Harrimat

Excellent! Glad to see you got it done! Welcome to the club haha And it all looks clean. Cutting out the harness from the donor car so you can transfer all the connectors is a big key to keeping every thing clean and looking good.

Definitely feel free to give it a try. The worst case is it takes you a couple extra days and you'll still learn something in the process, I'm sure. I wouldn't say you'd be wasting your time--I think we all kind of enjoy the tinkering even if it leads to a dead end I'm just not confident that you can get the 2006 airbag control module to interface 2005 occupants detection system without running some sort of circuit in the middle to convert the output from the seat so the 2006 module can understand it. Do you have the service manuals for the two years? If not here are a couple pages that might help you with your tinkering. Here is a page from the 2005 manual on the airbag system: The 2006+ start giving the occupant system it's own page:

That purple wire is part of the occupant detection system for the 2005, I believe it is a serial output for the Subaru Select Monitor. I would have to download the tech manual for the 2005 again to be sure. I believe it connects to the Airbag control module, but it might not have any direct use unless you're running a diagnostic. I'll have to try to refresh my brain on the system. It's been rock solid since I swapped everything and I don't ever have to think about it! I could be talking completely out of my ass. I believe I cut that connector out of the donor car just so I could keep the seat connector intact from the new seat in case I had to yank it out for some reason. **edit** the circled plug is the seat belt tensioner connection. Since the 2005 does not have this, I cut the harness out of the donor car just so that I could clip/unclip for install and wouldn't have to try to crimp with the seat in the car. This gives the 2006+ seat occupancy sensor information from the seatbelt

My bad for not getting back to your question back in January. Glad you got it figured out!

Hello sir -- I think I have it on my home PC and can reup if necessary, but I did just click the link from my original post and the PDF seems to still be active.

Of course! I'm glad it helped someone

No worries-- it sounds like you're almost there! Yeah, if you pulled a harness for your 2006 seats, they will route and connect to the 06/07 airbag module and you'll be golden. Those harnesses are IN THERE and tough to get out from my experience. That's when I decided to cut the connector off and just make sure the wiring went to the correct place. Have you found the service manuals for all the years you're working in? They really helped me out comparing the module connections to make sure I rewired as little as possible. I would bet your original problem may have just been a bad sensor in the seat. You could always check the +/- wiring on the ODS pins of the harness at the ACM and the seat for continuity to ensure that section is electrically OK. EDIT: nvm you are in a 2009 now so that old harnes doesn't really matter anymore-- whoops! Matt

Hey! Trying to jog my memory on this You will definitely want to grab a 2006 or 2007 airbag module. These share the same pinouts as the 2005 module, but the logic on the occupancy sensor is different. By changing the ACM to the 06-07 vintage, you are able to not change out your harnesses. With the ACM swapped, the seat harness soldered up as shown, and the 2006+ seatbelt I haven't had any airbag lights and the system behaves as it should. I can try to answer more of your questions, I just need to get back in there and remember! Just let me know ow if I'm unclear in the pdf anywhere and I can try to fix it Matt

Sure thing! I made a thread here

I've been lurking the threads for about 3 years now, slowly maintaining my outback (2.5i shhh don't tell anyone), but never had anything to contribute. I recently went to the junkyard to look at the selection since my engine is going out but got distracted by a leather interior 2006 that must have been really cared for. an hour later I'm out of there with the seats, carpet, and some other various bric-a-brack. Some of you know where this is going. Long story short the 2005 system does not like 2006+ seats. I looked through the forum and only found methods for faking out the side airbags with resistors, or trying to use both the 2005 and the new seats hardware, or shoving the new upholstery over the old seat. It took a few days of thinking, but I came to the conclusion that all that is needed is to make a harness to interface the new seat's occupant sensor to the old connection, swap the SRS module in the dash for the correct year, and change out the seat belt for the 2006+ style. I made this quick little guide while looking busy at work today: 2005 Seat Swap 2006 2007 2008 2009 airbag fix.pdf Hopefully this makes the process easier for someone else in the future. If you have any questions let me know!

I am pretty sure I just got the process figured out for 2006-2007 seats in the 2005. I used your posts as a jumping off point and built on them just a bit: I made a custom harness using the 6-pin male connector from 2006+ harness, and the ODS connection from the 2005 seat. only 3 of the 2005 wires get used. the remaining 3 wires on the 6-pin went the the Belt Tension Sensor on the 2006+ seat belt at the base of the b-pillar. Connected every thing and plugged it in. Airbag light on. If you compare the 2005 with the 2006/2007 SRS module, you'll notice all the pinout is the same, so no need to change the harness out. I swapped in a 2006 SRS module and the light is out now. I'll make a separate post when I get a chance with some actual diagrams.

Jaylew--Your thread has been awesome to read through. So much so that I had to register. Your build looks great. I have been working on my 2.5i making full suspension upgrades and it's kind of nostalgic seeing your documentation. I am about to rebuild the heads and swap in a reman shortblock on mine. What did you ultimately come to find on the airbag problem? I have done a similar swap recently where I found a just mint condition leather interior from a 2006 to replace a very boogered up 2005 cloth for my OB. Of course, the airbag light is illuminated. Was swapping the airbag control worthwhile?