Hello everyone i bought a 02 mini a few weeks ago and today i went to buy new light bulb for headlight parked at auto zone and poped the hood took out old bulb went to set alarm and nothing happened,wont lock,unlock or anything.Key also will not work to lock also convience lock wont lock,cant lock drivers side lock at all.Got new batteryfor key reset my key according to owners manual still doesnt work. any suggestions?

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Did you have both keys with you when you performed the "key reset" procedure? Does the other key work?

Might be time to start checking fuses.

 

Thats weird.
(You made me breathless reading your description aloud to myself.)
Anyway, I guess I dont fully understand whats going on. Your key is no longer functioning right? Does it start your car, or did it leave you stranded at Auto Zone? How did you manage to replace the battery on your key? The keyless entry on my car (same year as yours) is recharged when it is in the ignition, and I have never had a problem with it.
Did you accidentaly knock off a wire or other connection when replacing the bulb? Did you short something out? Is the replacement bulb the exact one you need?
I hope I am not sounding like I am giving you the 3rd degree, just trying to help you to narrow down the possibilities.
Does the key function as normal (without the use of the buttons)...I mean can you manually lock the door and start the car? Maybe you shorted out something in your key, especially if you messed with the internals of it.
Give us some more details of the functionality of the key the way it is now...ie, without using the buttons on it. Maybe someone else has had an issue like this and will chime it???

 

The key works fine to start the car,went to radio shack to buy new battery,was about to start checking fuses,key will not lock or unlock door,cannot lock drivers door at all without being inside of car,i only had one key to start with.Got new key battery because I thought that was the problem, thanks for the help trying to narrow this down.

 

Wait, so you're saying you can't even lock the driver's door from the outside by putting the key in the lock and turning it? If that's the case, you've got a mechanical problem in addition to any problems with your remote transmitter.

 

I didn't know that the key for the '02 recharged when it was in the ignition, but I do know that the '02-04 keys had user-replaceable batteries, unlike the later years. I guess that means you have to use a rechargeable battery when you replace the battery in the earlier keys?

EDIT - I just looked at the 2003 owner's manual, and it doesn't say anything about the key recharging when it's in the ignition. Also, the replacement keyfob battery specified in the owner's manual (CR 2032) is not a rechargeable battery, so I guess the auto-charging keyfobs are only in the later years.

 

Thats correct I cant lock door with key, but the toggle switch works fine.Is ok to start pulling fuses,will i mess anything else up?

 

Hmmm - that's strange. Will the key not turn in the lock, or does it turn without doing anything? Can you unlock the door from outside the car? I know this is a little harder to check - You'll have to get in the passenger side, lock th driver's door with the toggle, and then get out and go around to the driver's side to try to unlock it.

 

It turns to the right but not to the left,Ill go out now and try to unlock drivers side via passenger side

 

I did locked doors from passenger side with toggle now im locked out!!! help

 

Ummm, you weren't supposed to close the passenger door until you found out whether or not you could unlock the driver's door from the outside.

Regardless, there's something mechanically wrong with either your lock mechanism, or the power lock actuator is jamming up. Turning the key to the right should lock the door, and turning it to the left should unlock it. If it turns to the right without locking the door, something's wrong besides your transmitter.

Guess it's time to grab one of your spare keys.

 

Good news everyone I went out again to try to get in,tried the remote nothing, tried key nothing,tried hatch hoping i left it ajar no luck.Then i went back and put the key in the door and turned it to the right and held it there for about ten seconds and took it out pushed the remote again and to my relief it beeped at me, and now works fine.Ever heard of such a strange turn of events?
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wasnt thinking, panicing.

 

Well i thought it was fixed when i closed the hood it went back to the same thing.Now iI dont want to close the hood because im locked out. Well my friend closed the hood thinking it was good to go now im really screwed,I think it has something to do with the hood latch maybe. I went back out and tried romote again it works im confused. thanks for the help.

 

This is a very strange happening!
You mean I was lied to??? My car is a late 2002, and I have never had a problem with the remote, nor have I replaced any batteries. NOw you got me worried! Soooooooo, if my remote takes batteries, how am I going to know if I need them? I dont want to go through what poor rolamy is dealing with now!

 

Well, if your remote stops working, I'd suspect the battery first, since it sounds like you're still on the original one. You could even buy a lithium CR2032 now and toss it in your glove box - the lithium ones have a super-long shelf life.

Normally, changing the battery shouldn't be a problem. Open up the remote, swap out battery, and follow the reset procedure in the owner's manual. I think the problems rolamy's having are something else entirely.

Or, you may *never* need to replace the batteries. I've had the same CR2032 battery in my garage door opener since I bought the house ten years ago, and who knows how long the battery was in there *before* I bought the house. I also have a 20-year old primitive electronic phonebook/dialer that's still on the original CR2032. I don't use it much any more, but the fact that it still turns on is impressive.

 

That is pretty impressive. How come they cant make flashlight batteries like that???
Hope rolamy has figured out the problem with the car!

 

Well, you can now get lithium batteries in AA, AAA, and 9V, but not in 'C', 'D', or lantern-sized, so unless you have a small flashlight, the alkaline batteries still have the best shelf life.

But if you want to get a small emergency flashlight and put some lithium batteries in it, the shelf life is 10 years. (And they're not dead after 10 years on the shelf - that's just how long it takes an unused lithium battery to drop to 80% of its initial capacity).

 

Update: well called a locksmith to get me into the car,he tried and tried and tried to get in but couldnt,tried slim jim no luck tried to pull inside handle back twice to unlock it didnt work either witch surprised me,so i suggested he try to pop the hood we pried the widow away from door post enough to get the tool in and it worked,set off the alarm though,alarm kept going off even after battery was disconnected amazing.Anyway it was his first mini and it took him 2 hours he was impressed and he didnt really get into the cabin we happened to push the romote again and it worked just once and and got doors unlocked.Now not working again. Took mini to the shop to have door lock repaired only 120 dollars gave the locksmith 40 for his effort. Thanks for all the help you guys have given me.

 

I sure hope yo can get tot he bottom of this problem. I can only imagine the frustration you must feel, having the car there, with no way to get into it.

This'll make you feel better: Last car I bought(used), first day I drove it-locked myself out. Had to find a phone (mine was in the car, along with all my stuff), call a locksmith and waited for 3 hours--after searching the car for a possible spare. Missed all my classes, sitting on the curb like a moron--in the rain. He finally shows up, and gets me in the car.
Next day I went an washed it at one of those drive in bays, sprayed the wheel well, right next to where I had been sitting for 3 hours previous day, and bam, water hits something, and out falls a spare key in one of those boxes. Was just in the wheel well-not concealed int he least. Boy I felt like a moron, as I had looked the car over, but never in an obvious spot like that. Like momma used to say, stupid is, as.....well you get the picture.

Hey thanks ScottRiqui, for the flashlight info. I have one of those giant anodized metal flashlights in my car, you know the kind that takes 4 D size batteries, and can be used as a weapon. I need to remove and replace. It seems to always be dead when ever I need a flashlight. I will take your advice and seek out a smaller replacement with the long lasting batteries, maybe then I'll actually have one that works for a change!

 

You're welcome. Check out www.surefire.com for both flashlights and lithium batteries for them. I have one of their "G2 Nitrolon" flashlights, and I use it everywhere - on the ship, in the plane - there's even an attachment to use it as a tactical light on my Glock (although I haven't used it for that).

It's only five inches long, weighs four ounces, and puts out more light than a 3-D cell Maglite. With the upgraded bulb, it puts out as much light as a 4-D cell Maglite. And the G2 is pretty much Surefire's "entry level" flashlight. Their G3 flashlight is only 6.5" long, and puts out more light than a 6-D cell Maglite.

 

Thanks I will do that...even though my giant MagLite is almost the same size/color as my car!

 

Here's a lock problem my wife is having with her 2003 Mini:she can unlock the car using the button on her key but she can't lock it that way. She can push the lock button down on the passenger side door and use the key to mechanically lock the driver-side door but cannot lock the trunk (rear door).

Has anyone ever run across this and is there some sort of way to lock the trunk?

Thanks

 

Correct, only 05+ recharge through the vehicles electrical system.