DIY: Aftermarket seats.. How to eliminate the AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT...

**KryptoniK** · 01-20-2014 07:36 PM

For the past few years since I've owned the Euro RS4 Sport Seats I've been on a quest to eliminate my Airbag Warning Light. I get some hints and clues here and there but can never find one person to give a full description of how they were able to eliminate the light.

So far I've done the following with no success...

1) Sourced and installed official VAG yellow airbag resistors to connect in the floor panel under the driver and passenger seat.
2) Sourced and installed a passenger seat occupancy sensor from a B7 A4 passenger seat I bought used but have not successfully connected it to the floor panel under the seat.
3) Connected both driver and passenger seat belt sensors in the floor panels under the seats.

What else am I missing? Can anyone chime in on the exact process they went through to successfully eliminate the airbag warning light with aftermarket seats? The RS4 community needs this badly.

Much appreciated in advance..

-Dave

**JimmyBones** · 01-20-2014 07:50 PM

What codes are you getting?

Seat occupancy sensor open circuit and side airbag igniter open circuit?

**KryptoniK** · 01-20-2014 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by JimmyBones

What codes are you getting?

Seat occupancy sensor open circuit and side airbag igniter open circuit?

Forgot about posting that, figured most people knew the general codes. I'll get into the car tomorrow morning to scan the codes and I'll post exactly what I'm getting.

**zmon** · 01-21-2014 05:46 AM

Dave,

It sounds like you have it covered. use the below link to help get your occupancy sensor working (i had a shop do the install for me). other than this you will need those yellow resistors you have and you should be all good.

http://nickscarblog.com/diy/how-to-i...-warning-light

Tino is the best one stop shop i know...

**Flying Tomatoes** · 01-21-2014 06:37 AM

Originally Posted by zmon

Dave,

It sounds like you have it covered. use the below link to help get your occupancy sensor working (i had a shop do the install for me). other than this you will need those yellow resistors you have and you should be all good.

http://nickscarblog.com/diy/how-to-i...-warning-light

Tino is the best one stop shop i know...

Exactly this. I have had my seats in my car for about a year with no error codes and the occupancy sensor working properly. As long as you have swapped all your US spec belts, and have your occupancy bladder in place you should be good to go once you work through the codes.

Dave, you're close, I can come help you if needed, that is if your not gonna dodge me again

**Flying Tomatoes** · 01-21-2014 06:40 AM

Originally Posted by KryptoniK

Forgot about posting that, figured most people knew the general codes. I'll get into the car tomorrow morning to scan the codes and I'll post exactly what I'm getting.

this one I would guess?

01579 - Signal for Seat Occupied Sensor; Front Passenger Side (G128)

**koolade9** · 01-21-2014 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by zmon

http://nickscarblog.com/diy/how-to-i...-warning-light

This

**07MisanoRed** · 01-21-2014 12:03 PM

Im on board for this thread and getting an official DIY/procedure. It is needed badly for the audi community.

I have had the Airbag light on in my car for going on 6 months now and would like it gone as well. I'll throw in my $.02 and what knowledge I have learned/gathered. Put it in a form that can be added to/ updated/ changed and maybe after a while and everyones input of what works and doesn't work we will end up with a DIY.

I think it comes down to bypassing or modifying 5 things:

1.) Drivers seat airbag circuit - no airbag is there anymore, so a resistor must be placed in that circuit to fool the computer into thinking that there still is an airbag. If I recall resistance needed is low... maybe 5.6 Ohms? Correct me if I'm wrong

Action Needed: Wire resistor into yellow airbag plug circuit - resistance to be confirmed. 5.6 Ohms?

2.) Passengers seat airbag circuit - no airbag is there anymore, so a resistor must be placed in that circuit to fool the computer into thinking that there still is an airbag. If I recall resistance needed is low... maybe 5.6 ohms? Correct me if I'm wrong

Action Needed: Wire resistor into yellow airbag plug circuit - resistance to be confirmed. 5.6 Ohms?

3.) Drivers seat seat belt buckle circuit - this circuit tells the computer if your buckled in or not. I see two options here... you could wire your buckle leads into the appropriate pins on the floor and retain the OE functionality of the buckle. Or you can bypass this with a resistor as well. I took a meter to my buckle and if I remember correctly it goes from low resistance when no buckle present, to high resistance when a buckle present. A high value resistor between the two pins will tell the computer the seat belt is always buckled. This also eliminates the seat belt chime, which I know can be turned off in VCDS as well.

Action Needed: Wire in resistor (think I used 100 ohm?) or wire into appropriate pins in floor to retain OE functionality

4.) Passengers seat seat belt buckle - this circuit tells the computer if your passenger is buckled in or not. This buckle, oddly, is different than the drivers buckle. It contains a spring loaded mechanism that I'm guessing somehow combines sensing buckle present/not present with belt tension. I could not easily identify a resistor that I thought would bypass this buckle... I didn't mess with it too much though. Maybe just wiring it into the appropriate pins on the floor would be best to retain OE functionality.

Action Needed: Wire in resistor (have not identified appropriate resistor) or wire into appropriate pins in floor to retain OE functionality

5.)Passenger seat occupancy sensor - This tells the computer if someone is sitting in the passenger seat or not which lets it determine if it should have the passenger seat airbag on or off. This is not a simple sensor and involves a bladder that takes pressure from weight being placed on it and applies it via a tube to the module. The module then outputs a variable voltage/resistance to pins in the floor to let the computer decide if the passenger is "large" enough to enable the airbag. I am pretty clueless on this one... I suppose the right resistance between the right pins might work to bypass the module but I have no clue how to figure that out. Most people with success have used some kind of donor occupancy module... but I will leave that up to them to describe how they implemented it.

Action Needed: To be determined

**OscarMeyer** · 01-21-2014 01:19 PM

Dave,

so far from your list you have everything correct, but you don't need to swap the bladders, RS4 Recaro's never came with them, in Europe the airbag coding is different, you can either code It to run the airbags always, which if you get into an accident, the passenger airbag would go off even if no one is sitting there, or the other option is to get the input from the buckle, rather then weight on the seat. (I used this)
I'm just at work but I should be able to get you the coding information by tonight, pretty simple just a couple of numbers need to be changed and the car will realize you have buckets.

I also have a DIY half finished, I just need to take a few more photo's.

**BorisTheBlade** · 01-22-2014 05:54 AM

Originally Posted by OscarMeyer

Dave,

so far from your list you have everything correct, but you don't need to swap the bladders, RS4 Recaro's never came with them, in Europe the airbag coding is different, you can either code It to run the airbags always, which if you get into an accident, the passenger airbag would go off even if no one is sitting there, or the other option is to get the input from the buckle, rather then weight on the seat. (I used this)
I'm just at work but I should be able to get you the coding information by tonight, pretty simple just a couple of numbers need to be changed and the car will realize you have buckets.

I also have a DIY half finished, I just need to take a few more photo's.

Hey would you mind shooting that over to me too...in the same boat with the buckets...much appreciated

**OscarMeyer** · 01-22-2014 06:40 PM

BorisTheBlade, KryptoniK. PM'ed

**c615586** · 01-22-2014 06:48 PM

Shoot. I'm still just working on sourcing some Euro B7 RS4 seats.

**c615586** · 01-26-2014 07:35 PM

Seats purchased! Should ship out from England on Wednesday.

**OscarMeyer** · 01-26-2014 07:47 PM

That's so awesome man! Your going to love them once they arrive!

**4.2** · 01-26-2014 07:51 PM

Originally Posted by 07MisanoRed

Im on board for this thread and getting an official DIY/procedure. It is needed badly for the audi community.

I have had the Airbag light on in my car for going on 6 months now and would like it gone as well. I'll throw in my $.02 and what knowledge I have learned/gathered. Put it in a form that can be added to/ updated/ changed and maybe after a while and everyones input of what works and doesn't work we will end up with a DIY.

5.)Passenger seat occupancy sensor - This tells the computer if someone is sitting in the passenger seat or not which lets it determine if it should have the passenger seat airbag on or off. This is not a simple sensor and involves a bladder that takes pressure from weight being placed on it and applies it via a tube to the module. The module then outputs a variable voltage/resistance to pins in the floor to let the computer decide if the passenger is "large" enough to enable the airbag. I am pretty clueless on this one... I suppose the right resistance between the right pins might work to bypass the module but I have no clue how to figure that out. Most people with success have used some kind of donor occupancy module... but I will leave that up to them to describe how they implemented it.

Action Needed: To be determined

I solved this issue without the need of a bladder. I tried buying a bladder from another seat, and it didn't work for me. I ended up having this guy build me a device that tricks the computer to think that there is always someone sitting in the passenger seat, and therefore will eliminate the airbag light. The only thing with this option, is that once you trick the system into thinking there is always someone in the seat, the seat belt light and chime will go on. I simply used a dummy seat belt clip and problem solved, but there may be a way to avoid this via the vag com, but I don't know.

**S4Per** · 01-26-2014 09:15 PM

Eliminating the seat belt chime is an easy one. Here you go.

**c615586** · 04-24-2014 11:25 AM

OscarMeyer, can you PM me your diy on how to get the seats in code-free? Now that the weather has hopefully warmed up for good, I'm itching to get these guys in my car!

**KryptoniK** · 04-24-2014 03:46 PM

Coincidence you revived this thread.. I just resolved the air bag light last night, ill post my own version of a DIY shortly. Thanks to everyone for the helpful tips and links. Now the pass seat functions like stock with the pass air a activating/deactivating when someone sits.

Its been a long time since I've seen my cluster warning free, so beautiful.

**OscarMeyer** · 04-24-2014 03:52 PM

Originally Posted by c615586

OscarMeyer, can you PM me your diy on how to get the seats in code-free? Now that the weather has hopefully warmed up for good, I'm itching to get these guys in my car!

Yes sir I can! I've been meaning to finish the day!

Originally Posted by KryptoniK

Coincidence you revived this thread.. I just resolved the air bag light last night, ill post my own version of a DIY shortly. Thanks to everyone for the helpful tips and links. Now the pass seat functions like stock with the pass air a activating/deactivating when someone sits.

Its been a long time since I've seen my cluster warning free, so beautiful.

So glad to hear! Did you vagcom the car to pick up the European settings?

It's really just a matter of swapping a few numbers.

**BorisTheBlade** · 04-25-2014 08:26 AM

I am doing mine in the next few days, so tired of staring at that light lol...i'll post once I do the euro settings...

**LINDW4LL** · 07-23-2014 12:52 PM

Bump. Can someone please share (either via post or PM) the coding used to eliminate the occupancy sensor?

Originally Posted by BorisTheBlade

I am doing mine in the next few days, so tired of staring at that light lol...i'll post once I do the euro settings...

Originally Posted by KryptoniK

Coincidence you revived this thread.. I just resolved the air bag light last night, ill post my own version of a DIY shortly. Thanks to everyone for the helpful tips and links. Now the pass seat functions like stock with the pass air a activating/deactivating when someone sits.

**OscarMeyer** · 07-23-2014 04:55 PM

http://*******************/forum/index.php?topic=2500.0
(Audizine blocks Audi - Revolution . Net - but just go to the DiY section to find the coding needed.)

I've been meaning to take more pictures for that DIY, but that should solve your issue's.

One thing I forgot to list on the DiY is to use your stock North American buckles, as the European sensor/plug is on the driver side.

**LINDW4LL** · 07-23-2014 05:04 PM

Originally Posted by OscarMeyer

http://audirevolution.net/forum/index.php?topic=2500.0

I've been meaning to take more pictures for that DIY, but that should solve your issue's.

One thing I forgot to list on the DiY is to use your stock North American buckles, as the European sensor/plug is on the driver side.

Thanks a lot, OscarMeyer. So this takes care of the occupancy sensor issue. It sounds like it may take care of the airbag issue as well. Is this correct, or will I still need to use resistors?

**MattboyR32** · 06-25-2017 06:41 PM

Sorry to revive an old thread. What did you all do for the seat belt sensor/wiring. I thought it could be as simple as undoing from the wiring loom under the seat. Seems not to be the case. So has everyone bought the connector (red one I think) and wired it up to the seat belt plug?

thanks for the help

**65vetteC6** · 06-26-2017 03:58 AM

Originally Posted by MattboyR32

Sorry to revive an old thread. What did you all do for the seat belt sensor/wiring. I thought it could be as simple as undoing from the wiring loom under the seat. Seems not to be the case. So has everyone bought the connector (red one I think) and wired it up to the seat belt plug?

thanks for the help

Black plug is for the seat belt

**MattboyR32** · 06-28-2017 04:30 PM

Seats are in finally. Still a little fine tuning on drivers side but all good. Sits higher than expected but definitely feels more connected and solid. Not sure if I can daily drive it but it's fun. Now for harness bar or roll cage and resistors. :)

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**Gansel** · 06-29-2017 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by MattboyR32

Seats are in finally. Still a little fine tuning on drivers side but all good. Sits higher than expected but definitely feels more connected and solid. Not sure if I can daily drive it but it's fun. Now for harness bar or roll cage and resistors. :)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You really committed to the race car life. I dig it

**MattboyR32** · 06-29-2017 10:44 PM

LOL, sometimes it's a function of an idle mind. We also have a family friend racing in Blancpain GT series so I begin dreaming... ;)

The accountant in me also managed a good deal for both seats :) That helps

**MattboyR32** · 07-09-2017 03:23 PM

So I did the oscarmeyer recoding today. Cleared faults and this is the only fault left. Mind that I don't have resistors for the airbags yet.

1 Fault Found:
02511 - Control Module for Seat Occupied Recognition (J706)
004 - No Signal/Communication - MIL ON
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 11100100
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 1
Reset counter: 255
Time Indication: 0

**65vetteC6** · 07-10-2017 04:45 AM

Originally Posted by MattboyR32

So I did the oscarmeyer recoding today. Cleared faults and this is the only fault left. Mind that I don't have resistors for the airbags yet.

1 Fault Found:
02511 - Control Module for Seat Occupied Recognition (J706)
004 - No Signal/Communication - MIL ON
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 11100100
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 1
Reset counter: 255
Time Indication: 0

That is for the occupancy sensor.

**BorisTheBlade** · 07-10-2017 05:42 AM

pretty sure there is no way to clear that one...Kryptonik and Flying Tomatoes both installed the occupancy sensor in the end...i think its the only way

**mightemouce** · 07-10-2017 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by MattboyR32

So I did the oscarmeyer recoding today. Cleared faults and this is the only fault left. Mind that I don't have resistors for the airbags yet.

1 Fault Found:
02511 - Control Module for Seat Occupied Recognition (J706)
004 - No Signal/Communication - MIL ON
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 11100100
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 1
Reset counter: 255
Time Indication: 0

I've run into this same issue following the coding on AR

**[email protected]** · 07-10-2017 11:11 AM

Unfortunately to this day I haven't found a solution to go around the occupancy sensor on North American models.

The occupancy sensor is a larger gel filled pad that is in the factory seating. It has a pressure sensor and a control unit which sends data to the airbag controller.

RS4, R8, etc owners that go the full aftermarket or European sport seat route can either disassemble the factory seat, get a used seat to take apart or purchase a new occupancy setup to either tuck away or place into the new seating.

If anyone needs assistance with this or side airbag immobilizers as well I can always assist: [email protected]

Cheers,

**mightemouce** · 07-12-2017 07:32 AM

I was doing some work on an old seat with the bladder module in yesterday, I may have a less invasive solution shortly.
I'll report back with what I find.

**mightemouce** · 07-12-2017 01:26 PM

As I expected after my findings yesterday a separate pressure sensor can be spliced into the harness and poof no more airbag light and the airbag will be on without swapping the bladder

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**koolade9** · 07-12-2017 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by mightemouce

As I expected after my findings yesterday a separate pressure sensor can be spliced into the harness and poof no more airbag light and the airbag will be on without swapping the bladder

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IIRC, the car needs to be calibrated to the bladder to recognize idle pressure vs. occupant in seat. By just connecting a bladder to the sensor and hiding it, the airbag would always be off.

What kind of testing have you been doing?

**mightemouce** · 07-12-2017 02:41 PM

There's no bladder in the car anymore, I have a pressure sensor wired in to where the bladder would be and the car recognizes it as adult being in the seat with the airbag on

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**BorisTheBlade** · 07-13-2017 07:19 AM

Originally Posted by mightemouce

There's no bladder in the car anymore, I have a pressure sensor wired in to where the bladder would be and the car recognizes it as adult being in the seat with the airbag on

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I need this!!!!

**MattboyR32** · 07-30-2017 06:38 PM

Originally Posted by mightemouce

There's no bladder in the car anymore, I have a pressure sensor wired in to where the bladder would be and the car recognizes it as adult being in the seat with the airbag on

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please tell me how you did this?

...