BMW E46 330 ZHP SRS Airbag Issue

[danewilson77]

Just met up with Johnmadd....member here. OBTW....so awesome knowing someone from the site....wrench turner...and lives about 4 miles down the road.

Anyway....his SRS airbag light came in while driving. I read the code as Table 04.....with an "FO" code. The "FO" correlates to an "internal error" Anyone seen this one before because its knew to me.

I recommended that he do the "unplug the battery for 30 minutes" to try and reboot the system.

We will see how it turns out.

If anyone has any other idea's or insight.....that would be great.

I am going to post my history from my reader here...so you can see the most prevalent codes.

NOTE....there is an "FO" code below...and on a ZHP....very interesting. May be able to get a hold of this guy to see what he did to fix/clear the issue.

History
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/UpdatedSRShistory-1.jpg

From the manual
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/Page13and14-1.jpg

[kayger12]

From what I've been able to dig up, it's a control unit fault.

Still digging...

[Johnmadd]

From what I've been able to dig up, it's a control unit fault.

Still digging...

I hope its not the airbag ecm, but that was the first thing that came to mind when that code was read.

[kayger12]

I hope its not the airbag ecm, but that was the first thing that came to mind when that code was read.

Yeah-- really having a tough time finding any useful info for you. The only positive thing is that I keep reading that control unit failures are very rare...

[Johnmadd]

Just met up with Johnmadd....member here. OBTW....so awesome knowing someone from the site....wrench turner...and lives about 4 miles down the road.

Anyway....his SRS airbag light came in while driving. I read the code as Table 04.....with an "FO" code. The "FO" correlates to an "internal error" Anyone seen this one before because its knew to me.
I recommended that he do the "unplug the battery for 30 minutes" to try and reboot the system.

We will see how it turns out.

If anyone has any other idea's or insight.....that would be great.

I am going to post my history from my reader here...so you can see the most prevalent codes.

NOTE....there is an "FO" code below...and on a ZHP....very interesting. May be able to get a hold of this guy to see what he did to fix/clear the issue.

History
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/UpdatedSRShistory-1.jpg

From the manual
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/Page13and14-1.jpg

Thanks for the help Dane, I hope I can help you someday in the future, and yes it is cool to know someone else from the site that loves bimmers as much as me just lives down the road. I noticed the 03 zhp on your list with the same code just a couple minutes ago, sure hope that dude responds.

[danewilson77]

I actually have piece 4 sitting on my computer right now. It looks plug and play to me...which I think would be worth a shot.....

Lets hope it isnt that control unit.....that I prolly threw out.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=EV53&mospid=47725&btnr=65_0488&hg=65&fg=65&hl=23
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/Airbagpart.png

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/IMG_20110121_200419.jpg

[Johnmadd]

Yeah-- really having a tough time finding any useful info for you. The only positive thing is that I keep reading that control unit failures are very rare...

Thanks for your research, I always remember somebody that is helpful and friendly.I don't think a rare problem is really a positive thing though because there is less knowledge with something rare.

[danewilson77]

Try switching out the sensor I have above. Take us like 5 minutes.

[Johnmadd]

Thanks for your research, I always remember somebody that is helpful and friendly.I don't think a rare problem is really a positive thing though because there is less knowledge with something rare.

I did read something about a 15$ harness with the yellow plug going bad, something about the old one builds up resistance over time.

[kayger12]

Thanks for your research, I always remember somebody that is helpful and friendly.

Sure thing, man.

You've got DW. He's a problem solver extraordinaire. You'll get it worked out.

[Johnmadd]

Did the battery thing today with no luck. I left it unhooked while I went back inside for ten minutes.

[Johnmadd]

Try switching out the sensor I have above. Take us like 5 minutes.

Its worth a shot. Where is that piece located, on the bottom or in between the seat and the hump?

[danewilson77]

Its under the seat I believe...

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

[danewilson77]

John.....check post 10 and dhu as prescribed.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=21328593#post21328593

[Johnmadd]

I'll give it a shot next chance I get. Should I do both seats?

[danewilson77]

Yes....but disconnect battery first.

Edit: only because the code wasn't seat specific.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

[Johnmadd]

I bid a dollar on a no reserve air bag edu and won it, 10 bucks after shipping. I will use it as a teaching unit. I will open it to visually look for burnt boards and just do some more research for compatibility and programming of these systems. Just a cheap extra.

[danewilson77]

Nice pickup.

[Johnmadd]

I unpluged the plug to the yellow connection under each seat and let it sit a minute and hooked it all back up and light still on. I should have moved the seats strategically before I unhooked the battery. Should I also have done the one inbetween the seat and the hump?

[danewilson77]

You disconnected battery first correct?

Yeah....do them all.

[Johnmadd]

Yes I disconnected the battery first with fear of them exploding in my face if I didn't. I looked and thought only 2 were srs sensors and others were controls for seat, motors and that stuff. Confirm?

[danewilson77]

Update here....if you wanna follow John...

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=21372598#post21372598

[Johnmadd]

Thanks Dane. I think I may just take the seats out completely and do a full vacuum and clean while i'm at it, will do it this weekend hopefully. Any tips/tricks on taking the seats out?

[danewilson77]

Nope.......four bolts....easy as pie. Do not strip the bolts when you put em back in. I have the appropriately sized tap if you do.

[Johnmadd]

Sounds like bmw protocol.

[ELCID86]

Waking an old thread.
I'm looking at a car that has an intermittent passenger airbag light. The car is priced very well from what I can see. I'd still want to get a PPI done. Just curious as to your thoughts on the airbag fix. I see from this and other threads ( http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?853-BMW-E46-330-ZHP-SRS-Airbag-Issue&highlight=airbag that you guys have had experience with this (though granted it may have been several years!). My local indy shop is estimating ~$625 installed (included 3 hours labor).
Any thoughts on buying a car w/ this issue or with doing this fix?

[Avetiso]

I switched out the tensioner wire under my seat and it fixed it for a while. My Indy then pushed my seat all the way forward and it tripped again.

[Stu]

Waking an old thread.
I'm looking at a car that has an intermittent passenger airbag light. The car is priced very well from what I can see. I'd still want to get a PPI done. Just curious as to your thoughts on the airbag fix. I see from this and other threads ( http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?853-BMW-E46-330-ZHP-SRS-Airbag-Issue&highlight=airbag that you guys have had experience with this (though granted it may have been several years!). My local indy shop is estimating ~$625 installed (included 3 hours labor).
Any thoughts on buying a car w/ this issue or with doing this fix?

The fix is time-consuming, not well-documented, and has a risk of ruining our very expensive seats if we mess it up.

One simple fix around it is to buy an occupancy-sensor simulator. You can get them off of eBay. Plug and play, permanently activates the airbag as long as it's plugged in. I can't remember the seller's name, but he has a big logo on the front of every sale that says "Irish Seller!"

This is a good temporary solution until you have the time to either tackle the job yourself, or have someone do it for you. Just don't forget that it is always on like they used to be back in the day - keep boxes and other things on the floor so they aren't projectiles in the event of a crash. That's what I am doing for the time being.

IMHO, I would have someone do this job because good indy shops will have a warranty that comes with it. A 1-2 yr. 15,000 mile workmanship warranty can mean the difference between another 3-hours and $600.

[fredo]

If everything else looks fine, I would buy it. Case on hand: my 2005 Mini Cooper had the airbag light on when I visited the dealer. It was a good deal so I bought it and I will worry about the light later. I want to fix some other things first.