GPMINI did not want to run this morning, after being parked for ten days.
The battery was able to unlock the doors but as soon as I tried to turn the engine over, I got various relay clicks, and no engine movement at all!
I borrowed jump leads from Pat & Dave next door – and eventually had to “borrow” Daves Jeep too, since Margarets BMW apparently has no battery (at least, they hid it well and she didn’t know where her car manuals were).
1-1/2 years and 23,000 miles doesn’t sound like a hard life for a battery, even if the GP one is smaller than other MINIs … time for a visit to MINI Peabody I think.
M&I / GBMINI 
Ian, it seems to me batteries are adversely affected by extreme cold and heat conditions. Here in Florida, a car battery doesn’t last more than 3 years because the heat simply kills them.
I still have the original factory battery on my 3 year old ’05 R53 S, but I suspect it won’t last for another 6 months. Since it rides on the back of the car, the battery is not subjected to the heat of the engine compartment. On the next oil service (43K miles) I’ll have the dealer check it and perhaps replace it under warranty is the voltage is not within spec.
Our first MINI, the ’02 R50 I sold a couple of months ago, went through 2 batteries during the 5 and a half years we owned it. The first time it was covered under warranty and the second time (About a year ago) I had to shell out $200 to get a new one from the dealer, installed. I had no choice, because Sears for some odd reason had a good inventory of R53 S batteries (More compact size) but not for the R50 Cooper.
Original battery here in SoCal on my ’04 MCS with 77,000 miles on it. But, if I run my iPod while washing and waxing the car it goes dead but comes back in 20 minutes with my trickle charger. Lately have some days where I get a somewhat slower turn over but not always.
We don’t have the weather extremes here in SoCal, just lots of heat. Still I managed 145K miles in just under 4 years (by 1 month) on my first battery. (dbmini post for reference).
Yea, I would say it’s time to get the GP in.
On a related note, we had a club member that went through his first battery even faster than 1 1/2 years. Turns out he was leaving his keys in the car (parked in a locked garage) every night. After about 3 month he woke up to a dead battery and after about a year he had to replace it until he figured it out.
Hi Ian,
It sounds like GPMINI was upset that you had not let her out for a run in 10 days!!!!
Good luck with the battery!
Hello Ian,
The battery is most likely OK, it just needs to be kept topped up. Standard car batteries like to be charged every few days by driving. My van has a battery that is only a year old, but after two weeks in the cold, it turns over slowly. After an hour’s drive it is OK for another two weeks. I bought one of those VW solar panels on eBay for $10 and keep it plugged into the lighter socket that is live all the time, and it charges the battery when the sun comes out. This has solved the problem and keeps the battery happy. I toss it on the dash and remove it while driving.
Cheers mate!
dave newman
Many newer cars, especially German origin, don’t show the battery. However, they should show a Red termial/post in the bonnet and the earth is any body part! Works as long as the jump leads are “man enough”. KEEP MOTORING.
I guess the R53 S battery is of better quality. 3 years and still with the factory battery in the boot.