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Mini R50 Electrical Issue

4K views 8 replies 2 participants last post by  R7s 
#1 ·
Hi there,

I figure I'd post a thread to see if anyone has had similar issues.

Currently own a 2002 Cooper Base (R50) that is having issues related to the battery draining overnight.

I don't know where to start with issues.

As far as I know i tried connecting the RPM tach and it's not working at all. The speedometer works but sputters for a second before bringing the gauges back. The lights in the back that display the speedometer don't work.


Any help would be appreciated, and I'll try and answer questions along the way.
 
#2 ·
first off you need to know what the alternator is putting out ie fully charged battery at 2000 revs 14.7v is very good under 13.2v is bad, do this test with and without every thing on,
then need a volt meter set to amps and connect between the battery positive and the battery ignition off doors close and car sat for 5 minutes at that point should only have a round 300 milliamps showing, if has more than this and its amps then start pulling fuses while looking at meter see what fuse makes the discharge go away once found than you will no what circuit it is on,, if do all fuses and cant find it disconnect the alternator if discharge goes away then the alternator is skewed, do same with start motor, as for the fuses inside the car you might need to remove the passengers side seat to so can check fuese one after another in the body control module with the doors closed and car at sleap ie closed and switched off for 5 minutes, another tip when find the circuit you can use a fuse holder amp reader tool to show the amount of amps each fuse holder has going through that circuit, or use the meter to do it if dont want to buy both tools as the meter will dosame trick
 
#3 ·
I'll start to check fuses, but it looks like my floors were damp. I was away from the car for a little while and am getting back into it in a few days. Is there anything concerning about some water around my floors?

I believe there was something about the Body Control Module you mentioned, would it be possible that all the issues like my Tachometer and Display lights not working and brake lights staying on could be from that BCM?
 
#4 ·
yep deffo will be water ingress to body control module and the wiring under the carpets, seats out carpets dry it al out while its all out get someone to use a hose pipe all over the car see if you can find where its coming in.. you might get away with bcm in hot place for a day they switch cleaner it all in side purge the damp out of it you might be lucky, i spray them with wd40 as well as all the multi plug connectors,, water causes a short circuit that short circuit the bcm sees as something switched on still and dont go sleep maybe,
 
#8 ·
Update so far:

I decided to go the route of replacing the BCM from a used base cooper, plugged it in and the car turned on but nothing changed except one feature. I was able to fix my issue with my front headlights turning off and on just on the dimmer switch. On the old BCM the headlights would stay on even when turned off on the dimmer switch. However the brake lights stayed on even when the key was completely in the off position with the new BCM, I swapped my BCM in there and the brake lights worked normally but the headlights would stay on.

The features that still didn't work with either BCM's were; the display lights in the speedometer the climate control lights, and the tachometer wasn't working at all. My question is, was the used BCM I got supposed to work? Because the car turned on and things seemed to operate, except what was listed.
 
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