I am getting ready to install recaro racing seats, and want to figure out how to install the ohm resistor to fool the airbag light.

So i have done a lot of reading and have seen mixed numbers. I have seen 4, 3.9 and 2.2. I have also seen some people say that they had problems...So which one is it? I know Randy Webb says 4 ohms....anyone else have anymore information?

 

Hi , I changed my seats with Sparco Milano's I could not find 4 ohm Resistors anywhere. I have gone to every radioshack in my area with no luck I've also tryed what they had in stock which was a 3.2 and 4.7. No luck the light is still on. I tryed to e mail Randy but no response. The only good thing if you look on the bright side is at least the red light is dead center on the speedo. The seats are awesome. Its so nice to be hugged

 

You can always, with the car OFF, measure the resistance of the airbag module with a multimeter.

Once you put the key in the ignition however, you better make sure the harness is either plugged back in, or you have the right resistance present!

 

Thats what i was thinking rye....

Anyone else?

 

remove the light from the dash

 

just use 3 10 ohmers in parallel: 1/R eq. = 1/R + 1/R + 1/R gives 3.3 ohms

 

I read somewhere on this forum that YOU SHOULD NEVER, EVER measure the resistance of the airbag with a multimeter because it applies a small current through the circuit so it can measure the OHMS. The current may be enough to trigger the airbag and ...... well you get the picture.

 

Also....... I read in my Bentley shop manual (the publisher not the car silly) that when the light is on ALL of the airbags are disabled. It was not 100% clear on that point but it did say "SRS system is disabled".

Any technoid know any different because I wouldn't have a problem with the thorax (seat) airbag being disabled but I want to know that the others work.
BTW my Sparco Milano Prestige is en route.
ALSO
Does anyone know for sure if disconnecting the battery will reset the light (with the correct resistor of course) as I've seen conflicting answers. Some say that only a trip to the dealer will reset it. If the former then you could hook up a variable resistor (a "pot") and keep trying to find the correct setting.

 

i'm a tech at honda and have also worked on volvos. if the srs light is on then yes, the entire system is disabled. both car makes i have experience with used 2ohm resistance for the airbag igniter. all service manuals insist that you NEVER measure the resistance of the airbag igniter with a multimeter. i know that logically the few millivolts from the meter probably will not blow the airbag, but if you have ever been witness to an airbag explosion.... man, you do NOT want to mess with that. it is a bomb, plain and simple. our honda test tools are all two ohms and plug in place of the airbag igniter and will keep the light off. although i can't be certain on our minis, on hondas you can reset the light without a scantool by doing a battery reset (disconect battery, hold both terminals together, or use a jumper wire between the two, and turn the key to on for about 2 to 3 minutes). this will suck all the juice out of all the components and probably reset the srs light. worth a shot...

 

You have to have the dealer reset the SRS light. It cannot be done otherwise. It would set MINI up to possible legal issues if it were able to be manipulated by the owner.


As for the ohms...4

As to where to find a 4 ohm resitor...no clue. I looked for weeks. Stores, internet, everywhere. Randy Webb has a source....but he never replied to me. Good luck. Let us know if you find them.

 

It's actually a range - 1.8 to 4.0, so anything in that range will work. Try a 3.2 - they are readily available.


Hope that helps!
Randy

 

Anyone try the battery jump thing that sonichris mentions? I've had that dang SRS light on (again) since I slid one of my seats forward. With a 30k servicing about 5 weeks away, I'm been holding-out so I don't have to make mulitple trips. I'll also address a couple recall notices at the time, and finally my expansion tank... Thanks.

 

if your srs light came on just by sliding the seat forward, you may actually have a problem, and a battery reset will not clear the light. the srs unit must go through its initialization and see no faults for the light to go out. again i haven't tried a battery reset on a mini so i can't say it will definately work, it depends on what kind of memory bmw used in the srs unit...

 

To those of you that are saying the airbag light cant be reset by doing the battery thingy... do you know this for a fact or is it just speculation?

 

sonichris, MINI has known that the wire looms under our seats to be a problem for almost 2 years now. If fully slid forwards or backwards, at least on '02 and '03's, it pulls just enough on the connectors to trigger the SRS light. However, even after pushing the connector together again, to ensure they are secure, the light remains on... That is why I was curious to know if your Honda battery trick would work on our MINI's, again, assuming that the problem that triggered the light has been "fixed." The true fix is to get a jumper/extension that makes for more slack...

 

IF bmw used non-volatile memory (memory that is not affected by power loss) in the srs unit, a battery reset will not work. BUT, it is worth a shot. what do you have to lose? besides your radio presets, the time, the adaptive ECM programming, your trip odometer mileage.... i have done a battery reset on mine to clear the ECM memory so my car could relearn how i drive with all my new goodies, and if it didn't take about a 1000 miles to reach its full potential, i'd run downstairs, set an srs code and try it myself. but if it DOESN'T work, now i'm stuck 150 miles from a dealer with an annoying light on the tach....

 

sonichris, thanks for the reply. Indeed, nothing to lose, but a few minutes of time, and resetting the clock, again . I will disco the battery, connect the pos and neg leads, and then turn the ignition to the on positon, and wait a couple minutes. I'll report back either way...

 

Did you try the battery disconnect trick yet? I am installing my Sparco Milano this weekend and was going to insert the resistor before taking out the seat to see if it works. If the light stays in and the disconnect battery trick does not work then I can run down to my dealer to have it reset (the plug came loose - honest. I wasn't installing a resistor.).

 

Alan,


As long as you keep the battery disconnected during the install, and wait to reconnect ituntil after the jumper is in, the light won't ever come on. You won't even need to reset it. Hope that helps!

Randy

 

Thanks Randy

I bought a 3.3 OHM 1/2 watt resistor from Radio Shack so I assume that's okay to use (as long as I follow your instructions - solder 20 gauge wire yada yada yada.
Alan

 

That should work fine!


Randy

 

Alan, it looks like Randy addressed your concern. As a matter of follow-up, no, I have not tried it yet, but I certainly will tonight as I could not drive my MINI today - dead battery . She wouldn't turn-over... just a clicking sound...

I have one of those small 13.5 pound SLA batteries, and between doing a couple gauge installs last weekend (one being a voltmeter), and not driving her since last Sat, I guess that was too much for her. When I take the battery out tonight to charge it, I'll try the "trick" for the heck of it. From some brief reading on the MINI's non-volatile mem, I don't think it will work, but what the heck...

I will report back.

 

With the battery out, and the positive and negative terminals "connected" together, I turned on the ignition, for several minutes... a la the Honda trick referenced above. I re-installed the fully charged SLA battery, she fired right-up, but the SRS light remains...

Just following-up . I'll hit the dealership to clear it when I'm doing for my 30k servicing, in about a month...

 

rats...

 

I put a 3.9 ohm 1 watt resistor in when I install my seats but the SRS light still on ?!?!?! Which watt of 1.8 - 4.0 ohm resistor should we get?!?!??!?!