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MG MGF Technical - srs warning light since seat swap

hey,

a while ago i changed the seats in my F to TF leather ones, and i discovered the connectors under the seats for the airbag circuit are totaly different on the TF seats to the connector on the F!

being big headed i thought oh yeah, all i will do is cut the connectors off and join the wires directly with butt connectors. to my horror the SRS light didnt go off and i came to the conclusion that there must be some sort of relay in the connectors i cut off.

Now its MOT time and i think it ill fail with the light on. is that correct? and what on earth can i do to solve the light problem?

i thought about taking the bulb out but my speedo is a cable type and i think disconecting it to pop the dials out is a bit of a long job.lol

many thanks for any help guys.

mat
mat

I don't know for sure Mat but I think it is now an advisory only for 15 years from date of manufacture(scratchy memory of previous postings). I should be interested to find out by december when my continuous SRS comes up for MOT! If it were an old fashioned bulb it might have blown by then(and if in a Vauxhall definitely) ;o
Charles
C.R.B. Simeon

I think it's just a loose connection. When I had the passenger seat out then put it back the SRS light stayed on, when I moved they wires around and turned of the ignition then tried again the light went out. Mercedes-Benz when they first introduced airbags in the late eighties said they will need replacing in approx 10 years, I dont know of anyone who has replaced the airbags because they are worth more than a high milage Benz.
Andrew Regens

I think the connections under the seat are for seat belt pre-tensioners. If you sourced the seats from a scrap car could these have been activated?

Someone who knows what they are talking about may be able to help further.
S J Bush

Mat,

I would doubt that there is a relay, of anysort in the wee connectors, if you just removed the connector under the seat.

I think I would have tried the same thing you did, ie cut off the connector.

If there was a relay is would have to be one of the small reed glass type and this wouldn't handle the current. Also there wold neeed to be 2 supplies, one for the switch and one for the coil.

If I recall it should be just 2 wires, and if it is you can rest that there was no funny connector.

I often got troubles with mine and as Andrew mentioned just wobbling it seemed to fix it. I never thought anything of taking out the seat disconnecting the wires to get my sodden carpet out (until I fixed the leak from the airbox) It wasn't till much later I read in the archives with horror

That you need to disconncet the battery and leave for a while before removing incase the seat belt tensioners went off ! Luckily having removed the seats at least 6 times and disconnected and connected the cables nothing happened.

If you have the old seat I'd try removing the connector and wiring this in and see what happens

Brian
Brian

I am surprised that the SRS warning light remains on - and would in fact suspect that one of the wires has not got a good contact through one of the butt connectors you've used (these aren't especially reliable in my experience).

What you do next depends on whether you cut off the original plugs from the loom. If you haven't (or could resolder them back on), then I would be tempted to do what Brian has suggested, namely replace the seat belt clasps with the ones on your original seats, and therefore retain the original SRS wiring for the seat.

Interestingly, early TF seats (like the ones in my '96 F!) have the same connectors as the MGF. But the TF wiring loom was extensively upgraded in, I think, 2004(?) - and clearly the seats you've bought are of very recent vintage.

So handy tip for anyone looking to change to TF seats - make sure you know the age of the seats that you're looking at: new ones will necessitate a little extra work in swapping over the seat belt buckles...
Rob Bell

Brian,
I am afraid my feeble sense of humour(or lack of it) takes great delight from your multiple removal of seats without detonating the airbags. Of course they didn't go off and almost certainly never will. Have you read the RAVE disc about safe disposal!!!!!!
We continuously read dire warnings of awful consequences(especially where there is any potential legal liability) every day. I wonder if they ever could happen; but like a popular myth or 'urban legend' we are assured of mortal danger at every turn.
Yet most of us on this site all drive around in allegedly rotten cars having a ball nearly all of the time! Oh alright then, much of the time! Complacent cheers, Charles
C.R.B. Simeon

This thread was discussed between 01/10/2006 and 02/10/2006

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