Bad Luck in Bassett Va

[Silver_Phoenix]

So I went up to Smith Mountain Lake for a "vacation" this past weekend with a friend of mine and the weekend went well...

On our way back to NC from Smith Moutain Lake, we decided to stop off in Bassett Va (just outside of Martinsville) for lunch at Mickey D's. We had originally planned on getting a quick bite to eat then venturing over to Fairystone National Park over off of 57 to finish out the day...

Well, we go into McD's, order, eat and finish... proceed to get back in the car, put the keys in the ignition and attempt (note I said: attempt) to start the car up. ...Nothing... The car wouldnt start.... All that was going on was that the displays were going haywire and I heard a clicking noise from under the dash.

...Great....

So my friend "employs" the assistance of this lady who had jumper cables in her Saab to help us get a "jump off" to see if that was what was wrong... So we hook the cables up to the cars, and wait a minute or so... the lady rushing me. I try to start the car but wasnt getting anywhere. If it was in fact the battery (which I think its the original battery from 02) it would have taken a little bit longer than a minute or 2 to build charge. After the lady rushed me into a second attempt, she decided that "it wasnt going to work," then proceeds to remove her jumper cables from my car, put her car back together... wishing me "good luck" and then driving off. Gee some help she was.

Make a long story short, I had to do a rolling restart with the assistance of about 4 people pushing me through the parking lot at McD's in Bassett to get my car to start and run.

I managed to make it home without a problem.

Starter is dead and so is my car, as it sits in the parking spot outside of my apartment. Ive been in touch with Dan Z about fixing my car, its just a matter of getting the warranty dedcutible into the place where I got my car (please dont hold it against me... I got it from carmax) so that I can take it to Dan to get it fixed. I refuse to let C-M work on my car after the horror stories I have heard from them.

Grr.... this was NOT suposed to happen!!! Thankfully I have a 5 speed to where I can do a rolling start so that I could leave from Bassett instead of having to have it towed to the nearest shop and then have alot more to worry about....

Just thought I would share that with you guys....

[mini_specter]

I had the same "haywire" instrument panel thing happen in one of my old Mustangs as well as my girlfriends eclipse. I first thought like some major electrical problems were going on. I tested the battery with a voltmeter and it displayed 12.7 volts. After talking with a friend he told me that even though the volts read correctly there still could be a damaged cell in the battery. I went out and bought a new battery and the problem was solved.

Did you check the battery connections to make sure there is no heavy residue build up on the terminals? Also if ya got a willing friend I would suggest switching battery's for a quick double check to make sure the battery is for sure not the problem. It might save you time in having your ride in the shop.

[minianni]

More than likely, if the car bump started AND did not take charge back to Winston then you got a bad battery or a bad relay. But I'm betting on a bad battery. You got back on the alternator which is good 'cause batteries are cheaper.

[MidnightDave]

Sorry to hear it girl, sounds like you'll be back in biz with a new battery in not time...

[Silver_Phoenix]

The battery fluid indicator read "green" on top of the battery.... could it be that I have a bad battery and not the starter? In trying to speed up my story, I failed to mention that another person hooked their jumper cables up to my car and we had them connected for about 10-12 min and still did the same thing... clicking.

...Im confused...

[N2MINI]

I'm with everybody else. It's probably just the battery. Sometimes if it is bad jumping it won't work. Like someone else if you could swap a battery with someone just to find out at least you'd know. I'm sure Dan probably has a spare battery around there somewhere, or even if you went to Auto Zone etc. and explained your situation they would probably install one for you and if that didn't work not make you pay for it. Of course that would mean taking your car to them..

[MINI Rog]

Had the same thing happen to my '03 and bought a battery from my local store. Afterward I found out that the MINI B to B warranty covered the battery so I drove to FLOW and they put a new one in for FREE, then I returned the new one I bought to my local store at no charge.

[Silver_Phoenix]

Well, I got up this morning, went out to get my things from the car and when I hit the door unlock button.... the car made very funny noises and wouldnt lock/unlock the car until I was right up on the car. This gave me a better indication that this possibly could be the battery causing the problem. The car wasnt doing this yesterday...

So...

I went into work this morning and talked the mechanic who works on the ambulances there at work and told him about what was going on with the car. I gave him the keys and he came over to my apartment to the Mini on his break to take a look at my car. I had asked him how much a new battery would cost him, (with the company discount). Later on, he came back to me and told me that the car was fixed. He said that he put the voltmeter on the battery (or where ever the volt meter goes) and it only read 4 volts. He also said that the battery indicator window was green which should have meant that the battery was "sufficiently charged." He replaced the battery in the car and the car started right up without any hesitation.

Bad thing about it is, is Im out by $70 on a new battery since my warranty doesnt cover "maintenance costs/parts" (batteries, plugs, wires etc)

So we'll see how it goes. Carmax has yet to call me back after I called them yesterday and this morning as well, so I will see how this battery works out and if the problem resolves itself, and if it doesnt.... then I will seek further assistance.

Just thought I would share that with you....

~becky~

[Vango]

glad to hear your back on the road. $70 sounds about right...