Electrical problems & first annual maintenance

grinder 21 years ago

I took the '04 mini into the shop for it's first annual maintenance.

I told the service rep we had been having some electrical problems.

The fan in the dash sometimes does not work. He said there is a bulletin out on that issue and will be fixed at no cost.

I also told him a couple of weeks ago I went into the garage to find the left side parking lights on. He said that was a design feature. Supposedly cars can park on the sidewalk in certain areas in Europe. However, if they are parked on the sidewalk the left side parking lots must be on. The service rep said this is done by pushing the directional down when shutting off the motor. Sounds bogus but what the hell.
A couple of times the fog lights or parking lights have come on by themselves. To turn them off the ignition must be turned "on" and then "off." This has happened more than once and I have heard similar problems with other mini owners.

I also don't care for only one speed defroster (high) but I guess that is also per design.

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Rich and Melissa 21 years ago

If you hold down the defroster button until the display changes, you can then change the fan speed.

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Biffa Bacon 21 years ago

Nope -totally true, stops your car being trashed if you park it on a street that has no street lights.

Indicator Left = Left Parking Light / Indicator Right = Right Parking Light.

-- Cheerz - Brownz

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grinder 21 years ago

Thanks. The service rep said older '04 and 05 models could had software to change the defroster speed but he did not know how to change it. I told him about your message, he tinkered a little and got it to work. He was as amazed as anybody. I can get it to work but I do have some difficulty. When I first turn on the defroster the light blinks. I hold the button down until the light stops blinking and then are able to change the speed.

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grinder 21 years ago

Turns out the car has pathway lighting. Flash the lights twice with the engine off. The lights will turn on and stay on for 30 seconds, 60 seconds or 90 seconds depending on the software to light the "pathway" before turning off. Turns out my wife must have been hitting this feature when leaving the car.

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