Hello again MINI masters! I have my stock seats out of my car and am ready to start tackling the electronic modifications to trick the ECU into seeing the airbags, passenger seat weight sensor, seat belt latch...etc. I have heard that once the ECU sees a fault with the airbag that the warning will not go away even when the airbag is reconnected to be tricked with an equal resistive load. It then MUST be reset by the BMW Technic tool. Is this true? I'm worried about a resistor being just slightly out of tolerance and me getting screwed with a perpetual light. Kind of defeats the purpose of the project.
You are correct. If you trip the warning light, you will have to have a "factory" tool to reset it, even if you replace the airbag. If you look at the write up I did for installing sparco seats, I believe I covered the resistor necessary for the seats. I have also changed the steering wheel and hence removed the airbag. There are 2 airbag circuits in there.. just FYI. If you measure the resistance you should be OK. I dont think the ECU is overly sensitive to the variations you might see between resistors.
OK thanks for the info! I'm good with a multimeter so I'm all set. I just didn't want to activate the ignition and be screwed.
Be sure to disconnect the battery before starting. Do not reconnect until complete. In the event you do trip the light it does not require a dealer to reset. Any BMW/MINI shop with a GT1 or similar can reset the light. Since you are in the neighborhood, Chad has the proper tool to reset the light if need be.
+1 for unhooking the battery. You also need to know that there is a safety short on the airbag plugs to protect them from ESD. You will need to separate the short before you measure resistance, otherwise you will see 0 Ohms.
I saw that in the yellow connector and some of the stuff you mentioned in your DIY discussion. Thanks for the reminder.