Last week I went out in the morning to start my car. Turn the key, and nothing. Everything seemed to work just fine, gas guage, radio, etc, just did not even try to turn over, no clicking sounds like when the battery is dead, nothing. After a couple tries it finally started.

This morning I get up and it does it again. Turn the key, gas guage popes up, radio comes on, but nothing happens. This time I pushed on the gas while the clutch was in and turned the key and it started right up?????

The only similarity between the first time and the second time is that I drove the car saturday night on both occasions, parked it and didnt try and start it again until monday morning. So it sat for over 24 hours without being started.

 

Most likely battery.
When the battery on the MINIs go's it is quick and final. You may want to start shopping for a battery before you get stranded.

 

My experience with the MINI battery was just that...quick and final. I drove to a theatre and parked long enough to run in and pick up tickets. Dead as can be. No clicking, no nothing.

 

All above true enough. MINI's are famous (notorious) for overnight battery
failures. If yours is OEM, then it's about average for MINI battery life. Go shopping for a new one. Lot's of choices out there.

 

So you think the battery is to blame...the only thing that I dont get is how is can not work for 4 or 5 tries and then start up like no problem at all. No signs of a weak battery. I can see thinking the battery if when I go to start it all the lights dim and it barely wants to start. For me it doesnt do anything then all of a sudden it starts like it was brand new? Anyway to check the battery to see if its done?

 

When mine failed, it went through some strange gyrations: gauges and lights acting wonky, start great one time, totally fail the next. It was like it was posessed. If you check a couple of the battery threads running thru NAM, you'll see a bunch of different symptoms, not all the same, but with the same root cause.

 

thank you all!