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Subject: SRS AIRBAG DIY Guide For Fault #5 on Driver seat Author: itsstock : member since October, 2004 : 1885 posts Posted on: 2005-10-09 17:17:36

Hi everyone,

David if this is helpfull please include it into the E38 site, I want to clean my personnal folder and If I delete the pictures it will effect this post.

I decided to do a write up on the srs system. After much time I mustered the courage to take on the challenge. Since the day I bought my car the SRS light has been on, and I found out it had been on since 2002. Thats a long time. Equipped with a Peake SRS/5 tool, I decided to investigate and repair the faults. The first fault I got was a Firing circuit, belt tensioner driver side. So knowing this, I researched the TIS and found that a harness is the reason for this fault. The TIS also gives you the harness # to buy for your year(please use the tis for more info)the part was about 12$ at the dealer. I had more pics of the finished setup but the camera decided to crap out on the final pics? Sorry


Ok, so here we go
1) Remove driver seat out of car

2) Unwrap tape and analyze wiring

3) Install New harness and rewrap wires

4) Install seat back into car.


In some more detail

1) Step 1 detail
Removing the seat requires a few tools , #50 torx for the 4 torx heads that hold the seat into place, then another #50 torx head that holds the shoulder belt in place, raise the seat all the way for more clearance, then disconnect the battery. Another item is the steel cable tension. this unclips by using a flat head screwdriver, what I did is once all the bolts were off I lifted the seat towards the steering wheel, and it allowed me to unclip the cable tensioner. OK, so now all that is left is the harness, the harness unclips be a locking mechanism from the side, by pulling the side tab further out, it releases the main harness.

So, a few things need to happen, remove 5 torx bolts, cable tensioner, unplug wiring harness, and remove seat completely out of car.


2) Unwrap harness

Once the seat is out of the car I placed it on a blanket against its back. I now have to remove the plastic trim on the seat. It is the trim that covers the belt buckle clip (the right side of the seat if you are sitting in it). I unbolted it with a T27 torx head) 2 bolts and one plastic tab that also needs to be removed located next to 1 of the torx heads. I simply moved the trim out of the way, but decided not to completely remove it. Just enough to allow room for work. Next I located the srs wiring harness, the old one had a orange head while the new one has a yellow head. I unplugged it and began to unwrap it from the main harness. It was at this point that I decided the best way to do this is to just cut the old harness that was not needed from both ends, and leave the harness in tact. That way it will appear stock, and if anyone services the srs system they can see that the cable had been replaced.

3) Install new harness

I installed the new harness and routed it the same way the original one was. It plugs into this module next to the belt buckle, I made sure there was enough slack for the wire to compensate for seat adjustment. It is important to make sure that the harness is not going to get pulled to much. Once I routed it, it was time to install the new harness into the main harness grouping. Enclosed are pictures of this process. 3 other wires also have to be removed from the old harness head and onto the new harness. The old harness, slides out of the main harness, see the pic of the clip that is removed and allows for this, also a pick was used to free the 3 molex pins that went into the new harness.
A rectangulare tab is removed then the old harness slides out

A pick is used to remove the 3 wires push into silver tab on the back side of the pin and pull at the same time , make sure you install them the same way into the new harness

picture of the old and new harness

I decided to not unwrap all the tape, but instead to cut the old harness ends, and just reroute the new harness in the same way using zip ties. I also used electrical tape and wrapped the new harness with the main harness, This picture show the factory main harness

New harness installed into the main harness plug (the old harness was black, and the new harness is grey)

New harness installed and wrapped in tape,


4)Revers step 1 and install seat back into car, I removed and installed the seat throught the driver rear door, this seemed to be the easiest method.

I then reconnected the battery, I used the SRS tool to reset the fault code, AND THE AIR BAG LIGHT IS OFF FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER 3 YEARS. I AM VERY HAPPY. So I will drive the car for a few more driving cycles and see if the fault comes back. Hopefully not.
If anyone wants to add or correct anything please do.



DO THE THIZZLE DANCE! RIP MAC DRE

• SRS AIRBAG DIY Guide For Fault #5 on Driver seat (pic) - itsstock 2005-10-09 17:17:36 (18688 views)