Well, I knew it would eventually happen. I problem in my new MINI. Last night my gf and I got home and she drives my '89 Park Avenue to work. We had it parked all week, because all of the families wanted to see the MINI. So, with the cold weather and snow, it was just a bit too much for her. We wanted to do a little switch and have the PA parked behind the MINI so she could leave for work in the morning, as I had the next day off. So I'm waiting to back out the MINI and she can't start the Buick. A little worried that she flooded the car, I get out and try to start it myself. It would just not do it! The gas line was frozen. I look and see that there is only 1/4 tank of gas left. As I explain to her the importance of keeping at least a 1/2 tank in these freezing temps, I end up killing the battery. So, I have to get this thing started tonight, or it's me waking up at 5:30AM on my day off. Not going to happen.

So we have to do what I did not want, and jump start the Buick with the MINI. YIKES! Now at this moment I remember reading in the manual that there is something special about how you jump start with the MINI. So in my hastened state of mind, I flip through the manual and cannot find anything about jumpstarting. (it's not near the battery section) So I give up and do it how I always have done it. Red to Red, Ground to Ground. I placed the Black cable on the metal support bar on the MINI and on the black terminal of the Buick. After a minute or two I go over to start the Buick and it starts to roll, when all of a sudden my gf screams, "It's SMOKING!! It's SMOKING!!" Quickly, I jump out of the Buick to see the batteries on both cars smoking like the Marlboro Man. The Buick had much more smoke than the MINI, but all I can think of it, oh no! All of those electrical components! So without thinking, I quickly pull off the cables, and stare, hoping that nothing is wrong. The Buick is still laying lifeless, but the MINI is running normal. However, the jump cables are HOT! I mean, too hot to hold. So I throw those into the snow, and check over the MINI, everything seems to be okay. I try to put back on the battery cap and one of the clips is broke off, (cheap, this will be fixed), but it still fits on the battery with a little nudging.

Later that night, I cooled down a bit, and went out to buy some gas line antifreeze/dryer, and some starting fluid. I put the cables back on, this time with the MINI off, and both cables attached directly to the terminals. After trying to start the Buick for about 5 minutes it rolled over and fired up. I turned on all of the equipment on the MINI as advised to avoid a surge, and took off the cables.

So, I'm wondering if I did any damage to the MINI. I've driven it around since last night and everything seems to be okay. I don't notice anything different. But I can't help but to wonder with that smoke. I guess time will tell, and thank God that we caught it soon. Sorry for the long post, but I don't want this to happen to anyone else. Be careful when jumpstarting your MINI or another car with your MINI. Only go terminal to terminal. I don't think the cables were grounded well with the black being attached to the support bar. I thought it was, but maybe not. There was no smoke the second time.

Any thoughts?

 

Sounds like the cables were crossed.
I have seen batteries blow up from people crossing them.

That would explain both smoking!

 

Okay....just FYI:

I just got off the phone with the Dealership's Service Manager, and he gave me this advice. He said that as long as no service lights are on, then I got lucky. He said that the MINI is NOT to be used to jump start other cars, the alternator is not powerful enough to do that. If you have to jump start another car with a MINI, to only use it to charge the other car's battery. Unhook the cables and then crank it up. Well...it would be nice to know this, before I did it last night. How come MINI didn't put this in the manual? grrrrr.....

Never again.

 

Sorry to hear about the smoke. :???:

Sometimes extended cranking of an engine will heat up the jumper cables Rember you can be pulling over 200 amps on start up. The cables were never made to handle that much current for exteneded periods. This will also heat up the battery.

By the way, the information on jump starting is on page 114 of the owners manual.

_________________
Only mountain climbing, bull-fighting and automobile
racing are true sports; the rest are children's games.
Ernest Hemingway

ly/b mcs all packages leather anthricite
dob 11/23/2003

 

I "jumped" my friend's aging Saturn within a few weeks of owning my MC - no problems what-so-ever doing the "old-fashioned," regular method. Never knew there was anything to be careful about - and didn't have any problems leaving the car running. He had a "good" set of jumber cables, so maybe the amount of juice able to travel the jumpers makes a difference? I'm not experienced in the electrical realm, so this is just a shot in the dark.


I also broke a clip on my battery cover. $20 from the dealer for new cover. Glue is cheap. Sure wish there was a light under the bonnet - I would have been able to see what I was doing.

 

I don't buy it. The MINI can be used to jump other cars. Tell your service manager to check the Owner's manual.

 

>>I don't buy it. The MINI can be used to jump other cars. Tell your service manager to check the Owner's manual.

He didn't say that you can't jump start another car, he just said that you shouldn't leave them connected when cranking the dead car. Supposedly, the alternator is not strong enough to handle that kind of pull on it's resources. If this is true, you could burn up your alternator this way. (which hopefully would be under warrenty, but it would have to be towed in)

 

>>So, I'm wondering if I did any damage to the MINI.>>
>>Any thoughts?

I once "smooked" the battery in my Wrangler (devorced it for a MCS). The battery died completely about 2 months later and would not hold any charge. You may wanna have your battery tested.

 

Update on this little adventure...

About two weeks ago, the Buick would not start. It would turn over and over, but never got going. Ended up replacing the battery and plugs and it's been running great ever since.

 

From one Ryan to another: I think it's time to retire the old Buick

Cheers

 

Ryan...I love ya guy, but I gotta keep this thing running. It is my go-to vehicle when I have slushy/salty roads, very long trips, or I simply don't want to feel every bump on the road. It really is a great car, with an even better motor (GM 3800). I'll drive this thing to the day it dies, albeit a little less now since I have the MINI.