I just picked up a set of used seats, installed them and now get the airbag warning light. Plugged in a scanner and it says the fault is with the drivers seat belt tensioner. The person I bought the seats from said they came out of a car that was rear ended.

How can I tell if the seat belt tensioner has been activated? Is there any visible evidence?

Can I rule out any sort of wiring issue or any other issue before committing to the cost of a new tensioner?

TIA

 

While I am not familiar enough with MINI to say how they behave in this specific case, I can speak in generalities. Most cars with deployed pretensioners have seat belts that no longer retract. Now, it may well be that the previous owner went in and "fixed" them before sale, by bypassing the pretensioner system. It may be worth a look, but be careful as these systems are usually deployed using a small explosive charge, like an airbag would have.

 

The seat belt pre-tensioners (driver and passenger side) deployed when my Cayman S was hit and afterwards the seat belts were fully extended and did not retract. Ain't nothing as slack/floppy as a seat belt after the pre-tensioner has deployed. Pretty obvious the pre-tensioner had deployed. (Actually I felt the pre-tensioner deploy at the moment of impact. Really cinches the belt tight. And then got a face full of air bag when that deployed. Overall a pretty impressive display of driver/passenger safety equipment in operation. But did it have to be my new Cayman S?)

 

The tensioner on the Mini is on the seat. Specifically its part of the seat belt latch. I don't much about it beyond that.

 

I realize this thread is a few years old but for anyone looking for answers I have read that some cars need to be reprogrammed after putting in a new part. The car may not recognize the new part (or the used part from another car)That is why some companies will rebuild the pre-tensioner no reprogramming is necessary.