Air Bag light

[Alsie]

I read in Retro car this month that new MOT legislations are coming i soon so that any warning light that is lit will result in an instant MOT failure, and that you cant just take the bulb out cos they have to come on with the ignition and go out..

so my question is, both Kermit and the banana mobile have their airbag light lit. Is this a common fault? and how do you turn it off?

 

[AudiS3-Turbo]

not a common fault but best start and scan the air bag system and go from there

 

[Alsie]

yep had a look and it looks ok lol!




no seriously how do I scan the airbag...

 

[AudiS3-Turbo]

You need to get hold of vagcom ...or vcds now its called ,anyone local you can ask to scan for codes ?

 

[aragorn]

Its probably the seat airbag connectors. But you need vagcom to reset the light either way, so you might as well get it and scan it.

 

[Alsie]

Scott have you got one?

 

[S4_dan]

Isn't this light usually caused by the front seats being pushed too far back and pulling the airbag connectors apart? I heard it was common on the B5 A4's.

 

[Alsie]

Isn't this light usually caused by the front seats being pushed too far back and pulling the airbag connectors apart? I heard it was common on the B5 A4's.

hmm that makes sence i always have the seat back as far as it can go, are the wires too short?

 

[S4_dan]

hmm that makes sence i always have the seat back as far as it can go, are the wires too short?

Either that or that they are fastened to tightly without enough play to allow the seat to be placed at the rear most position.

 

[Mike B]

I thought it was that the connectors were too loose and I just cable tied it tight and never happened again on my Audi but when it happened on wifes Bora it was caused by something jammed under the seat when it was moved .

 

[aragorn]

Its not that they get pulled apart, they just move, and cause a momentary loss of connection.

Problem is once a fault has been detected, the light will stay on until its reset, even if the fault has gone away again.

Later cars got gold plated contacts to try to cure it, but even these have the problem from time to time.

 

[Todd1983]

Bumping an old thread..... Glad I found this. Couldn't understand why I got in the car last night and the airbag light was on , when it was fine the night before. But remember my mate going right back in the passenger seat.

I'm new to the car, only bought it Wednesday so excuse my ignorance. But where would I find these wires to check them, and where can I find 'vagcom' to be able to clear the fault.

Thanks

 

[ex911driver]

look on the vcds users map to see if anyone near you can scan it. The connectors are under the seats.

 

[murran]

The connectors are under the seats.

yellow two pin plug.

 

[Paddymph]

This just happened to me also. Mate moved the passenger seat right back the other night, got in it this morn and red airbag light is on. ***.

Will disconnecting the battery not clear it then. I'm not paying £250 for a reader and software to just turn that off?!

 

[B5 BIKER]

You can get a cheap code reader (autel) on eBay for about 40-60 quid
I got one for just this problem and it works fine for showing fault codes,
And resetting the warning lights

 

[murran]

you dont "need" vag-com.
a code reader/service light tool can be bought cheaply.

Autel VAG405 VW/Audi fault code scanner - boxed & only used twice | eBay

Autel maxscan VAG405 VW Audi scan tool service reset diagnostic scanner | eBay

 

[CraigG]

you dont "need" vag-com.
a code reader/service light tool can be bought cheaply.

Autel VAG405 VW/Audi fault code scanner - boxed & only used twice | eBay

Autel maxscan VAG405 VW Audi scan tool service reset diagnostic scanner | eBay

a 10 quid ebay lead and the free VCDS would be much better than these... only mental's give rosstech 200quid for a cable....

 

[HibiscusS4]

Think I paid £7 delivered for my ebay lead and I bought it to turn off my airbag light. It is a common fault on all cars to be honest that the air bag wires come loose when the seat is moved. Some cars just allow you to plug it in and then once the ignition goes off and back on it turns the light out. Audi's are different and require the light to be reset.

First scan showed intermitent drivers side fault and cleared fine. After the MoT and a few weeks the light cam back on and this time the scan showed a current fault and would not clear. I dropped the seat height and then it changed to intermitent fault and cleared. Myself and the wife move the seat back and forth all the time but I have learned not to ajust the height and all is fine.

 

[aragorn]

just solder the wires and that'll fix it so you move the seat all you want!

 

[Paddymph]

Thanks for advice all.

I think that's what was confusing me, i knew the software was really expensive.

What's the point in that if you can buy a £10 lead And get the software free, or just buy a £50 scanner?? Will they both do the same job?

 

[murran]

the softwre youll have to load to a pc or laptop and take the laptop etc. to the car with the lead.

the convienice of the little code readers to use, check and clear a code in 45 seconds, and then chuck in the glove box is sheer convenience.
its up to you.

if you just want to clear an intermittent airbag fault when it shows itself, then buy the simple code reader.

with the knowledge on here we can suggest fixes based on simple code references based on our experiences in the trade. 9 times out of ten we'll get to the bottom of whatever fault you have with a decent explanation from you.

 

[Paddymph]

Quick update.

Bought a £6.85 lead from eBay. Downloaded VCDS light from Ross Tech. Managed to turn my air bag light off with no dramas.

Definitely DO NOT buy a £50 code reader, just get a cheap lead instead.