speedo needles shaking/ and audio noise

[paige07]

Hi Guys

Just a couple of things:

1) sometimes when i start my 03 mini one, the needles on my speedo (all 3) will start shaking rappidly for a couple of seconds then go back to normal ie. the petrol needle will shake for a couple of seconds then go to half full or where ever my petrol is filled to. they dont shake all the way round its just where they come to rest when the engine is off...any ideas

2) also sometimes when i turn off the engine and open the door the is an audio sound, its like 3 very short beeps together, each beep get higher piched each time, but this happens 3 times...n im not sure what it is again please help

Cheers guys

[LadyVCooperS]

My needles shake and shoot up then down then back into position from cold.
I've had a new instrument cluster, and had the battery re charged as they are both problems that make it happen.
Its not all the time though, so I've kinda got used to it

[MartinSSZ]

The needle shake is caused by a low battery voltage - you battery WILL fail you at some stage in the near-ish future (probably when it gets cold again).

This has happened on my '03 Cooper, my Brother's '03 One and my '04 MCS, all at approximately 3 and a half years old....

[neilobe]

My needles did this on 2 of my previous S. Never gave me any concerns or problems..

[5meodmt]

mine shake for a few starts them wont do it for a while (53 plate cooper),. sometimes when try and start car in gear as i forget to get it in neutral they will shake on me, a battery test show battery seems to be ok, so will ignore for the time being, poss get a new battery before next winter...

and the audio noise, never experienced that anomly i afraid. soz

[5meodmt]

The needle shake seemed to increase with the manual mileometer kept resetting on its own- approx every 1-2 days min, but not the clock, a scary one was when i was driving at a junction and changing lanes the needle shook and i lost powersteering for a few seconds, then it came back!

Battery is now replaced with heavy duty Bosch, and 5 days and later no problems all seems fine now, hopefully the battery cured the issues. my car is 4.5 years old and the battery was BMW (so maybe original battery?)

I do have 600w ICE, so i guess my existing battery was on its last legs and the ICE took its toll, strage thing was the car started first time every time, nice lively start too, this is why i didnt suspect the battery at first.

[mab01uk]

My needles also do this but never given me any concerns or problems so far. (2002 MINI owned last 2 years).

From MINI2 FAQ :-
Why does my speedometer shake or rattle on start up? Short Answer:

It's re-zeroing itself. It only needs to re-zero after a reset, and this happens either a) when you remove the battery, or b) if you turn the ignition to position 2 more than a minute and a half after ignition off.

Long Answer:

The mechanical backstop for the stepper motor that drives the speedo needle is a few degrees below the visible zero mark on the display. Before the instrument packs leave the factory, the needles are optically aligned with the zero mark, and the difference in angle between the backstop and the zero mark is written into the memory of the instrument pack. On a reset, the needle is driven backwards into the backstop, and then forwards by the calibrated angle to the zero mark. The needle will shake as long as the motor is driving back against the backstop. Because the calibration varies between cars, the amount of time (and severity) of the shaking will also vary, and some cars audibly rattle.

Short conclusion to the long answer: It's a quirk, but go ahead and complain if you think it's really bad.

[NeuroBeaker]

I have to say, I'm more inclined to go with the FAQ, linked to by mab01uk, here. My March 2004 ONE does this from time to time, even after having a new battery fitted a little while ago.

Hope that helps.

All the best,
Andrew.

[ladylaura.23]

I have the same problem accept it's only the two needles that shake, the petrol and the temprature. It went in last week for that and a few other things and they said it normally is something to do with a flat battary and they re-charged it all up and said it shouldn't do it again... it has, but it is going in again next week for a new clutch so i will get them to have another look at it then