Got in my 03 Cooper this morning to go to class, turned the key and...nothing! Tried to jump it. The HUGE tow truck tried to jump the battery and didn't work either.

This same thing happened to me about a year ago. It wasn't able to jump start then either. Is there some sort of trick to it?

Anyway, the car go towed to the dealership and got a new battery and was on my way. It was all very smooth.

Anyone else have dead battery problems?

Thanks.

 

No problems here. I have heard of batteries going bad. Hopefully that's all you have. I assume they did a full assessment of your charging system. If that turned out OK I'd motor on. Just keep that 1-800 number handy.

 

i just mine replaced yesterday. btw i'm on my second battery.

 

When my battery died, I had the same experience. I tried two different pick-up trucks, and the flatbed truck to try and jumpstart it. No luck.

The dealership tested the car for excessive power drain (there wasn't), tested the battery (bad cell), installed a new battery, and I was on my way. No problems since.

Does anyone know why the MINI is seemingly invincible to jumpstarting?

-Paul!

 

My battery just needed a jump tonight (04 MC). No prior problems.

I had the same experience, as you all above. A jumping kit didn't work. Another vehicle didn't work. The tow truck couldn't even provide a jump. But what they did do was hook directly to both poles of my battery and charge it for about 5 minutes, then it worked!

My problem now is my service engine soon light is on... I'm guessing this is just a reaction the system has to having the battery drained, does anyone know for sure?

 

I let my MINI set for a while last winter and the battery ran down. I jump started it using a portable battery made to jump start with.......no problem. I did, however, break one of the holddown tabs on the battery cover. It was replaced at Roadshow and they said, "yep, those tabs break real easy".

 

Did your service light come on afterwards?

 

Each cell is connected to the next cell in series +-+-+- these batteries loose their cell to cell contact before the cells themselves start losing strength. Hense no warning & the inability to jumpstart.

 

No, I expected that something bad might happen from the battery being totally dead, but after letting the car run for a short time the battery was charged and there was nothing wrong.

 

That's not what I wanted to hear... I'll have to see what the SES light is carrying on about then.
My dealership is 2 hours away, and I'm headed out for a four day vacation...in my MINI! As I understand it, if the SES isn't flashing, then I won't be causing damage by driving it. Still I'll call the dealership in the morning and see if there is anything I can do on my own.
Thank you all for the quick replies.

 

The car should start when properly connected for a jump start, a bad cell is not a short so a second battery in parallel which is what a jump start is should work. I had a problem that looked like a dead battery at first, then a bad starter motor but turned out to be the ignition switch. The symptoms were as follows: turn key to start engine and car would not turn over, jump start or push start car and all will be fine for a day or two then same problems again, dealer diagnose as defective starter and replaced only to have the same thing happen the next day, next dealer changed ignition switch no more problems.

 

I agree. It should. I have removed the neg. terminal on occasion & had success when before not. (this was not Minis though) Possibly shorted.

 

Well I'll report back if anything more happens...
Right now I've gone through several "drive cycles" and the SES light if off, and went off after the third cycle. I'll be headed to Maine in my MINI for the next four days, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

Cheers!

 

If the speedo buzzes (resets) at start-up, is that a sign of a dying battery?

 

Resets at startup is a sure sign of a defective / intermittent ignition switch, that was the common theme for the two months of I had the intermittent start issues.

 

my battery died because the coolant fan ran non stop all night. replaced the battery and as soon as I connected the wires the fan came on. Had to pull the fuse to keep it from draining again.Went to dealership and fan started acting normally. so nothing I could do till it starts to act up again. figures it starts working right when I get to the dealership.

 

One thing that will lead to a battery going dead soon, is lots of short drives.

I don't have this problem as I do over 100 miles a day:smile:

 

that your MINI could not be jumped without a new battery. I thought any other battery connection should start the MINI and the alternator should keep it going. Was there something else wrong?

 

The experience I had:
A jump kit couldn't jump the MINI.
A Geo Tracker couldn't jump the MINI.
Called MINI service dept, they said a normal car can't jump a MINI.
Called Roadside, and the tow-truck couldn't jump the MINI.
But, I convinced them to charge the battery via the jumping cables for about five minutes, and tried again, and the MINI started!!!

I've had no other problems since, but I don't know if my battery is holding a full charge. Its on the list for my next service trip.

 

Was the replacement battery cover covered by your warranty, or was Roadshow being nice again? I just broke a clip on mine tonight because I needed to jump my battery. It would not jump with my portable jumpstarter, but my Civic jumped it immediately.
All my fault- I'm afraid of getting salt/snow on my MINI so I haven't driven it in 3 weeks. Tha's not gonna happen again.

I have to go to St. Louis (no more Roadshow for me) to change my brake fluid, so I'll see if I can get a new battery cover, or do i just need a clip?

 

It was covered by the warranty. The whole thing was one piece of plastic so you need a new cover.

They also said the service techs use two screwdrivers to push the clips open on both sides at the same time, trying to keep from breaking them.