Ministrater: My sentiments exactly.

Street price of the seat bottom from the dealer is $660 with tax in Illinois. I had a 10% off coupon from dealer direct mail on parts purchases so I used that. Other times, I have wined moaned and complained and got 10% off just so they could get rid of me.

Yeah, this is really an ugly situation for which there should be a less costly solution.

 

Aha, I will be sure to keep those postcards.

Not only is it costly it seems downright wasteful. My seat is in great shape. Oh well.

 

I disabled OC3_1 and 2 and unplugged the seat mat sensor.
The overhead passenger airbag light is now out. The Dash SRS light is still on but I did not clear the codes yet.

I used NCS expert and this $27 cable from China (which also came with software)

552.htmlhttp://www.greebid.com/wholesale/bmw...k-can-552.html

 

2005 Mini R50 with Automatic,

Bought this cable for

http://www.greebid.com/wholesale/bmw...k-can-552.html

The Beginner's Guide to Coding with NCS Expert
Followed GTEKO's directions on getting the software loaded and installed.
Section one seemed to work well.
Section II Part I Step 5 I did NOT get the CAS on the Drop Down but I chose the top one EWB?? and it read the Chassis, FG and FA fields.
I had to play with NCS a bit but then found the Airbag Module ABG and read the file. Using the directions with some minor changes probably because of the R50 instead of R56.



Played with NCS Dummy to look at some of files. This helped with learning but it was not much help with the ABG module.



Used the NCSExpert Tutorial PDF to help learn the NCS

Used Firehawk's and other's lead on the Airbag Thread

Changed OC3_1 and OC3_2 as below to Nicht_Active and used the directions to write the code back to the computer. Then I read the trace again to make sure it was loaded. Make a copy of the original trace file in case you need to change it back later.




Read these threads
Passenger seat occupancy sensor SRS light? No more!!!! ( 1 2)
firehawk618
Today 12:57 AM
by Paul Gerhardt
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NCSExpert DIY(do it yourself) ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
GTECKO
Yesterday 04:57 PM
by Paul Gerhardt
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NCSExpert for beginners ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
GTECKO











The following was helpful to me

I also was able to get rid of the SRS light following Firehawks lead.

This does work people.

I disabled the OC3_1 and OC3_2 in the ABG module with NCS Expert and unplugged the seat mat sensor

then cleared the codes. No more SRS light.

I've spend countless hours to try to figure this out. If you get a "JOB Error-ECU RECJECTED ERROR" instead of "OKAY" its most likely cause you didnt unplug the seat mat sensor. Noone could tell me this.

At this point the overhead Passenger Light is OFF BUT the Speedo Airbag light is still on.

Got the INPA to work finally after going through the Install directions from GTECKO again and the finding that the NCSExpert was working but the INPA did not have the files to really work as a code reader/code clearer. I used another set of files for this and from another install of INPA. I copied a bunch of files from the other download and added them to the cfgdat and sfgdat folders. Then the cable did not work. I reinstalled several times and finally got the cable to work and the scripts to load for INPA. Then I noticed that Like FireHawk said above I saw the ECU Rejected error. I knew the code to disabled the OC3_1 and _2 had 'taken' but I still had the lights. I plugged the seat module back in and cleared the codes then unplugged it and cleared the codes again using INPA then when I saw the SRS light flashing I turned the IGN off unplugged the cable and then restarted the car.

The Light stayed off. I drove for some errands and the light seems to be staying off!

This all cost $27 but lots of time.

 

Very interesting. Will keep this thread in mind if/when I shall need it..

 

Our 2005 S airtbag light is permanently on.
Our Confusion is: What precisely is the sensor telling us other than spend $1000?
1. Air bag system is faulty and will not deploy ? (Then we should replace the air bag system?)
2. Sensor is faulty? ( How do you know which is which 1 or 2 or both? )
3. If light is ON , shouldn't one replace the air bag, not the sensor?

 

It depends. Just because your air bag indicator is permanently illuminated does not mean that your complete SRS system has failed (or will not function to an extent, to say for the driver), yet a portion of it may be inop and should be looked into. now with that stated, 1st gen mini's tend to have issues with their occupancy sensor mat in the passenger seat failing (90% of the time this is the issue, though I have seen complete failures of the SRS Module, but it is a tad more rare then just the occupancy sensor mat). I've done a ton of service to passenger seats (now and when we use to have to replace only the mat and sensor) to replace the lower cushion on the passenger seat to correct this issue (the new cushion will have a new occupancy sensor mat in it). I would say you could do it yourself, as it is not a difficult job, but doing so does not solve the issue as you still have to tell the the SRS Module that you have replaced the mat sensor and you would like to re-instate its status. The dealer is pretty much so the only one who can do this (there are other ways, but the scan tools required to do it would cost you retarded amounts of money). So basicly, if you want your passenger air bag to activate or recognize that you have someone in your passenger seat (someone that is of proper dimensions to have the airbag deploy in an accident) then you will have to have the dealer or someone who specializes in MINI/BMW services that has the software and tools to do so.

Hope this helps.

 

i was thinking since i have to way to get a tool to disable the weight sensor or whatever it is, can i just get a seat from the junk yard thats in one piece, rip out the weight sensor, rol it up and plug it in under the seat itself? the airbag will probably be off all the time but the stupid airbag off light and airbag light comes on when someones in the seat anyways because its faulty.

 

Yes, some people have done that when installing aftermarket seats. Alternatively, if you find a seat with matching material, you could swap in the seat bottom cover.

 

Firehawk, I posted in another thread on this oh too common topic... I had found a box being sold in Spain that supposedly fixed this... Someone replied to my post and said you can trick it with a 3.9 ohm resister. But here you are saying that won't work. Judging by your MANY posts you seem to know your stuff inside and out forward and backward. My question is, since this original post has it been figured out that the resister will work? Or is it still a no/go on that?

Thanks!

 

A resistor might work for 2002-2004 (and maybe also for later models outside the US). However, for US spec 2005+, the sensor mat has an embedded microcontroller that communicates digitally with the airbag module. Replacing that data bus with a resistor won't work. The sensor mat is unique to the US market to meet federal regulations that went into effect around 2006, and a solution for it wouldn't be coming from Spain.

 

Thanks for the information. That is pretty much what I figured. So it looks like the only options are pony up the cash to the dealer for a new seat bottom, get a used seat bottom and hope it doesn't break in a day or two or follow the posting by firehawk618 where using the programming software to disable the thing via the computer....

 

Deleted due to duplicate posting...

 

I fixed mine but not the right way, soince i don;t hardly ever have anyone in the passenger seat, and this is one of 3 cars i have had with aribags, all the rest never had them, and i will never have a child in my car, i just got a seat bottom for free, took out the mat sensor, rolled it up in a baggie, tucked it in under the seat and ducktaped it to the bottom springs, no more yellow light or red air bag light comming on and off randomly when i hit a bump with no on in the seat, its off now for good but not really a fix but is for me.

 

I like to said thank you all for all tha comments place here. I am prety handy with working on my MCS. I have been taken for a ride every time I get any thing done by the dealers. With that said. How or where can I get the NCS code reader?
On my mini the air bag light come on the. Soon after the seatbelt light comes on then the air bag light trims off and seatbelt stay. That's until I trun the car off. I have some free time coming up at the end of the month. And I will try anything to get it to stop. Yeah any thing but paid $1200.00 to the dealer to do these. Any who I am here in the US, North Carolina area. Please help.

 

Interesting thread. Took my 06 MiniCS in because the passenger side air bag light kept coming on intermittently. They told me it was the sensor and I would need a new mat which would cost $600 plus installation. They also let me know that the air bag system is set up to completely shut down if the sensors malfunction in either seat because they want to avoid accidental triggering of the airbags due to an electrical surge from a short. With the help of the dealership I complained to Mini about the problem and they covered the replacement even though I have 63K miles on the car. A possible cheaper way to go than replacing the sensor mat under the seat is to buy a seat from the junk yard. Cost for calibration at the dealership is $100.

 

-

 

Does Firehawks findings apply to the R56 models?

 

I just bought this online. I was quote $1200 to have the seat replaced because they do not sell the occupancy mat by itself anymore. You can even take a look at realoem.com

I am going to get a scan tool to reset it, Do the math, $120 vs 1200.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/111021167744...84.m1439.l2649

 

Thanks whoatemyrice. Good discovery. Please let us know how that works for you over the long term.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Seat-Sensor-...a452b8&vxp=mtr

This seems to be the same thing minus the plastic enclosure.

But again, it appears to just be a resistor. Not quite sure if this will work, but I find handing someone working out of a shed in China a grand total of $31.50 instead of $120+ much more palatable. I'm sure he's still making a 1000% profit.

 

No, it says 2002-2005. The weight sensor mat started with 2005 model year (it became required by law in 2006).

 

Damn. A bit off topic, but I heard somewhere that the airbag system is covered by warranty for a longer time than the vehicle warranty, is there any truth to this?

 

It is a safety issue, and a known issue in all 2-door bmws, so go figure. You can call and ask, I've asked 4 dealerships since I live in the SF area in California, one in Concord, CA, San Francisco, CA Dublin, CA, and San Jose, CA.

 

Some truth to hearsay. BMW of north america, llc extended the Warranty on passenger airbag detection mats to 10 yrs/unlimited mileage for specific BMW models ranging from my04 through my06. or Bimmerfile

MINI extended the warranty coverage of the pre 2005 vehicles for defects that may occur, for air bag warning lamp issues due to a short wiring harness becoming loose/detached on the passenger side, on those vehicles for 10 years / 150,000 miles.

2005/06 owners you are not alone in this issue. Here is many of the reported 2005 incidents.