Airbag error - 01218 - Connector inside the seat?

[x1nick]

Hi, I have the following error code: 01218 - Side Airbag Igniter; Passenger Side (N200) 001 - Upper Limit Exceeded - Intermittent - MIL ON. I have searched the site a fair bit on this issue and investigated the connector on the floor at the front of the seat. Tested each of the connector pins with a multimeter resulting in zero resistance. After reading a few threads such as http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-sportback-8p-chassis/75103-airbag-fault-can-you-help.html there is a connector inside the seat which could be the issue. How do I remove the back of the front seat without destroying it to investigate this a little further? Thanks

 

[x1nick]

Also not sure why the forum has removed all the blank lines from that post?

 

[Geraldy212]

I am not by any means an expert on airbags. I have read some time ago that one should never probe an airbag connector with a meter, as this can cause immediate deployment. I found the following site which seems to suggest the same thing: Airbag Center: Installing Front Airbags | Install Replacement Airbag | How To Install Airbags Other advice I have seen requires the battery to be disconnected for a few minutes before working on any airbag wiring. Please be very careful.

 

[x1nick]

I did read online before doing anything. Didn't actually see anything about a multimeter setting off an air bag, but after searching directly for that there are some posts/articles around the internet suggesting it's a bad idea. But at the same time counter arguments suggesting that 2A is required to set off an air bag. Either way I am still alive and won't be using a multimeter on it again haha. Also battery was disconnected for a good 30 minutes before hand! Anyway before you posted that I managed to get the rear of the seat off, there's 4 clips at the top of the rear panel which are a huge pain to get off, but soon as they are removed the back slides up an inch and you simply pull the panel away. Tested the connector inside the rear of the seat and that's ok too. Where do I go now? Do I need a new air bag module?

 

[Geraldy212]

Yup, looks like it. Buy a new air bag module and plug it in, and reset fault codes. If no codes show up, then that was it. If the same fault does show up, I guess you could return the module and get your cash back. Just an idea.