Haunted windows?

[alanz]

Ok, I've got two witnesses for this:

I was sitting in my '04 MCS at a movie theater parking lot with my wife and son.

I think the ignition was off (it's possible the car was in Accessory position), but I'm not absolutely sure. Key was in the ignition.

I was showing them how I mounted an XM Roady, and where I wanted to route a GPS antenna.

All off a sudden, both windows rolled down about 1/2 way, and the sunroof popped up and moved back a bit.

Anyone see this behavior before?

Only once before did I notice (because of road noise) that my windows were down 1/4" and I had to bring them up manually.

So, do I have haunted glass in my car? <s>

[moorlockx]

It's not a common problem, but it is one that other people, including myself, have experienced. I don't think anyone has been able to ascertain the cause, but it is a bit disconcerting knowing it might happen at the wrong time.

There have been a couple threads on here and MCO about it.

[Damo]

I believe that this a common problem and there is a fix for it. I think it involves some control unit getting wet, look in the faults and fixes forum sure its in there somewhere.

[ScottyB]

Quote: Originally Posted by Damo

I believe that this a common problem and there is a fix for it. I think it involves some control unit getting wet, look in the faults and fixes forum sure its in there somewhere.

I certainly wouldnt want it to happen if my car was sitting outside in the rain

[scooterboy]

It's either the BC1 computer unit or someone pressed the unlock button on the remote and held it down.

[alanz]

In my case, there was no one touching my key... it was in the ignition.

Odd thing is that the windows rolled down half way at the same time that the sun roof popped up and rolled back about 1/2 way. I seem to recall that all windows started/stopped moving at the same time.

[scooterboy]

They do open simultaneously when the unlock button is held down, but since yours was in the ignition at the time I would suspect a BC1 problem.

[Mini_Joe]

I've had this happen 4 times, and it was raining out all 4 times! I think the moisture must have something to do with it happening. I thought I must have been accidentally hitting the button on the key, but I started taking my keys out of my pocket when I get home, and it still happens.

[alanz]

It was not raining when this happened to me, nor had it rained in the previous couple of days.... but I did wash the car two days earlier <s>

[wmd]

Quote: Originally Posted by alanz

It was not raining when this happened to me, nor had it rained in the previous couple of days.... but I did wash the car two days earlier <s>

Water in the BC1 sounds like a good possibility here. One way that can happen is that water gets behind the A-pillar trims (shiny black plastic exterior pieces) and runs thru one of the clip holes into the interior, runs down the wiring harness attached to the inside of the A-pillar down to the BC1 in the right side footwell. There was a service bulletin in England that added better sealing around the trims, added a cover to the BC1 module, and replaced the BC1 on some early build RHD MINIs.

So if it happens again, you might ask the dealer to remove the right side A-pillar trim and put new washers or sealant around the panel clips. Or next time you wash your MINI, spray the trims around their edge for a good bit to see if you can recreate this problem. Or maybe not.