200 Cup fitting 197 Recaros

[Surrey-Paul]

The only downside to removing OEM airbag equipment is from next year it will be an MOT failure although at this stage more of hear say, but on another motoring Forum a guy mentioned an MOT tester mentioned additional pass criteria will be coming in and if a car rolled out the factory with Airbag in steering wheel/seats and you then remove them you have made the car less safe and so will cause a failure.

May just be scare mongering, but seeing how things have been enforced with exhausts and Cats etc. and how it is in most parts of EU that you can no longer modify a car, does seem possible which is why I'm holding out for seat change as I won't be fitting ones with airbags.

So if you do remove, just keep the old kit and like with De-Catting just a case of fitting at time of testing

 

[RalphyBMW]

An MoT tester won't know if the car had Recaros or not, and won't care to be honest.

 

[Surrey-Paul]

An MoT tester won't know if the car had Recaros or not, and won't care to be honest.

OEM Racaro's have side airbag so if you fitted the Sportster CS without airbag option then when they check and I'm assuming they will be given a check list (without yes they will be clueless ) as with case of checking OEM Db reading of exhaust or CO2 level.

But Police & DOT roadside checkpoints are another issue, I was always getting pulled into them but unfortunately for them I was just under the limit for Db and still within CO2 as had group N exhaust and that still retained 1 of the 3 Cats but highly efficient Prodrive item. They seem to be very thorough as well seeing how they would go over the vehicle and knew exactly what I had changed but having modified insurance which again they checked had nothing to ticket me on.

 

[RalphyBMW]

There is unlikely to be a checklist, and this post is about fitting the OE Recaros which do have a side airbag but don't have an anti-submarine airbag.

 

[ryan197]

I spoke to RUK (Renault customer services) they said this is not something they do! If you were lucky enough to find a Renault garage who either didnt know this, or was friendly enough to help you out then congratulations but i assure you it is certainly not the normal case.

My local Renault garage got the mechanic to phone me so i could explain what i wanted doing, he then went off to to check with his colleagues, he then went off to phone Renault who told him not to do it. I then phoned RUK to ask why i was being messed around to be told the mechanic was correct and disabling "safety features" was against their best practice :thumbdown:


@Antti O.
The method i described in this topic is not bodging safety features or disabling them. The airbags will still fire in an impact, and the seatbelt warning still occurs if your not plugged in. The only thing it does is prevent the "anti-submaring" airbags from firing if you drive your car into a lake but the Recaros do not need this feature "aparently" due to the way they hold you firm in the upright seating position anyway!

i cant see the problem TBH, as renault would have to use a different configuration when fitted the recaros in the factory when being built. when mine was being done they did a full safety check on the whole car, and you arent disabling anything, just telling the ecu that it one less airbag to look for. its like changing a part and resetting the fault

 

[ryan197]

The only downside to removing OEM airbag equipment is from next year it will be an MOT failure although at this stage more of hear say, but on another motoring Forum a guy mentioned an MOT tester mentioned additional pass criteria will be coming in and if a car rolled out the factory with Airbag in steering wheel/seats and you then remove them you have made the car less safe and so will cause a failure.

May just be scare mongering, but seeing how things have been enforced with exhausts and Cats etc. and how it is in most parts of EU that you can no longer modify a car, does seem possible which is why I'm holding out for seat change as I won't be fitting ones with airbags.

So if you do remove, just keep the old kit and like with De-Catting just a case of fitting at time of testing

there factory optional recaros which have one less airbag compared to the standard seats, the ecu needs to be told thats its not there so it doesnt bring up the airbag fault.

 

[Surrey-Paul]

there factory optional recaros which have one less airbag compared to the standard seats, the ecu needs to be told thats its not there so it doesnt bring up the airbag fault.

Didn't know there was actually 2 airbags, thought it was just 1 which is why when I originally read thread thought it was disabling the side. Just taken a look and can see the one under the seat base.

Thanks for pointing that out never had a car which has so many airbags in so many places and can understand now why dealer would disable that anti-submarine one when Recaro's fitted.

Think I'll be looking for a set of the OEM Recaro's then.

 

[SarGara]

i cant see the problem TBH, as renault would have to use a different configuration when fitted the recaros in the factory when being built. when mine was being done they did a full safety check on the whole car, and you arent disabling anything, just telling the ecu that it one less airbag to look for. its like changing a part and resetting the fault

Not quite. When you spec Recaros you get a different ECU/Loom so there is no additional feature that is merely disabled in a configuration. Your Recaro ECU isnt looking for something where as the stock ECU is. So yes on the one hand im sure they could just disable the feature from the stock ECU to prevent it "searching" but to my knowledge this is not how they do it during assembly as comparing the wiring looms on both Recaro and none Recaro cars the wires are different colours/combinations etc.

Interesting point about the potential future MoT's but as stated; I dont think Renault even know what optional extra's your car is spec'd with when it leaves the factory so i doubt your average MoT tester will have access to check if you did or did not spec the Recaro optional extra

 

[ryan197]

to be honest, i dont think it matters whether its a recaro seat or standard, looms from one car to another seem to have different wiring anyway, my recaro seats came from an F1 and less cables in it to the loom on another set that a lad on here brought. but the main loom you will find to be the same and ecu will be the same, there will just be a different configuration from one car to another, which will have to programmed into the ecu at some point along the production line, not just meaning due to the recaro seats, it will down to climate control/non climate/air con, xenon lights/cornering lights, ecu needs coding to the car etc.

 

[CL10]

First of all, just want to thank SarGara for the guide on page 2. I fitted my recaros just before christmas and popped in the resistors today as soon as they arrived - the guide helped a lot!

When I fitted the resistors, I disconnected the battery and loosened the seats so I could 'tidy up' the wires beneath and fit them into their connectors which fasten them to the seat. I taped up the resistor wire with the rest of the wires before I popped them into the connectors... and heard a snap, bent the resistor! I figured it's broken as the 'check airbag' warning is still there! I run the risk of sounding like a blatent idiot, but is there a way to check if it is 100% broken before I order another from capital? I've disconnected the battery again, but obviously I'm going to leave it for a little while before I attempt to take the resistor out to have a closer look at it.

 

[CL10]

Just taken out the resistor and checked over the wiring in the car, everything 'looks' fine. Any hints or tips from anyone that has done this as to why the warning light is still on would be appreciated, although obviously trying to diagnose a problem over the internet is like trying to find a needle in a haystack!

 

[CL10]

Been doing a bit of reading up and have a few more questions...

Obviously I'll test the resistors with a multimeter as soon as I can get my hands on one - that's the first step. But a few other questions:

- Is there a certain way the resistors have to fit in the plug? (It may sound like a daft question, but I'm sure I have put them all the way in!)
- Is it possible that if one of the resistors is not working, that it will have triggered a fault code when I reconnected the battery and started the car, causing the warning light to stay on regardless of the resistor working? (In which case I'll need to take a trip to Renault or find someone with a clip tool).

I know there are a few that have had their fair share of fun and games while changing seats - again, any help from someone that has done this before would be appreciated.

 

[renohead]

My 15 step guide to fitting recaros with pics.

Hope this might help fitted mine a few weeks ago everthing worked out fine
no airbag lights on. My car is a 197 .

 

[CL10]

What a brilliant guide, thank you.

It's exactly what I have done, although you mention in step 10 to leave the car standing after reconnecting the battery. I turned the car on to check the light, which (as you said would happen), is on!

Question is then, what can I do now to turn it off?

 

[renohead]

I think you will have to go to your renault dealer to get the light
turned off now, as the fault is probably recorded now.

 

[CL10]

For anyone that attempts to switch seats and modifies the wiring using a resistor - make sure the resistor is fully in and ends meet!

School boy error, but at least the airbag light is out now!

 

[SarGara]

Yeah i did the same as you CL10 and immediately turned the ignition on to check. Through the process of doing the initial guide on page2 i must have had the airbag light on about 5 or 6 times but it would always clear itself without any issue when you get it "correct"

 

[renohead]

For anyone that attempts to switch seats and modifies the wiring using a resistor - make sure the resistor is fully in and ends meet!

School boy error, but at least the airbag light is out now!

Nice one glad to hear you got it sorted.:thumbup: