Hi guys,

My MINI is in to the dealership this wednesday Cooper Sevonoaks

For an oil service and brake fluid change under the tcl/tlc xl

And the recall for the heat shield replacement thing..

I think he might need a new battery soon. His 6 in march, done 28k and has become a little hesitant in this cold weather starting. And i think they usually need replcing about 6 years old too?

Does anyone know if they have a battery tester at the dealership? If not then do they have them in stock to replace there and then if needed?

I dont fancy getting one online/halfords as they dont normally fit as well.

Any idea how much they cost from dealers?

Thanks all        

Why 6 years? My sons Nissan battery was 12 when it died, I know it was original as been in the family from new....

They should be able to test it.

Friend has had the original battery in his 2001 MINI One

It was only just changed last year

They will have a battery tester

More likely to be your alternator than the battery to be fair

My battery on the R53 (Feb 05) was the original. The one in the seven (Apr 06) is also the original... Minis aren't that high draw though so don't seem to strain batteries badly.

Moon wrote:

My battery on the R53 (Feb 05) was the original.  The one in the seven (Apr 06) is also the original...  Minis aren't that high draw though so don't seem to strain batteries badly.

True but with stop/start they do, my last 2 both had this feature and I used to turn it off on start up....

Can anyone help please.
The battery on my 58plate JCW looks like it needs replacing. The car has had little use over the winter and needed charging. But then it went flat again overnight. I checked the charging rate with the engine running, it's 14volts so that looks ok.
I've charged the battery again to 12.6volts but in the morning it's flat again, less than 11volts. So the battery needs renewing.
My question is....
It says in the handbook that it needs to go to the dealer to be checked/changed. I've also read that you can't just fit a new battery and it will need to be connected to a their computer to tell it a new battery as been fitted to work properly.
What do think?
Thanks in anticipation.

Team Monte

have you left your lights on lol?

It's alway good to check the basics first Jordan but no I haven't left the lights on. It was the battery that had failed. A new battery has been fitted at the Dealers and assigned to the car.

Team Monte

Started mine today for the first time in 3 weeks and got the symbol of a car on a lift

Checked through and it said battery low or high discharge!

I have done about 15 miles and now seems ok and no more symbol

This intelligent charger CTEK MXS 5.0 gets high scoring reviews, I purchased one last year for my 2009 8th Gen Honda Accord estate, because since purchasing Elfie poor old Mrs H    (note Val names all our cars) does not get used much and last year the battery went down hill at just four years old.

So after checking this charger out and reading all the 5 star reviews, I thought that I would give it a go, and as other users claimed it totally restored my Honda battery to peak condition, in fact it done that good I have not had to use it this past winter at all   , and I highly recommended this it would certainly help those vehicles that don't get used often enough to keep the battery in good health, you can buy a extra accessory so you don't even have to lift the bonnet it plugs direct into their socket with  no more worrying about crocodile clips and flashing across battery top.

You can leave this charger if required connected permanently until you want to use the car It wont harm the battery or overcharge as it can monitor the battery requirements, I personally only left mine connected for 7days, and battery been good ever since.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CTEK-Battery-Automatic-Temperature-Compensation/dp/B00FC42HAA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398716636&sr=8-1&keywords=ctek

I've got an Oximiser I think, cost about £25 and it's never let me down! They're well worth having, but make sure you get one strong enough for the battery! We've got 3 going all the time and no issues!

Had similar when I had a touring caravan (waits for comments)