Hi All -

Just starting out here, and unfortunately with a car related problem, but before I do, wanted to drop in a Hey to everyone.

GF bought a 2012 Cooper a month and half ago, and the battery has died 4 times already.

The first time was after 3 weeks, and when diagnostics were run, dealer said the error code said lights were left on overnight. I find this strange since the lights turn off automatically.

Anyway, the battery was charged and the same problem occurred 3 weeks later. This time we jumped the car using jumper cables; the battery pack jump start would work - we tried my personal pack as well as the road side assistant's pack. I'm taking the battery was drained completely.

A couple days later, the same thing, and a day later again. This time we sent it back to the dealer. He says the car isn't driven much and says this problem will continue to persist.

FYI, the car has been driven 1020 miles in 6-7 weeks. Her daily work commute is 4-5 miles one way and it takes her 20-30 minutes due to traffic. The dealer attributed this driving style to batter drainage. Also, he keeps on pointing that there have been 88 trips of 2 miles or less, which causes the battery to drain. Also, he pointed out the progressive device on the OBD2 port could be the cause; I had him take the current and it came back with 20mA which is way under 80mA threshold, and then he confirmed that's not the case. Some of the other reasons stated were iPod is run on it, also since it's driven so slow back and forth from work and started time, it takes a heavy toll on the battery. Net-net entirely attributed to driving style, and nothing can be done to it.

I'm don't agree with the reasons stated above, and wanted to get your take on it, and also if anyone had any suggestions. If they can't help, can I take benefit of Lemon policy?

Thanks much!

 

Have they started any type of parasitic test yet? This article is probably the best:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...battery-drains

Something has to be continually drawing power from the system after power-off and it could well be the light system since that's the first thing they targeted and most likely culprit since the rest of the power system won't drain it sufficiently overnight to kill it like that (unless there are multiple parasitic draws on the system).

The Diablo Trinity had a problem where it would drain the battery if left connected overnight because of how often it would power-up and check if the car was on or not (they fixed it in the software).

I'll be little to absolutely no help about the lemon laws.

 

Thank you very much for the link. The article is comprehensive and probably something I could do myself over the weekend. Once I realize what the problem is, I'll ask them to fix it.

I'm sure they didn't do this, else I would have some sort of an answer. They checked for the Progressive device specifically after I asked them to. Again, thanks much for your help, truly appreciate it.

 

If lights are set to the parking position then those lights will not go off automatically and run down the battery. I believe you do get a warning bong if you open the door and the parking lights are on.

It only takes 1 or 2 heavy discharges to severely degrade and damage a battery - even a new one.

Just a guess: Maybe your Progressive device is keeping the other computer system(s) from shutting down or going into sleep mode? If so this would draw more power than just the device itself.

There have been other threads here about insufficient battery charging due to short trips. It's not that uncommon for any car, especially with motorcycles. If this is the case then I would get a trickle charger and put that on especially when not driven for a few days.

Other ideas:
Turn off DRL if you have that set on.
Limit use of seat warmers if you have them.
Check water level in battery.

 

Correct; since the trip is relatively short and the RPMs aren't getting high enough to generate constant charging power from the alternator, the battery is suffering.

Also correct; the car never sees a long-enough charge (or even to have the engine warm up, which is a whole other issue for long-term ownership).

Before owning my Clubman, the previous owner thought the same you did; short trips shouldn't reduce battery life.
However, shortly after taking possession, my battery died and wouldn't hold a charge as it was never properly cycled with a good holding charge.

Do get the car out and drive it properly, giving higher RPMs (once the engine is to running temp) and holding them.
If you're planning on short trips, grab a battery tender.
Otherwise you will have premature battery failure because of insufficient charging.
I've been there and have changed my habits for the better...

- Erik

 

a new car should not have any battery problem this early. there is probably a drain somewhere. perhaps it's the progressive device, even when it's not drawing that much but over time, it may drain the battery if it is constantly on for 24/7. and if that device is constantly on and communicating with your mini, perhaps it is not letting the mini shut off properly.

 

My previous car that I bought new had an issue with the battery draining completely after not using the car for more than 2 days - using everyday was fine - and I only drove around 10miles round trip to work.

The dealer had it a couple of times and found that there was a serious drain every few minutes - turned out there was a problem with the central locking.

 

There have been long trips in addition to short trips. The 88 short trips (2 miles) or less would add up to around 180 miles at most. The remaining 850 miles or so are based on regular/normal driving conditions, so that should gives the battery enough time/RPM to recharge.


Like I said above, about 80% of the time, the car is being driven enough for the RPMs to be high enough to charge the battery. 800 miles/month adds up to 10K/year which I think is normal. Still not convinced over driving factor draining the battery. Am planning on doing the parasitic battery drain diagnosis. Will keep you guys posted as I find out more.

Thanks for your inputs though; it's always good to have a different perspective.

 

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'm planning on doing some tests myself, since it will be easier than bringing it back to the dealer - don't believe it will be productive since they haven't done this despite it being in the shop twice already.


Anyway, will keep you guys posted as I find out more.

 

There have been a couple reports on here that some devices that are plugged into the OBD2 port will prevent the MINI from completely powering down the electrical systems. First thing I would do is unplug that device and see if the problem persists.

 

Unplugging your "progressive device" would be a very easy first step at diagnosis. We have heard from other users on here that the Ultra Gauge device will cause the car's electronics to "wake up" a while after the car is shut off, and can easily drain the battery overnight. I'd be worried that this other device could be causing something like that to happen.

It wouldn't be the drain of the device itself, but the other systems that go on because the car detects the device and thinks that means the rest of the car should be on.

 

Well for those off you that dont drive too much,buy a battery tender.

My neighbor had the same problem after he bought a new mustang a couple years ago.
But his problem was the car sat for weeks at a time.

 

[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]If there has been an IPOD connector to 3.5mm cable adapter added, or an IPOD device is left on the end of the IPOD cable before the radio is physically turned off via its control **** while the car is still on, then this is the problem! The radio does not enter the "sleep" state properly and keeps alive / stays on even when the car is off (although the radio does not appear on). There is a known defect with the Alpine radios that keeps draining battery power! [/FONT][/SIZE]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]As a temp fix, the radio must be turned off with the car still on AND THEN either the IPOD device disconnected from the IPOD pigtail, or the 3.5 adapter disconnected from the radio's IPOD pigtail before the car is turned off & key taken out of the ignition. An updated Alpine CD53 player is supposed to be available from the manufacture by now. Affects R50, 52 & 53……Technical Service Bulletin reference # M6520005 issued January 14, 2005 addresses this. It is a known problem. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]I had noticed that every time the car was dead, for some strange reason when I got inside, only the radio kept its settings while everything else had lost its settings / memory. [/SIZE][/FONT]

 

If there has been an IPOD connector to 3.5mm cable adapter added, or an IPOD device is left on the end of the
IPOD cable before the radio is physically turned off via its control **** while the car is still on, then
this is the problem! The radio does not enter the "sleep" state properly and keeps alive / stays on even
when the car is off (although the radio does not appear on). There is a known defect with the Alpine radios
that keeps draining battery power!
As a temp fix, the radio must be turned off with the car still on AND THEN either the IPOD device
disconnected from the IPOD pigtail, or the 3.5 adapter disconnected from the radio's IPOD pigtail before the
car is turned off & key taken out of the ignition. An updated Alpine CD53 player is supposed to be available
from the manufacture by now. Affects R50, 52 & 53……Technical Service Bulletin reference # M6520005 issued
January 14, 2005 addresses this. It is a known problem.
I had noticed that every time the car was dead, for some strange reason when I got inside, only the radio
kept its settings while everything else had lost its settings / memory.

 

Did you replace the battery? Maybe alternator. I am just going on a limb here.

 

Replaced battery with sears battery since the IPOD connector/Alpine CD53 constant on issue drained & damaged theoriginal battery, then used the workaround for the IPOD connector / Alpine CD53 radio issue until replacing the radio head unit all together to eliminate this problem. *Officially* the dealer is supposed to resolve this problem by changing out the IPOD connector on the radio to version 2.0 so that the sync error will stop with the Alpine CD53 which is the cause of the battery drain. The alternator and battery are fine....its the faulty IPOD connector / Alpine CD53 radio combo that is to blame.

 

So instead of using warranty to replace the battery you wasted money to do it. Hmmm not what I would have done.

 

z4m: My wifes drives her clubman to work everyday which is just over a mile each way. Have not had any such problems since the original battery was replaced by dealer. This is a 2011 clubman and with less than 700 miles and 2 months old the battery was going dead. took it to dealer and they replaced battery and have not had problem since. I think your dealer is giving you the BS.

 

"So instead of using warranty to replace the battery you wasted money to do it"

What you 'would have' done on a holiday weekend with a stranded car, and no Mini dealership in your city maybe different, however this is what happens to the owner when the manufacturer goofs, and people that are supposed to catch this stuff don't...the owner pays. Nonetheless the costs of repair have been submitted for reimbursement. This is what I chose to do.

 

As noted in prior replies - Mini recommends a battery charger/tender if driven on short trips. This is easy excuse for dealer to fall back on.
I would bet $$$ on your Progressive device as likely the source of your probs. The folks at UltraGauge are addressing said issue due to their gauges (that plug into OBII port) draining battery overnight.
It could be a combination of the above and a factory defective battery - you can verify that free at any Autozone - Have them do a charging system test (for alternator) then load test battery. You'll keep your dealer honest by having independant do the tests.

 

Well I would have left it at the dealership until they figured it out and taken a loaner. I would never have left the Dealer with "we don't know what it is" because of that exact reason.

 

Just thought i'd raise this issue again. Our Clubman had its battery die back in January. It was the original battery, and likely needed replacing anyway after nearly five years. The alternator checked out okay.

The replacement battery died again this weekend. Took it to the dealer and they discovered that there's a fault in the radio... likely related to the TSB noted above. I've passed along the info here to my service advisor, and we'll see what comes of it. We have the earlier version iPod cable, and there's an iPod Nano pretty much in the car all the time, so my guess is this could very likely be the cause of the issue.

 

Hey guys, first post here. I own a 2002 Cooper, and I'm having the same issue gotsmart described in the post right above mine. I recently replaced a battery that was over 6 years old, as i believed it's time had come when it made me late for a job interview. Bought a new battery and installed it, and about a week later, it was dead as well. Not owning an ammeter, it brought it to the parts place that sold me the batter. They gave me a test and said it was pulling .42 amps while turned off. I'm pretty sure that's in inaccurate figure, because it seems WAY too high from some of the other posts i've been reading, but it is still a drain.

I've had it start fine one day after 24 hours of inactivity, then struggle the next day after the same amount of time has passed. I have to bring it to a shop soon, as I don't own any tools/hardware to diagnose the issue myself, but what could it be that would be causing this after such a long time? When i had the old battery in, it didn't have any problem starting until about a week before i finally replaced it, and even then it wasn't struggling too bad. Now with this new battery, it can't go a day without me having to coax it to life. The only difference is that I recently moved to the mountains, so there are a lot more hills than i'm used to, but i still drive at least an average of 15 miles a day.

 

I'd disconnect the neg batt terminal overnight.

Get a cheap elec meter and see which fuse/circuit is the offending one.

 

Hi. I have a 2012 Justa. About a year ago my battery went dead over the weekend. My daily commute is 36 miles roundtrip with mixed secondary and freeway. So I got my car started and drove to the dealer. They ran some tests and found that the system show the radio turning itself off and on constantly while parked for 3 days. They charged the battery and then redid the computer setup. No problems since. Good luck.

Oh there is a topic on this I posted at the time.