Air bag electrical problem

[johninoz]

Hi everyone,

I have a 2003 4.4 x5 and have got a lot of great information for many of you that have posted mods. Recently, I added a sub amp to my harmon Kardon amp using the helpful information in the following post http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/s...ctory-amp.html I also previously added a reverse camera using another post on this forum http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...reverse+camera. After adding the sub amp I noticed that my air bad sensor light lit up. Having to get it serviced I also asked if they could reset te air bag warning light as I assumed I triggered it by disconnecting the battery leads to add the direct main electrical feeds for the sub amp. However, the technician said they could not clear the error as it was a permanent error due to "battery positive isolation resistance too high". Apart from disconnecting everything and seeing if the warning light will reset and going through a round of trial and error to see which connecting is causing the problem, is there anyone who has experianced this or know what the problem may be? Is there a problem with taking direct feeds from the battery to power the sub amp/ camera ( problem was not there when the camera was first installed but not sure if in combination with the sub amp if this has contributed to the problem)?

Hope somone can help, thanks.

John

[supersteve]

Start where you last finished. If the light came on after the install of the sub-woofer, disconnect it and see if it will reset.

[johninoz]

Thanks Supersteve,
Will have to do that, the problem is I would have to keep taking it back to the mechanics to keep resetting until I found the problem connection (not many - only the direct feed and the remote feed)- Just didn't know if taking direct feeds from the battery was a no no for BMW electricals as I understood that some if not most of the electricals run off a pulse current rather than the normal? Do you know if there is a way to reset the air bad sensor light without going to the mechanic?

[supersteve]

Air bag systems can be a pain. You may also have a hard failure. I went through an airbag problem on my wifes VW. It called for the "passenger seat belt resistance too high." I tried to jump the conection to reset it. Then I t came up with "resistance too low." After replacing the seat belt ($245) I still needed an Indy to reset the light. Same with BMW.


The only other option I know of is the reset tool which you can buy. I believe PEAK makes one that works well. You may be able to find a member that has one to borrow. Unfortunatly, I don't.

Air bags are a funny thing. People don't recommend jumping pins on the service plug, like you can for the earlier version to reset the service light. Several thousands of dollars for new air bags isn't worth the experiment.

Good luck
SS