So my wife is ready to go out this morning and the MINI just won't crank.
No engine light. All seemed in order. It worked just smoothly the day before.

I just changed the oil last Friday so I was pretty concerned I did something wrong. I checked the oil dip stick. Oil level seemed just were they needed to be.

We bought the car new in July 2013. It's June 2018 which makes it almost 5 years. It seems too recent for a battery change, but we have harsh winters, so I thought maybe the battery is weak. I plugged in a battery charger, did a quick 15min boost. And it started right up. It's amazing how it would not make the slight sound of a crank without much previous signs of battery failure. (Though my wife said it took a second more to crank last Friday morning, like a pause I guess before firing).


Long story short. I look at the battery and it's a Varta with a bunch of serial numbers.
How can I tell how old the battery is? No obvious date is recognizable from those numbers...

Secondly, is swapping battery in a MINI as simple as just swapping it. Or is there a special procedure?

 

I looked into it and it would seem the cable have a IBS on them. What is this battery registering I'm reading about? Does that require the MINI shop to do it?

 

Original 5 yr old battery? Replace it. If was me, I'd have the dealer or an independent with the right tools go ahead and program it. With your high thread count, am sure you've seen lots of threads about this.

 

Battery date codes are usually two letters or numbers for month followed by the year. If you keep to the same specs on the battery you are only registering it, if you change type or capacities I think you need to code for it.

Some people just swap the battery and do nothing else. Shorter battery life or other issues can happen = crap shoot.

 

Ha ha, actually not really. It's our first mini and it's the first time we have to change the battery
But I can be pretty handy given I have the right information.

My plan is to change the battery. Looking for the battery year was mostly to see if it wouldn't be something else. I do se a number 13 (as part of the first two number of 13 B 179 B Z 1959 string. It's the only number that would make sense.

 

I was just about to ask if it's okay to swap the battery for a few days (if it has the same spec), and do a battery registering a few days later? I might invest in a scan tool which would help me with other things in the future. And help me register the battery... but it will take a few days to get.

I do need to have the auxiliary belt changed (I'm due for that one). So I could let the dealer do it for a bunch of pretty pennies. But regardless I'm trying to see what to do in the short term so the car isn't completely out of commission...

 

I don't think you need to do the registration right away. If I remember correctly, has something to do with the charging rate matching the battery. I also believe it's easy to swap out (haven't done it myself, only read about it).

Here in Phoenix, I get about 3 years max out of a battery. Heat kills them pretty quick. In my cars I swap them out every 3 years as a matter of maintenance as I don't like getting stranded.

 

I'm use to hear of a 6 years average. 3 yrs seems kind of short...