How do I check the resistance in my seat belt buckle

dkeeney101 · 09-10-2021, 05:24 AM

The airbag light is on showing codes 45 and 48. I can reset the codes but they come back within 50 miles of driving. (1999 986 Boxster Base)

Using a multimeter set to 2000K Ohms I set out to check the resistance of my driver side seat belt. My results make me believe that I did not do it correctly and I need some advice. Here are my results.
Seatbelt unplugged:
Pins 7&8=000 Ohms
Pins 5&6=000
Pins 6&7=No Reading
Pins 5&8=No Reading

Seatbelt Plugged in:
Pins 7&8=000
No reading on any other pin combinations
Is this how it is done?

The harness upgrade under both seats was done by the previous owner and both seatbelt buckles were replaced with part number 996.803.183. One is dated 2002 & the other 2003.

Is it likely that the upgraded seat belt buckle would fail in the same way as the original?

Dmitry at Pelican Parts · 09-10-2021, 03:35 PM

If our members here don't get back to you. I would suggest posing this question to our Boxster/Cayman specific forum, 986 forum. You'll have a better chance of other members having gone through similar fixes. Make sure to also check out our diy tech articles for your 99' Boxster. - link below

986 Forum

986 DIY Tech Articles

mikefocke · 09-10-2021, 05:18 PM

I can't answer your question but I can say that there was a TSB fix for the seat belt grounding that was done to my 2001S and then there was a change/update to that fix that had to be done shortly thereafter. So check that the latest fix was the one done.

Some dated background https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/airbagwarninglighttsb

Withers94 · 09:02 PM

Usually, it is pretty easy to tell if the seat belt pretensioner is bad TelltheBell. You can scan your car with an OBD airbag scanning tool and check if any codes pop up. Even though this is the proper way, you can also visually inspect your seat belt buckle to see if anything is wrong with it.