I disconnected the battery of my 04 Cooper S JCW to see if it would affect my windows-wont-go-down problem and In the process discovered two sets of mystery wires on the positive cable. One had a loose small black rectangular plastic plug with two black wires that connected to a device under where the positive cable connects to the battery that had a bar code and the numbers *011310593* on the top of the battery device and a tag on the wires that says “Battery Squib”, “Tyco Electronics”, “0-0959428-1/B”, “Order AK06200” on the front of the tag and “453827”, “00001”, and “21/08/2003 on the back of the tag.

The other set of wires was taped along side the positive battery cable where it goes under the rear trim piece and was a twisted pair of brown and blue wires that went to a taped up white ceramic device, 3/8” square by 7/8” long, with the characters “5W3R3J” or “5113R3J” printed in black on the side opposite two tinned wire leads soldered to the brown and blue wires.

The two mystery wire pairs are about 10 & 12 inches long respectively and were just hanging down aft of the battery. Anyone know what these wires are or were for?

 

Thats wired, its like a isolator or something. Should look like below.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...for-mcs-3.html

 

I believe the squib part is a device that disconnects the battery in case of an accident. The other part is a resistor for, aftermarket accessory? or ??? not sure. Either way a soldered connection without any tape or shrink wrap on the connections is bad practices and inviting shorts and disaster. Tape it up at a minimum.

 

wires for a trickle charger is my guess

 

A disconnect if the shiny side is down and oily side up? I assumed from the tag and date it was OEM, but couldn't figure out what might have been plugged into it or it into what?

The other device was tape wrapped; I unwrapped it to see what it was and take photos and I'll re-wrap. Could it be a sensor of some type? Temperature perhaps?

Edit: I did a search for Battery Squib and turned up this thread

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...esistance.html

Apparently the "battery squib" blows the end off of the positive battery cable if the air bags activate? And if that happens there is a fix that requires a 5 watt 3.2 or 3.3 ohm resister in some circuit to keep the air bag light off? All very weird, but I guess that's what the resister is for. I still don't see where the little black plug went, though. some place else on the "squib"?

 

I will bet a donut to a dollar the resistor is PO's cheapskate fix to the already blown pyrotechnic collision disconnect. It is a one time use device and should be replaced one discharged. The resistor is to fool the DME that all is well. I can see potential ground for a liability lawsuit.

 

 

Always something new to learn with this little car. Interesting that a scan with my Schwaben BMW/Mini scanner indicated a dozen Central Body Electronics lighting related codes but no air bag or battery cable codes. Guess I'll just tape things back up and see if I can drill out the broken end of the lower battery strap bolt and get the battery fastened down well.

Oh yes - found a you tube video on replacing just the "squib" end of the battery cable on a BMW at . Wonder if that can be done on a Mini too, and if so where that now-loose little black plug goes.

 

The black squib plug goes on the right side of the battery (on the orange battery fuse module).
It looks as if the PO hot-glued the other end of the squib...Kinda sketchy.
You probably can replace just the squib portion but you may also have to buy a fuse module as well.
Btw, a new + cable costs around $300.

 

Thanks for the info and the photo. It looks like I am missing quite a bit of wiring since there are no wires under the nuts on my battery clamps. Guess I need to find out if the air bags are fully operational if the squib is not, and make sure the battery is securely held down.

 

No problem.
Just to be safe, you should probably check the crash sensors as well.
If the PO took the time to remove the battery fuse module and wire in a resistor with electrical tape and hot glue, there's a big chance your car was in an accident. Instead of fixing it the correct way, it looks like a hack-job that a teenager would do.

 

Got a reply from the PO (nice guy, by the way) who said "The squib or disconnect wires corroded to the point of no contact and caused the airbag light to come on! I added the resistor in line due to the high cost of the main power cable at the time This happened!". Apparently he didn't want to spend $300 for a new cable so he wired in the resistor. He said the air bags are fine.

I'll check for black that might indicate the squib was fired, but I don't want to get too far into a rewire if all but the squib is functional. Still trying to get the broken lower strap bolt out to replace it so everything will be held down securely. Then on to window motors. Actually the windows are the first malfunction I've experienced (that I know of). Oh yes...I take that back. The front lighter socket has no power so I am using the rear one for my Ultragauge and camera. Is there a way to get the front lighter/power socket out without dismantling the whole dash area?

 

I found a good video on what the BST/Squab does at . There are some interesting comments under it including:

" The BST system has a good intention but may do more harm than good in most reality situations. BMW recalled this cable for 570,000 cars in February, 2013. The deployment of the BST during a minor collision causes sudden engine shut off on the highway, and can cause severe or even fatal accidents such as hitting by other cars in the evening. The German engineers had tunnel vision in creating such an expensive but unnecessary design. As plunging to water is more likely than fierce car crash, a manual window glass handle may be more important and life-saving when it can be re-installed by the manufacturers. "

and " Thank you for the informative video..as i had a bang noise in the 06 JCW car & wouldnt start next day.. was exactly what you pointed out.On inspection i wondered why the BST cable was loose..obviously it had popped out due to overload in battery.i got The AA out, to check all,& service guy wasnt aware of the BST,& battery wasnt get a proper charging reading from alternator & battery due to BST lead popped.AA service guy said new battery & alternator were faulty. When he left,.i checked youtube,& saw yr video explaining all.This was a great help,& got AA battery service to install new battery,& all appears good now.Battery guy also coded the battery to the computer(important) .NB the old battery BMW make (prob original) was 11 years old!!So even the AA service guys werent aware of the BST module. Now the BST cable is secured back correctly..the charging should be fine. "

I see in the video that the brown and blue twisted pair of wires (that my resistor is soldered between) run alongside the battery cable that goes under the rear trim piece, so these wires must have gone originally to whatever fires the BST/Squib and the system looks for the correct resistance between them.

 

Well, I think what the PO told you is very suspect.
Plastic connectors don't magically get disconnected or corroded. However, it may be damaged due to a lack of a secured battery tie-down. Regardless, hot-gluing a wires in a car is a very bad idea. (hot glue has a low melting point and is can easily be dislodged from vibrations).

There are 2 reasons someone would wire in a resistor:
1)They were using an aftermarket seat with no airbags.
2)They were involved in an accident. (It would be very obvious due to broken dash/trim and steering wheel).

A disconnected cable would not warrant a resistor.
If you were just to replace/fix the BST without replacing the battery fuse module, the battery may disconnect (unless the PO did some other modifications).
I don't know of any vendors or eBay sellers that would sell just the battery squib portion. Usually, the entire + cable is sold.

If it isn't working, it may be a blown fuse.
To remove the front cigarette lighter socket, gingerly pull the entire assembly upwards (careful, the plastic ring is fragile). It's held in place with friction.
Good luck tracing your electrical gremlins.

 

I am assuming that whatever fires the Squib was/is bad and the resistor simulates its resistance so the light stays off.

The front lighter socket fuse is good, so I think the socket must be disconnected. The plastic ring is already loose and likely cracked. I've tried pulling it up but it seems to catch on something part way up which I assumed was a light on the side. Does it have a light on the side of the body?

I got my lower battery strap anchor repaired today by drilling through the broken bolt end, deforming the ring that was left using a chisel and center punch, and knocking it out the bottom with a small punch. Not a lot of room to work down in there.

I used a male 6 mm x 1 thread restorer to clean up the threads and found a spare 6mm bolt. The hole in the strap wouldn't quite line up and the bolt started to cross thread at an angle, so I used a round file to elongate the hole in the strap, straightened the threads again, and then got the bolt to go in straight. I bet cross threading was what caused the bolt to shear off in the past.

 

To me his statement is very suspicious. How and what caused the squib to be corroded? If so the battery box bottom would fall out first. The hot glue is a clear sign that it is there to hold the severed high current starting contacts together. If you dig into the so called corroded squib you are likely to find the charge cap has been used. (I don't encourage one to do this as there is a charge cap i.e. explosive)

I will take everything he said with suspicion until proven otherwise. I stand by my first post as the likely reason for the resistor.

 

No, I don't believe the PO is a lier. He did buy this car as a trade-in at a Subaru dealer (I think he said Subaru) and it was in neglected condition. He bought it because it was a JCW version, (dealer installed shortly after original purchase), and because it was inexpensive at the time, and because it was a BMW (he's a BMW guy). He did a lot of cosmetic and mechanical work on it and, with a few more go-fast upgrades in addition to the JCW kit, it registered 252 hp at the wheels on a dynamometer run "in perfect weather conditions". He said it dyno'd at 212 hp as a JCW before his other upgrades. He had his fun with it and sold it to me so he could start another project to build up a 410hp 135i

I don't know where you saw hot glue, but it may be the broken plastic on the little plug in the big bang end of the battery squib which is rather shiny. (see photo below) I haven't tried to remove the cable end cover to see if it has fired, but I don't see anything black around the cover, and the catches in the cover sides look fine. I figure if it ain't broke..., And if it is fired, I am not sure I care as long as the cable conducts as it should and the other safety features are there. No air bag codes came up in a scan.

My battery is now held down securely and everything is back together and seems to work OK except the darn window motors - that's the next job; new motors are on the way.

 

Just looking back at this after getting my lower battery strap bolt repaired and things in the battery box cleaned up. What is the function of the item with the yellow arrow? Is that the fuse module you mention? I can't quite figure what it does.

Oh, last I checked the positive cable is now $400 plus from the usual sources, and I bet i'd need a lift to replace it. I think I'll leave it alone for now.

 

In marketing and consume psychology, there is this thing called post purchase dissonance. Some would examine rationally, but some would make up reasons to ease the dissonance. The 5W 3.3 ohm resistor you held in your hand is a dead giveaway of what had happened and the PO failed to disclosed. Both myself and H_C tried to point that out. The only obvious explanation is the explosive safety disconnect has fired, mostly from a collision, however minor, was sufficient to set off air bag.

OK. If you want to give him the benefit of the doubt, it can be the doing of PO #1 or whoever before PO #1.

I am so done with this thread.

 

OK, sorry if I upset you by asking questions, but thanks to all who furthered my education on my Mini. This forum is a great resource and I really appreciate the help.

 

The fuse module is inside the orange box on the right side of the battery. It may be in okay shape. I just thought it was missing (I didn't see it in your previous post).

That's cable for a battery tender.
https://www.pelicanparts.com/techart...stallation.htm

Hot Glue (it's the translucent orange area)


pnwR53S, step back, take a deep breath and relax
Obviously, the OP is a good man that gives people the benefit of the doubt. There's nothing wrong with that.

 

OK, battery tender wiring makes more sense; I've thought about adding that under the bonnet.

I'll look again, but it looked to me like a broken/chipped plastic connector rather than hot glue at the squib; Pictures can be deceiving and maybe my eyes were too. (nice close-up, BTW)

The fellow I bought if from said today that the battery squib had not fired but a bad connection at the squib had caused the air bag light to come on so he wired in the resistor to turn it off. I haven't verified this but I accept what he said for now since the squib/cable cover appears to be intact. I hate to chance screwing it up in trying to remove it just out of curiosity.

The good news is that removing both door cards and whacking the heck out of the metal inner door panel where the window motors mount with a big rubber mallet got both of my windows working again - at least for now. Whacking the door cards had not done the trick before, and I can see that whacking the card would transfer much of the shock to the edges of the door (and maybe break the two plastic keeper pins I found in pieces); it seems a direct hit on the motors finally did the trick for me.

 

I don't see how it can be the connecter, as the connector isn't translucent. If it's soft to the touch and you can press your finger nail in it, its hot glue.

That's good news that your battery squib is intact.
Maybe you can purchase a new wire/connector. From the looks of it, that resistor is bypassing the battery fuse. It's probably not a good idea to keep that resistor tied into your electrical system (there's no account in the web that it'll allow for your airbags to deploy in an accident).




That's great that you got your windows working. If you had damaged motors, it would've been a very costly replacement. Those plastic pins should cost about a couple dollars at most. You may need to lubricate your window tracks if whacking them made them operational again.