Alan_Wolfe Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 I have a question about the battery mounting for an R53 MINI. The rule: 11.4.9 Battery The battery shall be securely fastened to the car. No Bungee cords or rubber cords may be used to function as the sole hold down mechanism. An electrically non-conductive material must cover the positive battery terminal. Any battery located inside the driver’s compartment should be fully covered and firmly secured to the chassis (or tub) in a marine type battery case. True dry cell batteries may be mounted without a surrounding case, however a case is still recommended. In a first gen MINI the battery is mounted inside the cabin behind the rear "axle" line in a metal box below floor level which is part of the unibody. The positive terminal is covered with red plastic. It is mounted in place by two screws which clamp the battery at the bottom lip and a metal piece which goes over the battery. All OEM. I removed the felt "boot" liner that normally covers the battery. Is that a violation? Do I need to cover it with the OEM felt boot liner? Thanks, Alan p.s. I can post a pic if that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbrew8991 Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 might be easier to take it roughly sentence by setence: The battery shall be securely fastened to the car. No Bungee cords or rubber cords may be used to function as the sole hold down mechanism. - check, sounds like its secure anyway. An electrically non-conductive material must cover the positive battery terminal. - plastic works, check Any battery located inside the driver’s compartment should be fully covered (check..?) and firmly secured to the chassis (or tub) in a marine type battery case. True dry cell batteries may be mounted without a surrounding case, however a case is still recommended. - hmmm. I guess it isn't a true dry cell battery is it? While you might not *quite* meet the letter of the rule on the last part I suspect the OEM configuration that's been crash & reliability tested and so on should be plenty safe enough and therefore good...? What I think they're trying to drive at with the marine type battery case requirement is for an aftermarket battery relocation situation. Also how separated is this battery area from the seating area currently? If there's enough seats and bulkheads and stuff then by definition it's no longer in the driver compartment. Heck, one could argue that the OEM metal case covering up the battery is a bulkhead and separates the battery from the driver's compartment. I've never heard of a Mini being turned away for not upgrading their battery box or whatnot either so take that fwiw as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan_Wolfe Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 I'm cool with that Ken. I will leave it as is and see you Saturday at ECR. Alan p.s. I never had an issue with all the DEs I've attended with other (TDE, PCA, BMW) folks, just didn't want to have an unexpected issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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