airbag light fix for MOT

C

chrisj900

Senior member
 whitley bay/ newcastle
edit: SOULD ADD THIS WILL NOT WORK WITH EVERY MOT TESTER BUT SINCE THESE RULES ARE NEW A LOT OF TESTERS DONT PAY FULL ATTENTION

as we all know, the new MOT rules means a fail for any lights on the dashboard. we also know it can cost hundreds to get fixed so if money is tight and you need to get the car through its MOT then this should help. it only takes 5 minutes and an blind guy could do it :P

1. remove the cluster - its held in with a single torx screw in the top of the cluster, undo this and pull the cluster strait out. the conection on the back requires a screwdriver to push down the clip so the white handle can be pulled down.

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2. remove the 4 torx screws from the back of the cluster then unclip the 5 clips holding the back in place.

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3. to remove the front from the electronics, unclip the 2 side clips then with a small screwdriver, unclip the two buttons on the bottom.

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4. witht he electronic section seperated, lift the botom of the plastic with the signs on it. its only held down with a tiny amount of glue. take a piece of electrical tape ( i used some left over shrink wrap) and stick it over the airbag sign.

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5. put the thing back together :D from the front you cant even tell its covered
 
it was MOT prep day as mine is due on the 30th. spent a good few hours with the car on blocks, checking and cleaning every inch
 
Unfortunately they check that it illuminates first and then goes out.
So good luck with that one... :o

Section 5.4 MOT testers handbook:

Method of Inspection:
Turn on the ignition and check the presence and operation of any Supplementary
Restraint System (SRS) malfunction indictor lamp(s) (MIL).

Reason for Rejection:
A Supplementary Restraint System (SRS) malfunction indicator lamp:
 inoperative
 indicating a system malfunction.
 
Knowing my luck,i would crack the unit,fail the mot then get arrested for tampering,and end up as someones butt boy in B-wing! :cry:
 
Also if an airbag light is on, then all of the airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners are disabled and will not go off if the worst should happen, hence why it is now an MOT fail.
 
gookah said:
Also if an airbag light is on, then all of the airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners are disabled and will not go off if the worst should happen, hence why it is now an MOT fail.
Click to expand...

Do you have any proof of that?

From both the BMW technical manuals on the SIM/safety system operation it's infact the opposite, and my INPA backs up that too by telling me everything is operational and ready to be triggered. It even describes why it's still going to trigger.

From the BMW descriptions I have all that happens is airbag and pre-tensioner deployments are made at maximum attack for a high impact collision rather than potentially not even firing in low severity accidents.

The only time the fault light will NOT trigger an airbag is if the fault is in the passenger key-switch de-activation part, so the assumption is you may have a child seat fitted and the airbag won't deploy as it may well injure the occupant of the child seat.


Good mod guide though, I did the exact same thing... quite interesting to take the gauges apart too for general cleaning etc.


Last note, the MOT rules are now changed. Technically there is only a reason for rejection if there is a lamp lit at all. Some MOT stations appear to give an advisory for non-functioning SRS lamp but I think that will be phased out soon in line with the updated rules (March 13 iirc)

Dave
 
I stuck a small piece of matt black electrical tape over the front of mine about 4 years ago, I didn't bother removing the cluster and it's never been an issue at MOT :thumbsup:
 
I did the same, bit of insulation tape on top last year to get it through the a MOT while I tried to sort my faulty airbag module. All sorted now, tape removed and no light. For the MOT they should check the light illuminates before going out. Depends if they notice it or not I guess.
 
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