Ok, So this is first time over an year that this happened. I was driving the Mini and when I took a turn the Mini died completely! Like complete dead. I thought it could be battery but the batter was fine when I checked and even jump started. This quite strange and potential hazard on the road as it died while driving. And by dead I mean, the lights inside the car wont turn on as if it has no battery.

Also like about 20 minutes or so it came back to life with "Plain exclamation" mark which I couldnt record as I was panicing becuase it had blocked the road and couldnt be moved due to gear lock or something,

I managed to take this photo from online and surprisingly this is the only photo of "Plain exclamation mark" which I could find about Mini online, (disregard the steering light)"

Anyone had experience similar problem or can provide insight?

 

How did you check the battery? Being able to jump start the car does not verify a good battery, it rather indicates the opposite.

 

I have a 12 volt lamp which i connected directly to the battery. The jump start thing didnt actually work made me realise it might not be the battery issue. The car however turned on automatically after 20mins or so. Its quite weird. I thought the ecu system probably got fried or something

 

A 12V lamp draws nowhere near the current the starter does when cranking the engine. What matters is whether the battery delivers the required current under load and whether the voltage is meanwhile kept above the "comfort zone" of the car's electronics.

I'm not saying that the battery is the culprit (though it very well may be as the R56 seems to be quite sensitive to low voltage) but more needs to be checked before it is ruled out. How old is your battery?

You may also want to check your alternator and whether any errors were triggered.

 

Do you have a schwaben scan tool? https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben...020sch01a~scf/
It will help you detect if there is a fault or something else going on otherwise its maybe a bad starter or weak new battery, I had one of those also on a 1 year old car.

 

In a BMW it means transmission in Neutral or should be in Neutral. Not entirely sure on that as I've seen conflicting info. Either way I'd have the battery tested first, then other parts of the electrical system as needed.

 

I see. Well that makes sense. At first I thought it could have been steering lock or something cause it happened while I was making a turn. But I dont really know. The battery is like 3 yrs old and it could be that there could have been a high surge or a trip somewhere. Because it happened day before yesterday and the car is driving fine after that. Its just that I dont wanna live in uncertainty that it will happen again. If I imagine it happening while driving in a highway, it can result in an accident. The problem with modern car electronics that the culprit could be a bad fuse, or a loose connection or damaged wire or.. or.. so its really difficult to diagnose.

I really wanna understand what exactly could have happened that triggered total shutdown. Do Minis also come with anti-theft system, if so could it be the key battery? The key fob battery was replaced a year ago.

 

Happy New Year Yall!

I am not sure about trans. It could be steering lock that got triggered. My steering column has mildly gone noisy as of last month. It could be that steering lock trigger could have happened while driving or something.

 

If there are more issues, you should indeed try to get a readout of any stored errors. If the SchwabenTool ECSTuning suggested above is too expensive for you but you have an "OTG"-capable android phone and do not fear a steep learning curve, you could look into the open source app "Deep OBD for BMW and VAG". You will need a compatible OBD2 interface.

 

Since it happened on a curve, I'd suggest centrifugal force moved a wire or cable or connection somewhere & it caused a disconnect or short.
I'd start by checking that all the battery & ground cables are clean, bright & tight. Take them off, sand-paper them & reconnect them.
Then I'd look at the heavy underhood, starter & alternator cables.

 

The very first thing you need to do is get the codes scanned. That will direct the diagnosis. Like said above the Schwaben scan tool is great, but not exactly cheap, especially right after Christmas. If you were in my area I would do it for you. For now, find an independent euro shop that works on BMW/MINI and ask them the scan it. Most places will do it for free. Don’t bother with a local parts store, their scanners are not equipped with the necessary software to read the proprietary manufacturers codes. I know this from experience. An AutoZone scan tool said I had no codes, while the car was in limp mode! There were actually 5 of them stored that it could not see. You absolutely need the right tool for these.
Get it scanned for DTC codes (I know codes is redundant) (DTC = diagnostic trouble codes) and post back on here with the results, then we may be able to help pinpoint exactly what’s going on.

 

Doubt it's the battery itself. It wouldn't just die while running. Loose connection more likely.

 

There's a thread here somewhere that shows a heavy red cable, to the left of the engine as you look at it.
It looks like the one from the under-hood jumper or battery to the starter.
It had chafed through to the copper on the underside, in two places, & occasionally shorted out. You'd have to twist it over to find it.
It might be worth looking for that cable................