Dear all, I am new to this forum so sorry to start with a question. I have a 2001 mini one which I bought last year. Until recently it ran like a dream although I had to replace the battery in the winter. In the past six weeks the electrics seem to have gone haywire. The dashboard lights/ mileometer/ central locking and headlight alarm all went one day and the next day, when I got into my car after work the battery was completely dead.
I called the AA who said the battery was faulty so I took it back to exchange. Whilst at the battery shop the guy behind the counter suggested I got someone to look at the diagnosis because every time I tried to replace blown fuses for the dashboard they blew immediately again, and the heater stayed on even when the key as out of the ignition. I took it to an auto electrician who found a short below the cigarette lighter but couldn't work out what was causing ongoing electrical problems. He returned it to me after three days and charged me £350 not to fix it!
Since then the car won't start each day. The only way I can driveit is to charge the battery overnight, drive to work, disconnect the battery (it seems to drain the battery if I leave it connected) connect it again at the end of the day and drive home. Except today even that didn't work and when I got back t the car and reconnected it the battery was still drained.

I am at a bit of a loss and wondered if anyone had experienced anything like this? Could it be that I didn't replace the battery with a BMW one? Is it the electrics? Or the alternator? The car only cost me £2000 and I am frightened that taking it to BMW will be ruinously expensive but I didn't really know who else to do.
Any advice wold be very gratefully received.
Thanks,
Sam

Check the Cd changer wires in the boot behind plastic side panel if damp or shorting can cause similar faults!!!! The cable is there even if no CD changer is fitted.
http://www.mini2.com/forum/first-generation-faults-fixes/193179-electrical-fault-makes-me-cry-help.html

This other similar case was cd changer wires touching:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/first-generation-mini-cooper/182202-electrical-gremlins.html#post3779682

BC1 is a common fault for haywire electrics on early Mini's but does not usually cause a flat battery :confused:......is your steering pump switching off ok without the key in ignition as this can discharge battery if faulty.

More BC1 info here:
The BC1 (Body Control Unit) - Forums (http://forum.minicooper.org/showthread.php?t=9924)

[quote=mab01uk;3832579]BC1 is a common fault for haywire electrics on early Mini's but does not usually cause a flat battery :confused:......is your steering pump switching off ok without the key in ignition as this can discharge battery if faulty.



Sorry to be completely dense but how would I check the steering pump?

Does steering pump stop whining when engine is switched off, sometimes they run on and flatten battery if faulty.

However I think you need to check the loose CD changer cable behind boot interior side panel first, as this is a common cause of your problems if unused connector is shorting out to metal or is damp. I assume you don't have the CD changer option fitted?

Thank you, I will have a look tomorrow (I have a CD changer fitted that I have never used - would a short be obvious just by looking??)

While I'm asking do you know much about the batteries. The one I have was listed as appropriate for my mini but it doesn't really seem to fit - its not tall enough so the earth strap is kinked (although the connection is good). And any idea why the battery is draining even when the red lead is disconnected? It's all a mystery to me...

Thanks for your time.

Check the CD changer connector and cable is totally dry and no bare wiring or metal connectors are touching to metal body. Maybe also disconnect cd changer unit if fitted as it could be electrically faulty inside.

Battery size/height should not matter if connections are good and nothing is moving or touching the red cable to metal body when connected.

Battery should not be able to discharge if cables disconnected!

That's what I thought (about the disconnection) which is why I tout I had found a temporary solution. Yet today I had to bump start it to get it going this morning, disconnected it at work, and when I reconnected it I needed a jump start to get the engine going. It is all very puzzling...
I will check the cd player tomorrow and let you know...
Thanks again.

No obvious problems with wiring in the boot although I did disconnect the cd changer anyway. Don't really know how to check if this was causing the problems as the dashboard is still not working and I charged the battery overnight so it started this morning...

Hey,

Just my 2 cents worth here......

There is no reason for your battery to drain if it is disconnected! if it does this then you have a faulty battery that is not holding its charge.

Only other thing that springs to mind is that the car is not charging the battery when in motion and by the time you get to work it has discharged enough not to start the car, really think its a faulty battery though.

Thank you. I have phoned the company I got the battery from (I only exchanged it on the 6th April) and their line is that if the batteries are being drained that quick there must be something dodgy in the electrics...
I think I am out of my depth here and probably need to get myself to Mini?

Thank you. I have phoned the company I got the battery from (I only exchanged it on the 6th April) and their line is that if the batteries are being drained that quick there must be something dodgy in the electrics...
I think I am out of my depth here and probably need to get myself to Mini?


Have you told them you charge the battery , car runs , disconnect the battery from car and it still drains! That takes the car out the equation , it must be the battery, a battery can't and shouldn't drain on its own unless its either old or faulty.

I spoke to Mini, they say it sounds like the electrical fault (wherever it is) is causing the alternator not to work so the car is just running off the battery every journey. Mini's advice: buy a different car!!

Any good local independent garage/auto electrician should be able to simply check the output of both the battery and alternator for you, without you needing to go to an expensive MINI Main Dealer. Once you narrow down which is the problem it should be straightforward to fix. As said it looks like either battery or alternator is at fault.......the electrical glitches are likely caused by lack of enough power/charging which is well known to cause weird electrical faults on Mini's.

Not sure where the fuse blowing you mentioned fits into this though (what fuse is it?)...unless there is a chafed wire shorting out to metal work somewhere.

Thank you so much to everyone who helped me with this. I took the battery back and they exchanged it. They also checked the alternator that was fine. I noticed that the central locking wasn;t always staying on and every time the boot unlocked itself the interior lights came on so I removed the fuse for that those and since then the battery has not drained again. It must have been that that had drained the battery and then it couldn't recharge fully.
The new autoelectrician has been out and it is not the BCU, but is the wiring in the passenger footwell/door "well". Water had got in and although the sires look fine the diagnostics suggest all the electrics on that side and randomly going on and off. he is going to solder them for me.
Thanks again,
Sam

Thanks for reporting back as it helps others in the future. :)

this sounds incredibly similar to a problem i had with my cooper s, all the warning lights flashing on etc, my car would run without the keys in the ignition, frequently not starting, brake lights constantly on and erratic central locking and alarm. i bit the bullet and handed it to BMW and they had the car 2 weeks and it turned out my power steering pump control board was shorting. in the end it cost me £700 to sort it