e46 Passenger Seat Occupancy sensor

[samman325]

I'm been having issues with my passenger seat occupancy sensor for a month or two now with it occasionally flicking on and off but it hasn't bothered me much as it was generally over bumps that it would momentarily light up and i hardly ever have anyone in the passenger seat.

But this morning it took it in to BMW for the airbag campaign and now the light is permanently on. I was told that its the occupancy sensor (which i already knew except that its on permanently now)

Doing some research on the net showed that there is a DIY bypass that can be done which would render the passenger airbag permanently active (irrespective of the seat being occupied or not which is fine by me). It looks like a simple setup consisting of 2 x 100 ohm resistors and a diode.

However, i would like to ask if anyone locally has done this and if it is really something i should consider as a fix or rather go for replacing the occupancy sensor mat itself? I haven't priced the mat but assume it would be pricey and a bit of a pain in the arse to do as well.

I also want to get this sorted so that i can confirm that that airbag replacement was done correctly if fixing the sensor eliminates all warning lights etc.

 

[DieselFan]

If you don't want to do the diy there are bypass plugs available on eBay.

 

[samman325]

If you don't want to do the diy there are bypass plugs available on eBay.

Thanks DieselFan. I have seen those too. Guess i'm still "old school" and not totally comfortable with online shopping.

 

[DieselFan]

If you don't want to do the diy there are bypass plugs available on eBay.

Thanks DieselFan. I have seen those too. Guess i'm still "old school" and not totally comforatble with online shopping.

Ebay is extremely reputable. If your products don't arrive ebay pays you back.

 

[zaleonardz]

Or, you can simply bypass the sensor with NCS

 

[samman325]

Or, you can simply bypass the sensor with NCS

Will this still ensure the airbag is activated in the event of an incident requiring deployment?

 

[Yuben]

Sup Guys,

I now have the same problem, the airbag light was intermittent but now permanently on.

Sameer, did u manage to sort urs out?

:coolShake:

 

[DieselFan]

You can order plugs off eBay to bypass. Or there's a resister mod you can do. Or you can do it via coding.

 

[Blert]

Sup Guys,

I now have the same problem, the airbag light was intermittent but now permanently on.

Sameer, did u manage to sort urs out?

:coolShake:

Yuben

Replacing that sensor is a mission you have to strip the whole seat apart. As it spreads right across the seat. Best is to get a bypass unit of eBay I also tried to make one but it wasn't successful

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[Gizmo]

If you going to bring in a bypass plug then bring in a couple. I will most certainly buy a few from you.

 

[Yuben]

Cool

 

[ChrisBrand]

No need to take the seat apart. Its underneath at the back.

I went the cheap route R15-00 worth of diode's and stuff.

Will post a DIY later.

 

[Yuben]

Chris does it affect the airbag in any way?

 

[samman325]

Yuben, I still have the same issue. Was also going to go the diode route but haven't had time. My car has been neglected lately [CRYING FACE]
I'd also be interested in the bypass plug.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

[Blert]

as far as i know it detects when someone is sitting on the seat and wont deploy the airbag if the seat belt is not being worn.

on the read up i was doing some say it does still work, other say they still receive errors on diagnosis but the light is disabled on dash.

on the 330 i was busy with even with the diodes and resistors the light would not go off.

 

[ChrisBrand]

AFAIK the airbag wont go off [this is just what I read up on].

I have a bit of a double whammy situation as my passenger door airbag plug is throwing an error and the seat occupancy sensor for passenger is throwing an error.

Apparently one should use INPA when removing the seat occupancy error. I used a quick error clear method and and did come back on after a while. Apparently the correct way to do it after fitting diodes and resistors is with INPA and takes around 10 - 15 min.