srs airbag issue

[topless bmw fan]

hi,i have been a bmw fan for years ,always read the forums for help and always found the answers until now
help needed
i have had an ongoing issue with my 1999 z3 with the airbag light always staying on
i have bought 2 different readers
a cheap ebay unit
and an expensive bavarian technic
well ,not much difference in the 2 units
the cheapy shows 16 &17
and the $ shows 22
its nice to have numbers but when you dont know what they mean ,it is worthless
i was hoping that bavarian would help but they brush me off
saying that the codes they use are the same as bmw
i cant find codes and description anywhere
here is what i have found 22 = mrsa front left
and 16= sensor side right parameter fault
and 17=sensor side airbag right data fault

i need specific placement info
i have toyed,disconnected,reconnected,replaced,measured just about everything
i have even rewritten the list that came with the chinese model to try and make sense of it all
i figured i would find the working units and eventually get the defective ones but to no avail

[Greydog]

Morning Claudio

Welcome to the Forum

Diagnostic readers can be a boon or a PITA while they can all read fault codes as you have discovered some really are not that helpful.

You need a BMW specific reader such as INPA or BMW 1.4.0 The first thing they will explain what the issue is, example my Parking sensors were intermittent BMW 1.4.0 doesn't give just a code it shows Sensor rear centre right as a description. I have 1.4.0 set up on an old laptop that I use just for diagnostics BMW 1.4.0 only cost about £10 when I got it

Now your problem, a lot of SRS issues are caused by the seat occupancy sensors and connectors particularly after a car has had a few years of "bums in seats" 

If you haven't already check www.realoem.com a BMW online parts list put the last 7 digits of your Vin in the search box it will bring up your model. This will give 2 things 1 a small exploded drawing so you can see how things fit 2 part numbers so you know your getting correct replacements. Also look at www.newtis.info use your Vin again or just search the model info. This is a BMW technical information site that will give you the same information as a BMW Dealer to allow repair and fault location.

Hope this helps

Dave

[Michael_Harding]

Hi Topless.

I have a 1999 Z3 (RHD) and both I and the car live in Bavaria. We are also members of the local Z3 car club.

Although the club does not operate a forum it does comprise of many ex BMW engineers who have always proved both helpful and useful when I have encountered a problem. I will email a couple of them with the problem and see what they come up with.

[Bimmer Owners Club]

It might relate to the Occupancy Sensor in the passenger seat as these tend to break but can be overriden with a small resistor/diode device to fool the system to believe there is someone sat in the seat.
This puts the light out but the SRS still functions perfectly fine

[X5smw]

I had an issue with mye46. The seatbelt pretensioner on the passenger side was the culprit. Buy an eBay occupancy bypass plug to test. 
I use bmw 1.4. Blah.... on a laptop, it’s simple to use and tells you everything you need. It’s all in text too, so no guessing codes etc