Maybe you can help me with this one:

The other day the airbag light started coming on in my car when the ignition is turned on - after approx. two minutes it goes out.

I haven't found anyone that can tell me what this means (or how to fix it).

What is suspicious is that it started happening right when I was changing shift knobs (i.e. crawling around all over the seat to get a good angle for pulling) - could be entirely unrelated but maybe not?

I have assumed it is sealt belt related but have hesitated to take it to the dealer yet for a very long list of reasons.

Any thoughts - thanks -

Tim

Tim,

I cant say for certain what the fault can be. Although the most common problems are the seat belt tensioners, the passenger side seat occupancy sensor mat, and/or the drivers side airbag slip ring.

Since you have a 95 M3, maybe you can disconnect the battery for a minute or so to clear the faults in the SRS Control unit. Not sure if this may work or not.

Thanks for your thoughts.

If I bring it into a dealer will they have the ability to read the fault and know exactly what it is, or will it be a process of elimination project...

So you think I have any real safety issues here?

thanks.

Tim

Tim,

Yes the dealer has the diagnostic equipment to let them know which is the fault in the system. Most of the time it'll be a resistance problem in a certain part or item. There is a chance though that the fault has occured 1 time only and isnt present. That means you dont have to buy anything but its at your own risk.

Depending on the fault, it can be a safety issue or not. For example, say if your seat belt pretensioners are faulty, then that means on a frontal crash accident, the front airbags will deploy no matter how hard the hit is if the SRS control unit sees this faulty pretensioner.

:help I havent had time to look under my seat for the extra wire but theres still a mysterious wire there. :help

Chance are, you knocked one of the seatbelt sensors around and the system flagged it as bad. If you take it to the dealer they'll charge you $75 to read/reset the light and suggest that you order a new seatbelt part for ~$100. This happened to me when I was running alarm wires through the center console on my M3. I never replaced the part and light hasn't come back on in nearly two years. I'd recommend getting the SRS reset tool from BavAuto.com part# SR 200 for $119, it's under the TOOLS section. It does cost more than a dealer scan/reset, but if you ever trip the system in the future when pulling a seat or the instrument cluster, then you'll be ahead by a few $$$.

thanks - I may try that...