dials rattle on start up

[pamelab21]

Hi all

Hoping someone can shed some light on this. When starting the car up in the morning from cold (about 90% of the time) the dials all drop down and vibrate/rattle for a couple of seconds then lift back up to where they should be.
Has this happened to anyone else?
Sorry, should have said its a Cooper S 2004.

Thanks!

[Sweeney]

I think thats the ecu resetting, check your milage counter on the main dial see if it keeps changing to 0.

Might be worth checking battery leads are tight and secure

[Big Gordy]

Our 'ONE' does it all the time on start-up:rolleyes: Never really bothered about it as its the only time it ever happens;) :D

[MartinSullivan]

It can be a sign that your battery is not in the best state of charge, worth getting a battery test done and as Sweeney says check that the battery leads are tight

[pamelab21]

thanks all, will get the hubby to check the battery this weekend for me.
:)

[duncan]

My 2005 Cooper does it most times. Its likely caused by the fact I do short journeys, and am not giving the battery time to fully charge.

I find a good run gives it the charge it needs for a while, and stops it "shivering" :)

[Big Gordy]

It can be a sign that your battery is not in the best state of charge, worth getting a battery test done and as Sweeney says check that the battery leads are tight
Well you learn something new every day....:rolleyes: :p :D

[The Dogfather]

Our 53 Cooper did that, quite a few cars do.

[MartinSullivan]

Well you learn something new every day....:rolleyes: :p :D


You must have learnt a lot :D

[Big Gordy]

You must have learnt a lot :D

I've learned today that its not wise to lower your mini too much or you run the risk of knackering your minifold on speed bumps:eek: :rolleyes: ;) :p :D

[pamelab21]

thanks guys.
It may be that I do short journeys only as I really only use him for work and back, approx 4 miles each way, other half likes to drive all the time and is not a good passenger (what man is :p )

[ianking]

Yes a poor battery causes that. Normally this shows up in the winter when the battery is under more load. If the car is under warranty the dealer may put a new battery in it. I got a new battery under warranty on one of my previous minis.

[KenL]

I remember this, it was of the MANY "faults" on my 02 MINI ONE.

This was discussed on MINI2 at the time, I'm sure this was due to batteries not having as much oomph on cold mornings. I would not worry about it.

[moo coo]

Our Cooper S (03) does this rattle thing frequesntly. We queried it with the dealer once, and they reported that it was part of a self test - yeah right...

[KenL]

Our Cooper S (03) does this rattle thing frequesntly. We queried it with the dealer once, and they reported that it was part of a self test - yeah right...

Some dealers will tell you anything :(

[ajamesj]

:) My old R53 "s" did this but never let me down once and i never bothered changing or charging my battery. The car used to travel 40miles a day to work and back again so wasnt down to short journeys must be another Mini charateristic :)

[Gorbash12346]

it is indeed part of a self test sorry but...

it's the needles checking the zero point when the battery is very weak, if your doing 4 miles a day can i suggest a nice 25 mile run or so to recharge the battery as 4 miles is not enough for the alternator to fully charge the battery, either that or invest in a trickle charger @ some point

;)

[KenL]

it is indeed part of a self test sorry but...

it's the needles checking the zero point when the battery is very weak, if your doing 4 miles a day can i suggest a nice 25 mile run or so to recharge the battery as 4 miles is not enough for the alternator to fully charge the battery, either that or invest in a trickle charger @ some point

;)

What is the difference when a battery is weak?

Don't believe this story, sorry :o

[ELFMAN]

Interesting - my speedo needle sometimes does this, but the car shows no other 'problems', and it hasn't done it for over a month now. I do short (4 and a half miles) to work. I just ignore it these days.....car always starts first time. Always wondered about it though!

[Gorbash12346]

What is the difference when a battery is weak?

Don't believe this story, sorry :o

i meant that it will do this much more frequently if the battery is weak i.e. damaged by discharge or sulphation. if the battery is only charged by the alternator for four miles it will not have fully recharged by the time the engine is shut off and as such the battery will over time get weaker

to quote from howstuffworks... (saves me from wording the explanation:rolleyes: )


A car's battery is designed to provide a very large amount of current for a short period of time. This surge of current is needed to turn the engine (http://www.howstuffworks.com/engine.htm) over during starting. Once the engine starts, the alternator provides all the power that the car needs, so a car battery may go through its entire life without ever being drained more than 20 percent of its total capacity. Used in this way, a car battery can last a number of years. To achieve a large amount of current, a car battery uses thin plates in order to increase its surface area.
A deep cycle battery is designed to provide a steady amount of current over a long period of time. A deep cycle battery can provide a surge when needed, but nothing like the surge a car battery can. A deep cycle battery is also designed to be deeply discharged over and over again (something that would ruin a car battery very quickly). To accomplish this, a deep cycle battery uses thicker plates.essentially the cars control units monitor the battery output and if the car is locked etc and yet the battery is very weak or low on charge it will shut off certain functions on the car more so than normal to try and prevent the battery from being unable to start the car.. such a function is the stored maximum and minimum points for the above mentioned needles and depending on the severity other functions will also be turned off to prevent total discharge of the battery

hope this helps...