Dead Battery on the Road Question
 

Hi I am on the road in Tonopah, Nevada and my battery is dead. I am trying to decide what to do. Car is on 03 MCS with 49,000 miles. I left something plugged in over night and drained the battery. This morning the door unlocked but the dash lights flickered and it would not crank. I borrowed a starter battery and the interior lights come on but it only cranked once and won't crank again. There is a auto store nearby and I am thinking of buying a new battery. Any other ideas?

Hope someone will jump you? (Jump start, not rob)

The car won't jump start. I tried already with a jumper battery. The electrics just click away and no cranking. It did crank once though with the jumper battery attached. Lucky for me I am in a motel, not on the side of the road. There is a parts store across the street. They are charging my battery now. It tests as discharged, not as broken on their meter. They had a replacement for the output specs but one was too long and the other is too tall. So we will see in a couple of hours if the charge worked. I might have to buy the taller battery if mine doesn't charge.

If your present battery will take a charge, you should be fine (presumming you don't leave something plugged in again....:grin:). I am a bit concerned that you couldn't do a jump start.... Did you connect the cables to the jump-start plug (+) and the ground bolt (-) per the instructions in the owners manual and likewise to a car whose engine was running? If you used one of those battery buddys, they need to be fully charged (usually overnight) to be able to start the MINI's engine.

I used a battery buddy that I got from a motorcycle / atv shop. It showed as being close to fully charged but it wasn't a real big unit, so maybe not enough juice. I think I had it connected right since when it was connected the interior lights stopped flickering and came on bright. I am going back to get the battery after it charges another hour and we will see. I think I will use the battery buddy to help with the first start. Otherwise my choice is to buy a battery that is 3/8 taller or order the correct replacement for delivery in the morning.

Sometimes when you completely discharge one like that, it won't immediately start on a jump. You might have to let it charge for 20-30 minutes before it will turn over. Usually after it gets started and you charge it up while driving, it will be OK. As long as there is plenty of fluid in it.

Thanks for the help everyone. I am letting it charge for two hours, but it is on a regular charger, not a fast charger. That is why I am thinking of helping it with the battery buddy again. I am just hoping it keeps charging after it starts. The shop has a gage to test it so I am hoping it will be okay. I plan to drive for awhile and avoid stops. I would buy the replacement now but it is an overnight delivery. I think everything else is okay, but I just make sure I think of everything. I am just glad that the doors opened.

Mike,
Sorry to hear about the battery....hopefully charging it will get you back on the road. Might be worth a trip to the MINI dealer in Reno to get a replacment under warranty. If you need me to bring you anything tomorrow, just holler.:thumbsup:

McLeonard,

You need to get the battery and your car to the Dealer. There is a recall on 2003 and earlier MINIs for the battery. I did not know anything about it until I found a thread talking about this the next day I had my MINI Towed to the dealer (90 Miles away). They will check your car and change the battery.

What you describe is exactly what happened to me. a clicking sound when the keys was turned on, but no engine start. I had parked to get gas when this happened to me. Good luck.

Bomboasy

PS. no time to do the search for you, but search NAM for warranty and battery, should find the thread.

I had same issue with my 03 MINI. Started right up as usual, drove to the bank, stopped car for a minute while I went to the walk-up ATM. Got back in, tried to start MINI up..."click click click" with random lights on dashboard, etc... Towed to dealer... they replaced battery free of charge due to the recall. Gave absolutely no warning that the battery was about to die...like I said, car started right up only minutes before.... odd. Guess that's why a recall was issued?

It seems to be a time, not milage issue. A lot of the 03's are having this issue. My car has only 25K miles and it is an 03. The battery is vented and that makes it unique in that it is inside the car. I was told that I would not be able to find a replacement at the corner car part store. Not sure if that is really true.

Bomboasy

thanks everyone. i think i will visit the dealer. i had to buy a battery to get the car started but it is smaller than the original. after two hours charging and with the help of a battery buddy still the same issue with the original. waiting over night for a proper fit was not an option as the hotels are full due to the barstow to las vegas off road race coming through today. who would have though that tonopah would fill up?

As high-tech as these cars are, if there is enough juice in the battery to essentially light up the instrument cluster lights (meaning the ECU is up and running, a minimum of about 9-10 volts), you can usually get the car started the old fashioned way: Push Starting. This of course is only if you have a manual trans. Push the car or let it roll downhill at about a brisk walking pace, put the trans in 1st and pop the clutch.

I know this works, I killed the battery twice leaving the radio on once and the key in the run position another time. :o

If you don't have your old (dead) battery, the dealer may not do the battery replacement service. Just a thought. You may have solved your immediate issue, but on your nickel, not theirs (MINI/BMW).

If you are still covered by the Roadside Assistance, I would try to return the battery to the store where you got it. Call Roadside Assistance at 1 866 646 4772 (24hrs) and they will tow the MINI, if covered, and pay for it. Make sure that they use a flat tow truck. Call the dealer to be sure they have the battery in stock. I would assume that the dealer will have to cover the tow, even if you are not in the coverage, since it is a recall. Make sure that the dealer checks that you are in the recall and agrees to pay the tow. I got a ride with the tow truck to the dealership. Good luck.

Bomboasy

Yeah I thought about pushing. That may work if you are on a straight facing downhill. I was in a parking lot facing up hill. The lack of ps and pb makes it tricky.

Anyway I think the battery might be defective so I did'nt want to risk stalling in the out back of nevada. I realized later that the accessory I left plugged in was connected to the cig lighter which shuts off when the key is turned off so that was not the cause of the battery discharge.

Any way I have made it to Lee Vining and am going to call the Reno deal. My drivers window won't open so there may be an elect problem.

I had one window motor replaced a long time ago. So that could be another problem. But sounds good that you are taking it to the dealer.

Bomboasy

Well I am in Bridgeport, 150 miles from where I was in Tonopah, and everything is still working so I think I will continue my trip. I am doing a trackday near Reno on Saturday and plan to do some more sight seeing tomorrow in this area and I don't want to miss that. I called the dealer in Concord, near where I live, and they will put in a new battery and fix the window and check that everything is okay when I bring it in next week. They offered to have the car towed but the nearest dealer is hundreds of miles in the wrong direction, either back in Las Vegas or over the mountains in Sacramento and I don't want to spend my time riding in a tow truck. I will just use the battery I have for the next few days and hope nothing else is broken. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.