Racing Seats Airbag Warning Light Procedure

[hcj986s]

Two questions:

1. I haven't installed my Recaros, but I went to the dealer re resetting the airbag light. They said they'd do it, but that they weren't sure how. Does anyone have the exact procedure/menu selections so I can walk the tech through this?

2. Does resetting the airbag light cause the airbags to be defeated? Is there a way to cause them to fire regardless of whether there's weight in the driver and/or passenger seat (that is, the harness is disconnected)? Again, I need to exact procedure.

Thanks,

[j.fro]

There are a couple of things going on. First off, if you disconnect the battery before you start to pull your old seats out, you'll be able to avoid the light coming on. You will need to remove the seat belt receptacles from the OEM seats. This involves disconnecting the wiring harness, unplugging the seatbelt receptacle from the large connector under the seat, and pulling the seatbelt wiring through the seat frame, padding, etc. Attach the receptacles to the new seats and reconnect the seatbelt wiring to the wiring harness that remains in the car. You'll need to use a bit of electrical tape to keep the plastic connectors together, as the snap clip is part of the main connector that stays with the OEM seat. Get all of that together, and you should not get the airbag light.
Now, a lot of folks like to disable the door airbags when installing race seats. This will require the PIWIS or PST II. The computer is a touch screen, and it's pretty easy to navigate. You should be able to walk yourself to the seatbelt page and disable whatever airbags you like (and reset the airbag light if necessary) .