Help! Airbag Light on after Aftermarket steering wheel...

[Tanks95]

Installed Sparco steering wheel and now the air bag light is always on. What options do I have, besides removing bulb or LED? Thanks

[Estoril4dr]

I spent all this time making a resister for the airbag light when installing my race wheel. It worked perfectly. Then 2hrs later after I finished installing my Recaro seats, the light came on. LOLs prob should have thought of that before I spent the time on the resisters. Do a search... I forgot what ohms to use. Think it was something along the lines as putting 3 resisters in parallel.

[bbaz]

usually a 3.3 ohm resistor across the two terminals will trick the system. catch it right at the orange plug that should be hanging inside the column.

[Tanks95]

hmm, I have removed my seats also and replaced them with a Cobra Imola II GT, will the resistor trick still work at the steering column?

[thejlevie]

I spent all this time making a resister for the airbag light when installing my race wheel. It worked perfectly. Then 2hrs later after I finished installing my Recaro seats, the light came on. LOLs prob should have thought of that before I spent the time on the resisters. Do a search... I forgot how I made ohm to use. Think it was something along the lines as putting 3 resisters in parallel.

It sounds like you didn't move the occupancy sensor on the passenger seat to your new seats.

[Tanks95]

Yeah, you are right. I did not move anything besides those 70lb seats. Well, it’s been on for a few months now, i just thought about it while reading some other posts. I can live with it.

[Estoril4dr]

It sounds like you didn't move the occupancy sensor on the passenger seat to your new seats.

Nope I didnt, wasnt planning to either. The light doesnt bother me at all. Hardly even notice it anymore.

[thejlevie]

You do realize that the lack of the occupancy sensor means that the passenger air bag won't fire in an accident, right? The occupancy sensor tells the SRS system whether there is a passenger in the seat and it won't fire the airbag on that side if the seat isn't occupied or the seat sensor is disconnected.

There's probably a way to dummy up a "passenger present" signal to the SRS, or you could simply move the sensor to the new seat.

[Bimmerforums]

The M3 i just bought has a faulty occupancy sensor, but the dealer is charging an outrageous 600 to fix it.. what other options would i have because i thought the airbag would fire by default?

[HBpredhunter]

you are very foolish to remove the airbags... thats all i gotta say.
i hope you are putting in a full roll cage and 4pts at least man, you gotta be safe.

[thejlevie]

The sensor is only about $100. The bulk of the cost to repair is labor. The sensor is underneath the upholstery in the seat pan and it takes a while to R&R. The job isn't all that difficult, but it does take a while.

It is also possible that the fault isn't with the sensor but with the control unit for the passenger seat that's located under the seat. That's even cheaper to replace (~$55) and it is a much easier repair. Do you know for certain which is at fault?

[mose121]

dude just pull the main bulb and crush the backup bulb. Your bags aren't going to work anyways with the wheel and your seats, so what's the point of even messing with the light. My light is on and it doesn't bother me in the least bit.

[Bimmerforums]

The sensor is only about $100. The bulk of the cost to repair is labor. The sensor is underneath the upholstery in the seat pan and it takes a while to R&R. The job isn't all that difficult, but it does take a while.

It is also possible that the fault isn't with the sensor but with the control unit for the passenger seat that's located under the seat. That's even cheaper to replace (~$55) and it is a much easier repair. Do you know for certain which is at fault?

Well the stealer said its a "short in the seat occupancy sensor" and estimated the repair to be around 600.. my main concern is will the airbag fire if the sensor is fried??

[thejlevie]

Well the stealer said its a "short in the seat occupancy sensor" and estimated the repair to be around 600.. my main concern is will the airbag fire if the sensor is fried??

From everything I've found about the SRS system, no! The passenger airbag won't fire if it does not have a signal from the seat indicating it is occupied.

[deilenberger]

From everything I've found about the SRS system, no! The passenger airbag won't fire if it does not have a signal from the seat indicating it is occupied.

Actually - the system looks to see if the occupancy sensor is in place - if it can't detect the sensor it assumes the seat IS occupied and will fire the airbag regardless.

The sensor gives the system two readings:

1. I'm there and no one is sitting on me (seat not occupied)
2. I'm there and someone is sitting on me (seat occupied)

In the case of #1 - it will not fire the bag

In the case of #2 - it will fire the bag

I believe the seatbelt latch also has an effect on the impact speed at which the bag is fired.

The default if everything is giving bad readings is to fire the bag on an impact.

[Bimmerforums]

Actually - the system looks to see if the occupancy sensor is in place - if it can't detect the sensor it assumes the seat IS occupied and will fire the airbag regardless.

The sensor gives the system two readings:

1. I'm there and no one is sitting on me (seat not occupied)
2. I'm there and someone is sitting on me (seat occupied)

In the case of #1 - it will not fire the bag

In the case of #2 - it will fire the bag

I believe the seatbelt latch also has an effect on the impact speed at which the bag is fired.

The default if everything is giving bad readings is to fire the bag on an impact.

This is exactly what the previous owner said and hes on m3forums.. but there is no exact evidence.. i really just dont wanna shell out 600 bucks to a dealer for a sensor, and wouldnt wanna trust any other mechanic/shop