Air Bag Warning Light (SRS)
NorthStarBavarian
North Star Chapter Oct/Nov/Dec issue
If you have a BMW produced after 3/94 and your air bag warning light stays on longer than a few seconds after you start the car, or comes back on and stays on for as long as two minutes before going out, read on. You are most likely having a problem with one of the printed circuit boards in the seat belt buckles. These circuits signal the air bag control unit (ZAE or MSR) to determine if one or both the driver and passenger air bags are deployed in a crash. In this fault situation both bags will deploy even without a passenger. The fault is detected by the control unit and a diagnostic trouble code is stored in the SRS memory. This allows a technician to determine which latch is defective even if the warning light is not on at that time.
This is not to be confused with a SRS light that remains on, [which] indicates that there is a major fault in the system. This will most likely shut down the air bag system and prevent the air bag from deploying, or the potentially dangerous situation of an accidental deployment of an air bag.
On the subject of air bags, last year the National Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) made a ruling that in certain situations people should be allowed to have their air bag disconnected. In an age of litigation where it is possible to be sued for selling someone a cup of coffee that is too hot, no one (including me) is very interested in being the person responsible for disconnecting someone's air bag. Everyone is waiting for all the car manufacturers and NHTSA to come up with policies and procedures to properly do the job. BMW is installing switches for the passenger side air bag for the Z3 so that a small child can ride, in all other models with dual air bags children should always ride in the back seat.