the right ground strap, I gave it a tug, and it seemed to be on there pretty well. I'll pull it off tonight to check for corrosion.

 

you checked the battery terminals too, right? what is the year and model of you mini

 

2003 R53. Battery terminals look fine, although I'll give them the old pull-and-reattach treatment too.

 

im not too familiar with R50 and R53 to be honest. but let's start from the battery compartment. and move outward. did you try to jump the car?

 

Not yet—that's on my list for tonight:

1. Test battery with multimeter
2. Check ground straps/battery terminals
3. Try jumping car
4. Check alternator

 

Ground strap it was: battery voltage from terminal to terminal was a solid 12.6v, but battery voltage from connector to connector was 5.5 volts, and I'm pretty sure a car won't run on that. :P

I took the ground strap off of the car, and it was fine, so I scraped some of the built-up dust and dirt off of the contact points on the motor mount and the frame, and when I hooked the battery up, everything came to life like it should. Thanks for the help.

 

Glad it worked out..be safe :-)

 

could you tell me how you tested "battery voltage from connector to connector was 5.5 volts" ? i've been chasing an intermittent start issue (maybe once a year) where the voltmeters reads fine, but it won't start. are you measuring voltage in the engine bay?

 

Rather than test from the positive to negative post on the battery, I tested from the Mini's positive clamp to the Mini's negative clamp.