My wife is a proud owner of a 2006 Mini Cooper manual shift 1.6L 4 cyclnder. She is having a problem. when she uses he A/C after traveling at speed, her RPMS will drop when she is stopped at a red light and the car will feel as if it is going to stall slightly. Then she notices her fuel guage and her temp guage will drop, her trip ometer and clock will reset.

Has this happened to any of you out there if so what was it? I have the Mini Manual by Bentley and it does not mention this problem in troublshooting. Could use you help as the dealer charge an arm and a leg.

 

Seems to be pointing to a loose cable? Check battery cables/Connections


https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-and-then.html

 

Thanks I did check the cables before posting I figured it sounds like a drop in voltage too. The cables are fine and this just seemed to start. We have owned the car going on 3 years. It only seems to do this when the a/c is on. It does not happen any other time.

I looked at the main ground wire and it does not seem to be corroded and it is secured in place. Any other ideas? There has to be a draw somewhere? Thanks again for replying.

 

about the almost stalling.. it happens to me and almost any car with the AC turned on and stopped sometimes it'll bounce the RPMs and feel like its gonna stall. As long as it doesn't stall I think your in the clear.

I would check every combination of the AC system can have..
e.g.
Try with everything related to AC on.
turn things on/off one by one. and try to narrow it down

does the reset of the trip meter only happen when moving?

 

You may be nearing the end of your battery life.

When they start to fail, they exhibit all sorts of strange electrical issues.

 

I'd say that the almost stall with the ac on, and the 3 years on the same battery points to the battery. Have it tested. If you arent able to do it yourself, having a trusted garage helps.

 

anybody else have this or the solution?
i had almost exact same situation. ac on, driving smoothly, sudden sputter, and lots of dash lights on. 2 more deep sputters before i could pull over. then lost clock and trip odometer.

about a month ago i had a dead battery which i trickle charged back -- i had almost forgotten about this. seems related.

 

+1

How old is your battery?

 

my battery is original... so 5-6 years old.
only 50K on the car, so im not killing it mileage-wise.

 

You're not killing it with mileage, they don't care how far they go. It's how long they've entertained the wiring harness that counts. Time is the culprit. Everything you've mentioned points to a dying battery. If your MINI is a 1st Gen, take it to any auto parts store and they'll slap in a new one for you. You MAY have to reset the clock or maybe your radio presets but that's it.

 

If you are losing the clock and the main power cables are secure, then the battery is shagged. Get a new one.

 

thanks guys, will go shopping for one tomorrow.
love an easy solution!