Hey guys. So, basically. I own a 2005 mini cooper s, and I am the tenth owner. I'm doing my best to save this car and keep it. Passenger airbag light is on.

I took it to the dealer and tried to have them fix my passenger side airbag. They said that part of the wiring harness pertaining to the airbag/module was missing and that it wasn't available to order.

Does anyone on here know where this wiring is, or have a diagram of it? I'd like to see what I need, so I can maybe find it at a junkyard, or on ebay or something.

Thanks.

 

I don’t know what part is missing either, but your idea of going and pulling it from an o5/06 (or 07-08 convertible) is probably the way to go.

 

I probably should have posted this is stock issues/problems.

 

which light - the one on the dash or the one in the overhead ?

Did they give you a part number for this? And where is it located on the car?

 

The one on the dash is always on and I think the overhead one is on also.

I don’t have a part number. I have no idea where the one for the passenger side is or the wiring.

 

The dash bag light can come on and stay on if the air bag connector under the seat was disconnected without first disconnecting the car's battery. Or, if it's currently disconnected or the wire lead is severed or something else is wrong. Once the issue(s) is(are) addressed, the dash light has to be reset with an appropriate OBD scanner - one the Stealership should certainly have - but presumably they would also have informed you of that and taken care of it right then and there (then again maybe they wouldn't).

There is also the matter of this little gem, a 2015 recall affecting - as it just so happens - the passenger seat air bag in 2005-2008 Gen 1 cars:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/201...5V205-1984.pdf
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/201...5V205-5770.pdf
You didn't mention it, so just guessing they didn't either.
Interesting, because the symptoms you listed might indicate the issue as described in the recall's FAQ section (2nd link above):
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Q6. Can I become aware of this issue if it is occurring?
Yes. If a potential error in the seat occupation detection mat is detected, the yellow
“passenger air bag off light” (POL) in the overhead console and the red “air bag
warning light” (AWL) in the instrument cluster will illuminate continuously or
intermittently. The passenger air bag off light should be illuminated only when the
seat is occupied by a child in a child seat."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can find out instantly whether this recall was ever performed on the car by going to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website and inputting your VIN into the search window:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls

Would start with that.

 

As I stated in the original post. I was told by the dealer that one of the previous owners cut part of the wiring harness. As to why I have no idea, aside from that my oil pressure sensor had been molested and re-wired as well. I'd guess for some cool gauges, except there are no cool gauges.

I'm pretty sure if they would have fixed it they could have. I was basically told that that part of wiring harness isn't made by the OEM distributer anymore. They said my best best was to find an 05 S at the junkyard and pull what I need and bring the car back.

I'd like to get it working again, but I need a wiring diagram or pics.

 

Well first you need to figure out what is missing or cut, etc. otherwise can’t nobody help you, nor do you have any idea what to even look for.

time to start taking some panels off

 

I’ll start at the rear bumper and work my way forward. Honestly I felt like that was kind of a cop out by the dealer too and I just paid a bunch of money for them to fix other stuff. I just read it’s under the console and carpet and you have to take the seats out I guess.

 

Part connects to seats, yes in the front, easy to see if that’s there. Part would be behind the glove box area, neither hard to check so that’s where I’d start.

 

I agree with Onizukachan. If I had to guess, I would check under the front passenger seat first. I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody monkeyed with the harness in an attempt to deal with the occupancy sensor. You can trick the early cars with a resistor, but it doesn’t work for facelift cars.

 

Hey guys, I can't seem to get to the bottom of this issue. I've looked at a lot of the wiring, and so far I haven't found anything bad.

The airbag module under the console E-brake looked mint. The wiring in the dash was all in place and un-touched. The seat wiring and plugs are unmolested. The wiring in the passenger door sill is fine.

I am currently getting these codes on an Innova scanner.

Occupant Classification System(OC3)

Ignition Circuit ZK11/Airbag Passenger Stage 2

Ignition Circuit ZK3/ Airbag Passenger Stage 1

I'm thinking about trying a new seat but if anyone has any ideas lmk.

Also, I tried the "SRS Occupany Mat Emulator and Seatbelt Emulater".(They are supposed to send signals to the ECU, that there's an adult in the seat.) It just plugs in so no harm to the car, I still couldn't clear the errors, and the seatbelt chime was ringing.

 

Once the bag light is triggered it must be reset buy capable scanner.

inpa is what I use. It’s free but need a laptop. See may thread names “inpa” for everything you need

 

Anyone know where the wiring that would power the module for these would be?

 

I forgot to mention that there’s a sticker under the seat saying the OC3 mat was already replaced in 2020.

I have 0 open recalls.

Anyone think the new mat could be bad already?

Im starting yo think the wiring might actually be cut I just can’t find it yet,

 

Guys get this….. I went on a drive to get some seats that I didn’t end up getting because they were from an 04, anyway. I drove there with no rear or passenger seat. When I got back I carefully plugged my original seat back in and cleared all 7 of the codes I had and poof, no more airbag light……..

The only thing I can think of is maybe one of the connections under the seat is a little touchy,

 

Back the next day. Leaning towards a connection issue at the plugs. I’m going to try to clean them.