Airbag Light: Cured? Or coincidence? Using my bottom!

I have a Mini Cooper and from day one almost, I've had trouble with the 'Airbag' light coming on. It's been to an auto-electrician and stayed off for a while (about a month) and then came back on again.

I invested in one of those diagnostic, plug in thingummy's which plugs in under the dashboard. It says it's the driver airbag stage one, which having trawled the internet appears to be the sensor under the driver's seat being at fault.

I cancel the fault which turns the light off, only to have it come back on either almost immediately, or after 10 miles or so. I've tried reaching under the seat and checking the connections to make sure they are not loose or frayed or not quite making connection, and this seems to last a little longer (maybe a day or so).

So in desperation, and thinking about it, it occurred to me that I always carry my wallet in my back pocket, and it's quite bulky. Not with money, but the usual 'cards' of varying description, driver license, bit's of paper, receipts etc. Anyway, I made a conscious decision 'not' to sit in the driver seat with my wallet in my back pocket. Guess what? It's been 3 weeks now since the pesky light came on.

Now I'm in a bit of a quandary, because it seems a bit silly, but was my bulky wallet causing pressure in a certain spot on the seat to loosen or disrupt the sensor? I'm kinda reluctant to start putting it back in my 'usual' pocket in case the damn light comes back.

Coincidence? Or is my bum (c/w wallet) causing the problem?

Bizarre, but could be something in that cure, as a former long distance driver we learnt early never to carry a wallet in a back pocket, as it slightly alters your seating posture and over time can cause spine/back issues, my father in law suffered back pain for years also a driver, and after taking this advice his problem resolved

Bizarre, but could be something in that cure, as a former long distance driver we learnt early never to carry a wallet in a back pocket, as it slightly alters your seating posture and over time can cause spine/back issues, my father in law suffered back pain for years also a driver, and after taking this advice his problem resolved

As a professional driver, what you say makes perfect sense...So having a wallet in your back pocket is generally to be avoided regardless. never gave it a moments thought before.

Sounds probable. When I first got the car I remamber that putting something light on the passenger seat would drigger the "fasten seat belt alarm" as the sensor detected something on the seat, even though much lighter than a person. Sensors seem to be quite sensitive. Your situation seems to be an unusual one.

Car fault lights do automatically clear when the fault has gone.

The connector under the seat is a common fault, usually by back seat passengers feet kicking and damaging it, never heard of a wallet affecting it though!

Car fault lights do automatically clear when the fault has gone.

 

The connector under the seat is a common fault, usually by back seat passengers feet kicking and damaging it, never heard of a wallet affecting it though!

The light in my car doesn't clear itself, it has to be turned off (error cancelled) using the diagnostic tool.

The auto-electrician explained to me that even though it seems to be an intermittent fault, it's really hard to diagnose because of the issue of the light not turning itself off, even if the fault is found. Extreme trial and error you might say. I have no reason to disbelieve him.

Oh and if you see my car, it's got almost no room in the back seats, and I've never had a passenger of any description in there...

---------- Post added 22-02-2017 at 10:15 ----------

Sounds probable. When I first got the car I remamber that putting something light on the passenger seat would drigger the "fasten seat belt alarm" as the sensor detected something on the seat, even though much lighter than a person. Sensors seem to be quite sensitive. Your situation seems to be an unusual one.

Quite frankly I really hate these modern cars with sensors all over the place. On the face of it, they are a good idea. But I've never had one come on yet which turned out to be a real fault...They're almost always dodgy connections to the sensor itself, not a fault that the sensor detects. But that's only my experience of course.

Try putting your wallet back in your rear pocket, have a drive around and see if the fault light comes on' then you may have your answer.

It's be very strange for the in-seat sensor to be at fault.

As others have said it's usually the seat connector thats underneath, the design of them is usually pretty poor and they are well known to corrode or suffer from poor electrical connection issues.

Obviously being nearer the floor they can be subject to moisture and stuff which causes them issues.

Try putting your wallet back in your rear pocket, have a drive around and see if the fault light comes on' then you may have your answer.

Yes that would be logical. However, while it's 'off' I'm very reluctant to try it, as it's been an ongoing problem for getting on for a year now, and it's extremely frustrating and annoying when it 'bongs' and the light comes on. It drives me insane!!!

---------- Post added 22-02-2017 at 10:53 ----------

It's be very strange for the in-seat sensor to be at fault.

 

As others have said it's usually the seat connector thats underneath, the design of them is usually pretty poor and they are well known to corrode or suffer from poor electrical connection issues.

 

Obviously being nearer the floor they can be subject to moisture and stuff which causes them issues.

It's all very annoying...So much so, that at the first opportunity, I'll dump the car...(Once it's paid for.. )

It seems odd that the auto electrician hasn't been able to sort it. The underseat connector really is the most simplest of repairs.

Did he not even try to dismantle the connector and solder it in?

Personally I'd have a look on the Mini forums. Can't speak for that marque but on the Peugeot ones we get no end of people coming to us after a so called electrician or mechanic expert with their scan anything reader hasn't come up with a solution (but still charged a shocking amount)

It seems odd that the auto electrician hasn't been able to sort it. The underseat connector really is the most simplest of repairs.

 

Did he not even try to dismantle the connector and solder it in?

 

Personally I'd have a look on the Mini forums. Can't speak for that marque but on the Peugeot ones we get no end of people coming to us after a so called electrician or mechanic expert with their scan anything reader hasn't come up with a solution (but still charged a shocking amount)

I'm not sure which type of scanner those auto-electrician people had, but at the time (as far as I can glean) it was unclear exactly where the fault was emanating from. After getting my own 'dedicated Mini' scanner, I've managed to narrow it down to the driver under-seat airbag sensor. Using the scanner tool itself and searching on-line through lots of forums and places of 'BMW-Mini' interest, and the general consensus, is that it's pretty much odds on, that it's the sensor under the seat. Of course I'm no expert, and I do have trouble getting under the seat (the old bones creak a bit).

I have no idea what the auto-electrician did, as I dropped the car off, explained the problem and went back later to pick it up. They said that had checked all the obvious and most common fault locations and 'tightened' things up, but couldn't guarantee it wouldn't come on again, due to the intermittent nature of the problem and not being able to pinpoint exactly where the problem was. Of course I'm reluctant to throw money after money at the problem, so I've tried to persevere by trial and error myself, and it seems my arse has come up trumps (hahaha...Pun entirely meant)

Did it get fixed at the recall? I started to type "airbag seat sensor" into Google and it automatically put "mini" at the end of the predictive typing:

http://blog.caranddriver.com/bmw-recalls-91800-mini-coopers-for-airbag-sensors/

The weight sensor in the front passenger seat that determines whether to deactivate the airbag when a child is seated, or if the seat is unoccupied, can crack over time. This can cause the frontal airbag to become permanently deactivated at all times. BMW has recalled more than 276,000 cars for this problem starting in 2008 and later in 2013. It also extended the warranty to 10 years and unlimited miles on certain affected vehicles.