Hi

Last week I was having problem with starting the car due to bad earth something wrong with the -ve cable.

Replaced the negative battery cable thanks to 64cooper (David) and I havent drove the car since it started fine. The car has been in the garage with the negative cable disconnected.

This morning starter the car and cranks strongly but no start crank again didnt start...crank and started drove for 1 km and the battery light came on then few secs after that my gauges stopped working as well as my brake and indicators. Car started spluttering losing power then stalls.

Drove to the side of the busy road and tried starting and it was running like very very rich spluttering then stalls (all gauges still not working & indicators & alt & oil light off)

1.5 hrs later started her again and runs fine everything working again, drove 200 metres and gauges stopped battery light on then started idling really low then stalls. No alt & oil lights again.

Got it towed and started and run fine again from driveway to the garage.

Can it be my alternator or the battery? Last week when I was having the starting problem the alternator was charging the battery fine, didnt get the chance to check that now as I'm trying to re-charge the battery again then test it.

The alternator. What is sounds like is that your alternator is not charging your battery. check the connections from the alternator to your solenoid.

This exact thing happened to me once and it was because the spade lug going into the alternator was accidently knocked off and there was no feed from the alternator.

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

If it's still starting by itself then the battery has poer which means that the alternator is probably working.

Sounds more like it's losing power or earth.

How is the new -ive cable you just put on - bolted tightly to nice clean metal?

How are all the power cables that link together on the solenoid terminal? The bolt on this terminal isn't lose, or the eyelets all gunged up (tech term). Try taking all these wires off, cleaning their eyelets to bright metal and re-connect them.

I will give you this advice for free ! Instead of Guessing and possibly introducing other faults when changing things to try and rectify the problem. I recommend taking the car to a reputable Auto Sparky that knows Minis and does not mind working on them. Best remedy. How can any one say what is wrong with a car when you have never seen it. I am just giving you advice not trying to sell you my service. I see this happening all the time. Most times it is the most simple thing that everyone overlooks.

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DID I MENTION THAT I AM THE BEST SUPPLIER FOR MINI ELECTRICAL PARTS AND REPAIRS?
"Let us remove your "SHORTS"

the -ve cable is in quite good condition as well as the terminal. I sanded the contact surface to a nice clean metal.

The power cable seems clean and no signs of wear, while the cable from the old solenoid to the gemini starter motor is new with new ring connectors.

Alternator's got all the wires connected, just waiting for the battery to get fully charged up again and see if its charging. Might try my other battery from my daily car.

How long can a fully charged battery last without the alternator working? as it only lasted like 5 minutes this morning for the battery to being weak.


Convertible Mini ----> I'm just trying to learn as I go with my mini, deal with the problem with advice from the experienced ones and try to learn from my mistakes and from everyones input.

No one can say what's wrong specifically with the car its just a matter of trial and error and eliminating one by one the possible causes of the problem occuring at the time.

When I'm desperate and have run out of hair to pull then its time for the professional to do their "thing".

from not knowing about minis, but from a mechanics point of view, ur alternator have a problem with the contacts on the inside possibly, or something has gotten into ur alternator and keeps shorting it out or another possible problem is to check the +B terminal on the alt and the eart and negative wires and make sure they are connected and aint dirtyand one last thing check ur belt isnt worn and is tight cause when ur car heats up ur belt will stretch a few mms and will cause to slip and if there is paint or oil on the pulley u wont here it.

if u still have the same problem i would honestly get another alternator and see it has any effect.

juz an option...

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oil leak?..what oil leak..that puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower

Take ur multimeter put it on current range, u may also need to put one probe into the appropriate socket on ur meter. Remove ur B+ cable from the battery, and connect one probe to the + battery and the other probe to the B+ cable.

Have everything turned off in the car, ign off stereo off and wat ever else.

See how much current its drawing, i would expect it to be basically nothing or maybe a few milliamps.

Ive heard of issues where the rectifier diodes in the alternator can go short to ground and this will draw excessive current out of the battery and cause it to flaten.

Or maybe ur battery is U/S?

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

its got nothing to do with the battery cause the car doesnt use the battery while the engine is on, it gets it power from the alternator, the battery is juz for start up and asessorys

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oil leak?..what oil leak..that puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower

If the rectifier diodes in the alternator have gone short to ground, then for 1 the alternator wont charge, and 2, it will draw current from the battery to ground, causing the battery to go flat.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

then its more like an alternator to me if as I can get it to start but wont stay running as its like losing electrical power

Just disconnect the B+ cable from the alternator and see how it goes. Insulate the B+ wire so it dosnt short out....!!! Provided the battery is ok, it will start the car and will run it fine. Unless the battery is U/S...! Dont turn lights or stereos on tho, as this will flaten the battery as its not getting charged from the alternator.


Tho when u say it wont stay running, r u sure this isnt due to fouled plugs, incorrect timing, incorrect points gap, mixture......?

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

razor if worse comes to worse checks those things i told u, its definately an alternator problem, take the battery out and charge it over night if everything seems fine with the alternator on the out side then its got to be the inside like hanra said, ur battery is only there for start ups and if ur battery is running the car thats why ur loosing power slowly.., another check all the wiring and the belt they can effect the alternator dramaticly and if everything seems fine take the alternator out and send it to an auto electrical techican to check it out he will pull it apart to see if anything has come loose or shorting out.

otherwise send the whole car to the auto electrics place, theyll go through the wiring, cause who knows may even be a short in the wiring or juz worn out wire

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oil leak?..what oil leak..that puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower

razor does it start and drive for a while then stop or does it start and wont run cause it may be a fuel or mechanical problem?

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oil leak?..what oil leak..that puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower

more like electrical cos my gauges stop working 1st then alt & oil light comes on then engine idles lower than normal then stalls

belt is in OK condition and tight as the specs

hmmm have u oiled the su and i would recomend to take the car or the alternator to a electrical specialist causes its a bit off for it to go well without the gauges and then die, are all the earth leads fine for the alternator and check to see if u can see shorting marks near the fuse box and check fuses

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oil leak?..what oil leak..that puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower