Hi Guys, I'm a noob to these forums, please direct me to appropriate sections if this is posted wrong. I have done a search and I can't find anyone, or any threads with the same problem as me.

I went to start my 07 MCS with (101,000 Kms) and upon ignition all the warning lights on the dash came on, my tachometer and speedometer are also disabled even when engine is revved or in motion. the display cycles through the mini on lift symbol, abs symbols ( photo attached).
I have also lost the keyless entry, trunk won't open. I dunno if it's relevant but I went on a quick road trip over the weekend and it was pretty rainy and wet. The car drove fine before and I've always kept up maintenance. Most recent service was an oil change
I have disconnected and reconnected battery, still nothing. The BMW service center nearest to me is 110kms away. If anyone on here has any idea what it could be, I'd appreciate some help trouble shooting before I have to drive to the stealership.

 

Rainy and wet has to be more than a coincidence. Water must have gotten into whatever computer controls all those functions. I'm not sure what it is or where to look but hopefully someone else on here does. Good luck I really hope someone can help point you in the right direction.

 

Car was running fine in the last run and then, suddenly, in the next start up all light were crazy?? Any modification, changes, in the service or by yourself?

Any info could be very important to get any solution idea ...

 

Mine was alternator. The computer starts turning off system in priority to save battery.

 

Check your battery. It may be wet on that model. Clean terminals. Sounds like your carvis shutting down because you have no power.

QUOTE=adegox;4061116]Hi Guys, I'm a noob to these forums, please direct me to appropriate sections if this is posted wrong. I have done a search and I can't find anyone, or any threads with the same problem as me.

I went to start my 07 MCS with (101,000 Kms) and upon ignition all the warning lights on the dash came on, my tachometer and speedometer are also disabled even when engine is revved or in motion. the display cycles through the mini on lift symbol, abs symbols ( photo attached).
I have also lost the keyless entry, trunk won't open. I dunno if it's relevant but I went on a quick road trip over the weekend and it was pretty rainy and wet. The car drove fine before and I've always kept up maintenance. Most recent service was an oil change
I have disconnected and reconnected battery, still nothing. The BMW service center nearest to me is 110kms away. If anyone on here has any idea what it could be, I'd appreciate some help trouble shooting before I have to drive to the stealership.[/QUOTE]

 

Yes, car ran fine all weekend and on Monday as well. I actually drove it home from work around 2am on Tuesday. Went to start it at 1pm later that day and that's when all the issues came up. The Independent shop that services only German imports performed the last service/oil change, they claim it could be a fault with the AUX input that was a dealer upgrade and not a factory part but i think its BS. I'm the second owner and neither I nor previous owner have modified anything on the vehicle at all. I dont know if it matters but the last oil change was with 5w40 with ceratec additive in it which they said would help reduce engine wear. The engine runs good and i can actually drive it but nothing on the dash works except for radio and turn signals. Its currently parked though, cant risk making stuff worse.

 

Thanks, I will do this when I get home later and get back to you.

 

Footwell module, to the left of the clutch pedal, I' have heard of those getting wet with puddles of water when raining. This will also drain your battery.

Link

Link

 

Update: Went to check all your suggestions this morning before heading out of town. Car won't start, the battery seems to be dead, no electronics work. Whatever was wrong has drained all the power. I'm gonna leave It till I get back on Saturday.

 

So...got back from my trip. Had a buddy come over and we tried to jump start the mini. Took a few attempts but she started up. Everything worked as it had always except now I had a CEL light. Had it scanned and got a code which I found on motoring alliance to be either

P1551 - Engine off timer time out
P1551 - Engine Shutdown Time: Timed out or invalidity value

Anybody ever have experience with this? i don't think it's the battery (its 3months old). Alternator maybe? Improper ground? For the mean time the Code is cleared and the car runs like a beauty...for now.

 

First of all I'm happy you have your Mini running fine again!

I have some comments for you:

1) I believe the oil change is not related (if for changing the oil is not necessary cut some wire hehe ). I'm using Castrol Edge 5w30 and sometimes Motul X-cess 5w40. Both are BMW rules oils. Sure, you have many other options in your country but please, check that your oil is the appropriate. It is the blood of your Mini son.

2) I believe (like other users here) that there is an electrical issue, but, where is the issue? Nice question.

a) Should be the battery. But your said it is almost new. It is original or aftermarket battery? Check V and Amp for the battery if it is not the original (I had problems with that)

b) Should be the "aux installation" doing some noise on your electrical installation, but should be a BIG noise from de aux.

c) Should be the alternator (as other user said), but I don't have experience with it.

d) Should be the FRM module playing bad games with you. If your Mini has a sunroof, the probability increase (wet issue). If not it is just playing with you and you could need replace it some time in the future.

If you have access to someone that can run a Rheingold test on your vehicle, it will be great to detect the error.
I have not experience with the errors that you are sharing

Good luck, let us know how we can help you with your baby.

 

thanks man, to answer some of your questions,
2(a) Yes its an aftermarket battery. So will definitely have that tested to be sure its got the right V and amp.
(b). No noise from the AUX at all so i definitely dont think its that.
(c) Second day driving since jump start, no issues. So i think the alternator is doing pretty okay recharging it
(d) Yes i do have a sun roof as a matter of fact. Maybe there's a leak through there, I'll look into that

 

Okay, so yesterday night I pulled up at the grocery store and upon exiting the vehicle I heard a chime and the yellow gear with "!" came up. This whole time cars been driving fine. while shopping I searched forums and found that some sensor must be bad and this means the car is in limp mode (Car is Automatic btw). I came back out, started the car and prayed to the mini Gods. Voila the limp mode light is gone. Now I have been driving since and the car has been good, but this has me worried. Another electrical gremlin?

 

In the US we have auto parts stores that will test your battery and alternator for free. That would be my first step since your remedy was to jumpstart the car (why was the battery dead?). You could have a parasitic drain on the battery, but I would say it's far more likely to be a battery or alternator issue.

 

Electronic gremlins are the first sign that the battery or charging system is faulty.

 

adegox,

can you give me the brand and model for the aftermarket battery installed? I assume it's 12V but I need to check Ah, A, RC and CCA to know if it is complying with your Mini requirements (instead of the brand/model you can give me the data that is written on the battery).

Excuse me for the inconvenience!

 

My 2010 MCS with 70k miles started doing this a couple of days ago. Unfortunately the OP didn't follow up with how he resolved it.

So far the car starts and runs fine. System voltage is completely normal when running. Battery voltage after sitting all night but without starting the car is low, 11.9 V. Not sure if that's a cause or an effect. I'll post when I learn more.

 

It's difficult to determine a batteries health status without load testing it first, you could have a resting battery voltage of 12+ volts and go to crank it and have it fall below optimum voltage. System voltage has to do with the alternator, batteries are for one purpose, starting the engine that's it.

 

True, although if the battery voltage is low with no load then it's not going to look any better under load.

I tried to charge the battery with an external charger and then brought the car to a local indy shop. They load tested the battery and evaluated the charging system. Their conclusion was the charging system is working OK and the battery capacity is poor. I bought and installed a new battery (my car does not have the Intelligent Battery Sensor so no need to register the new battery). No symptoms of the original problem yet but I am not at all confident that the problem has been solved.

 

Whenever your battery loses capacity your cranking amps drop and when that happens sooner or later you'll have trouble starting your car. A car battery should never drop below 12V, unless cranking over the engine.

 

True, again. The question here is telling whether the loss of capacity was the problem itself or just a side effect of another problem, like something wrong with the charging system. The battery I replaced was not very old and was never mistreated.

 

It seems I spoke too soon. System voltage is sometimes normal when running and sometimes a little higher than normal. Possible voltage regulator problem?

 

What fluctuations are we talking about?

 

Today at highway speed, ~ 3000 rpm, it read a steady 14.1-14.2 V which seems pretty reasonable. Yesterday it sat at 14.7-14.8 during most of my 30 minute commute. That seems too high, maybe enough to cook a battery over time?

I also discovered the voltage indication on the Scangauge is 0.3 volts lower than my multimeter. I trust the accuracy of the latter. This may have masked the problem.

 

These Mini's aren't like your everyday car where the voltage regulator has a fixed 14.2V charge rate, our Mini's regulate the voltage based on many factors, temperature being one variable. I wonder if your Scangauge is seeing the voltage for the control unit, I know my apps see only the voltage for the control unit. These Mini's are so overengineered it's difficult to make heads of tails on what's what.