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This issue will intermittently occur when driving. All internal electronic buttons will cease to function when this happens. Oddly enough, the cigarette lighter will continue to work. As far as i can tell, the exterior lights continue to work, including turn signals, even though they will NOT register on the interior of the car. Even the Odometer will cease to function during this time, as a trip won't even add miles to the car. The tachometer, speedometer, windows, locks, sun roof, and all warning lights will seize up and fail to work. The problem will usually end after the car has been turned off for a few minutes/hours. Interior ambient lights continue to work even after all other gauge failures.

Any information anyone could share on this problem would be massively appreciated ! So far none of the mini repair shops in town have ever seen this problem, or even have a clue as to which module is causing the issues (or sensors). The car has so far passed all battery/alternator tests with flying colors. The OBD readings come back completely garbage, since you will get over 70+ codes and none of them are related to anything electrical, as an example, it's gone as far as saying the certain fluids aren't even in the car, when they're topped off. I'm more than happy to answer any questions, since i'm not really sure what other information i could share.

Hopefully someone here has an idea!

 

How old is your battery? These cars are extremely sensitive to weak voltages and the cars start doing strange things. Hatch opening windows rolling down dash lights up like a Christmas tree.

 

The battery is less than a year old and it's been tested by 3 different places, guaranteeing that the voltage output is correct, as well as it's ability to recharge. The alternator is working perfectly, too. I've also seen lots of comments about electrical issues and the sensitivity of the battery in these cars, so that was one of the first things we checked and then double checked.

Right now i have a sneaking suspicion that it might be an improperly installed Lojack. I bought the car used from an estate auction. The car had less than 31,000 miles on it and had been kept in a garage. As far as we can tell, there is zero structural or water damage to the vehicle. The motor and transmission are both silky smooth. This electrical issue seems to be the only problem (although it's a very annoying one to pinpoint..... and could be rather expensive if it can't be tracked down....)

I do appreciate the advice, but yeah, we did check those things first! Any other ideas come to mind?

 

Does your mini have a sunroof. If so check the fuse box where the drain is. People have had the drain clog and soak the fuse box which will cause a bunch of issue.

How about the battery terminals? Any corrosion? Honestly iv had batteries tested and been told they were perfect when in reality they were out of CCA.

No question an improperly installed alarm or low jack system could cause issues like you are describing. Start tracing the wires and remove the system.

If I was in your shoes I’d start pulling the electrical diagram and locating all the Grounds and hitting those with a wire brush.

 

Is there a good place to find a diagram for the ground locations? I've tried looking online, but since the car is from 2007, many of the photo links have been lost to time (dead links). Also where does the sunroof drain let out? I mean that's a possibility since the car does have a sunroof, but not as likely since we're in the desert and this was a garage kept car (but of course should not be overlooked).

I also double checked the terminals on the battery and they quite literally look brand new. No corrosion at all anywhere on the connectors. The same can be said for the few ground leads that i COULD find inside the car. So far nothing has been loose or even remotely corroded. We're lucky in some ways that it's so dry here that any standing water will literally evaporate in under a day. My suspect at the moment would be the main ground wires i found in this picture, but honestly i can't figure out exactly where they're trying to show:


Any ideas?

 

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