Driver's Air Bag issue

[L84THSKY]

Hey folks...been awhile.

Quick question. My driver's side airbag is giving me the airbag indicator on my dash. I have the Peake tool and it is saying driver's side airbag issue table 2 code 4. I wanna get the car inspected on Saturday. When I reset the airbag, it was coming back after a day or two. I'm still troubleshooting it, but wanna get the car inspected.

If I reset the airbag, can the shop detect that it has been reset, and that it may still have issues? I know they can do that with a CEL, but what about an airbag? I'm gonna remove the fuse for the airbag and try resetting whatever I can. I already checked the connectors on the back of the airbag, they are on fine.

[30yrMbr]

There has been a lot of posts about the airbag issue. IIRC, the connectors under the seat to the seat belt pretensioner gets corroded and that can set off the light. Other thing is the seat belt female fastener has a sensor in it to verify that the seat belt is fastened, and the might set the warning light.

The pre-tensioner is about $100 bucks from the dealer and easy to replace. that solved the airbag light on my daughter's ti.

good luck with fixing the problem and your inspection.

[L84THSKY]

It's not the seat belt tensioner or the passenger seat device. The Peake tool specifically says it's the driver's airbag. I'll make sure it's not lit when I go for inspection, that's all I care about for the moment.

[47driver]

Mine came on yesturday and has stayed on ever since. This is my first ti and I've had it for about a week. Is this a commonproblem? And how do you reset?

[L84THSKY]

The only way I know how to reset it is to use the Peake tool. It would help to know what triggered your Airbag light. Mine says it's the driver's airbag.

The good news is I went for inspection, and it passed with the airbag light on. In other words, the diagnostic machine that connects to your OBDII system does not detect an airbag issue. That doesn't mean the inspector was not required to check the airbag, he just might not have been looking at my dash.

Now I still have my airbag light on, and the airbag is connected on both the main connector and ground wire to the slip ring. I do have a spare airbag for a different 3 spoke M3 steering wheel, but no steering wheel. Or, I could just re-install my original steering wheel with airbag, and see if that solves the problem.

Originally Posted by 47driver

Mine came on yesturday and has stayed on ever since. This is my first ti and I've had it for about a week. Is this a commonproblem? And how do you reset?

[L84THSKY]

OK, I swapped the air bags to the stock one, and reset the dash light. The airbag light came on again. Since it wasn't the airbag, I decided to reinstall my M3 steering wheel/airbag. While inspecting the slip ring, I noticed the insulation was showing on the airbag wires. Not only that, the outside of the slip ring looked like part of the plastic housing was busted off.

I won a slip ring on Ebay, and will replace it on the weekend. My question is, is there an exact orientation of the slip ring, as it sits on the steering column?

The slip ring to steering column relationship should be fixed, and only the slip ring to steering wheel moves. When I put everything back together, and reset the dash light, it seemed to work fine. Then I backed out of my parking spot, and cut the wheel sharp. I heard a crunching sound in the steering column. The airbag light came on right away. Slip ring must have got caught and yanked the wires out.

I also read that somewhere in there should be lubed because of some type of noise. Lots of threads about it on the net. Anyway, anyone have a picture of the correct positioning of the slip ring?

Thanks
Eric

[djfiend]

There is a wire loom in the slip ring that’s wound up, when installing it you want to make sure it’s centered. Just turn the slip ring one way until it gets tight, then turn to the opposite direction until tight while counting the number turns. Divide the turns in half and turn it back to center it. Its best to do this with the slip ring installed on the steering wheel so it’s centered in relation to the wheel and then do the above. I always turn the steering lock to lock after I install the steering wheel to be safe. Just remember to go slow and you will feel it start to tighten up.

[713bmw318ti]

Down here in Texas if a car has the airbag light on it still passes inspection. But if it has a Check engine light on it will fail.

[L84THSKY]

I passed inspection with the airbag light on two weeks ago. I didn't have a CEL. The inspection computer doesn't check for airbag issues.

Originally Posted by 713bmw318ti

Down here in Texas if a car has the airbag light on it still passes inspection. But if it has a Check engine light on it will fail.

[713bmw318ti]

Oh I see your just trying to fix the airbag issue. That damn light sure does get annoying huh. I just try not to look at it, The thing with mine is the passenger side mat. The damn interior i bought from minicoop was in good condition but the mat on the seat is bad.

[L84THSKY]

I bought a used slip ring on Ebay

Installed the unit, problem solved

[cooljess76]

I passed VA inspection with an airbag light. They actually fail you if any lights are illuminated, but I covered mine up with a picture of my gf

[tiFreak]

Originally Posted by cooljess76

I passed VA inspection with an airbag light. They actually fail you if any lights are illuminated, but I covered mine up with a picture of my gf

good reason to have a girlfriend