Icelink Plus & Airbag Warning Lights

[Dewy]

Good Day All,

I wanted to post my recent experience with the Icelink Plus hopefully to save someone else some serious heartache and more than a few dollars.
(I apologize if you are reading this twice; I have posted it on NAM and Mini2.com)

I installed the Icelink Plus into a MCS 2005 in August. It was the model direct from Denison that plugs into the back of the head unit. All worked perfectly out of the box; great sound, ID3 tags on the head unit, etc. (I know, not everyone is so lucky).
Last week upon starting the car one night both the upper and lower airbag lights both were lit and the seatbelt light remained lit. I dutifully searched NAM and Mini2.com trying to find an easy solution. Unfortunately it became pretty obvious that it had to go back to the dealer.

Well my dealer spent a little over five hours ripping apart the dash and the electrical system trying to find the fault. Unfortunately after much trial and error and swapping components in and out it was narrowed down to the Icelink. Once the Icelink was removed from the chain everything reset and the car was fine. I spoke to the technician and he found that the voltage to the system was dropping to half of what it should have been which was what was causing the airbag faults. I have no idea what caused the fault in the Icelink, it worked fine through the whole fiasco and nothing prior to the fault would suggest there was a problem.

I have notified Denison of the issue and hope to hear back from them soon. However before anyone else pays their dealer for five hours of shop rates or worse; is driving around with a compromised safety system, you should know of the potential link between the Icelink and the airbag system. After finding the cause of the fault I researched the issue and found that one other individual had the same issue on Mini2.com. Unfortunately it was buried in the 66+ page Icelink Plus thread.

Kudos to the dealer, they actually discounted the shop rates from the norm, (be assured it is still a big bill).

Thanks.

[Dewy]

A little more information:

I'm shortening the steps taken so the post does not get to long:
-Faults in 91 K-BUS communication between instrument cluster and MRS4/MRS5, MRS4/MRS5 faulty, airbag ctrl module faulty
-Continuity checked between BC1, cluster & MRS units, OK
-Checked BC1 no damage, swapped out with donor, fault remains
-Swapped clusters with donor, fault remains
-Voltage of K-BUS with I-Pod harness in line 6.81v
-Voltage of K-BUS without I-Pod harness 12.2v
-Bypassed I-Pod Harness and checked K-BUS, no fault
-Removed I-Pod Harness as requested, cleared fault memory, OK

Thanks

[weezer2282]

I have been having just this same problem the last week. Twice I was driving along and the airbag warning lights and seat belt lights came on. Both times I also lost the turn signals and hazard lights, plus the steering wheel buttons. The second time I tried resetting it by restarting the car a few times, but after doing that it wouldn't start three times. On the 4th try it started up and everything was back to normal. I have an '05 MCSa and two weeks ago it was in for the wiring harness recall and they updated my computer. I had no electrical problems or problems with the Ice-link before I brought it in, so I assume they did something in the new software that is causing this. I'm using version 2.07 of the ice-link I think. It seems they are trying to force us to buy the MINI ipod adapter.

[weezer2282]

I contacted Dension with the problems I have been having and they said I must have received a faulty unit. I'm still waiting to hear what the MINI dealer's diagnosis is. I believe Dension will be sending me a new unit to replace it. When I hear more from the dealer and get my car back I'll let you know.

[David Wiggins]

My car is in for this right now.

Did you ever hear anything from Dension?