air bag warning light - help needed

[jazzyc]

I have a warning on my dash saying air bag.

Tge i bought the car from had the light reset and indeed when i left them it was off. I have now however noticed that it is back on.

any ideas as to the cause and how i fix it.

its a 2000 facelift 1.8 t sport.

thankyou

 

[Danielson]

its more thatn likely the airbag in one of the seats. a common fault. use the search function buddy.

 

[jazzyc]

that might tie in then as when i picked the car up the seat back was off the drivers seat and they said they couldn't get it back on. i have put it back on now but maybe thats why it was off?

 

[jazzyc]

ok, so i am pretty sure the fault must lie with the drivers seat airbag. I have ran a search on here and it seems that there are wires under the seat that are often a problem.

which ones are they and can i saftley take them apart and clean up the connection without setting things off??

 

[205man]

also check the connector under the seat its quite common for these to play up, the sort of get corroded, and can set the light off, some people remove the connector and hardwire the seat.

my light came on once when i adjusted the height of the passenger seat, and didnt relase the was something under the seat and it pulled on the connection

 

[205man]

before playing with any airbag disconnect the battery and dont touch airbag/connections for at least half and hour, to allow them to discharge first, or you may get a nasty surprise

 

[jazzyc]

so just to be sure then, dissconect the battery and leave it for 30mins or so,

is this going to mess up anything else on the car i.e alarm etc? the car is standard apart from different stero but that dosent have a code.

once i have looked at the wires and connectors i guess i wont know if its sorted untill i can get the light reset?

 

[AndyMac]

You don't actually need to disconnect the battery, just don't fiddle with anything airbag related with the ignition on.

 

[Lowlife]

so just to be sure then, dissconect the battery and leave it for 30mins or so,

is this going to mess up anything else on the car i.e alarm etc? the car is standard apart from different stero but that dosent have a code.

once i have looked at the wires and connectors i guess i wont know if its sorted untill i can get the light reset?

Should be fine, I'd disconnect the battery, working on any live electrics is unbelievably stupid, let alone ones that are wired to explosives...

 

[AndyMac]

Yeah the clue is in the fact they're only live with the ignition on.

 

[jazzyc]

so as long as i dont have the keys in the ignition all will be ok?

my only concern about disconecting the battery is i might loose any settings the car has learnt etc?

 

[jcb]

don;t disconnect the battery, pain in the preverbial.
take the keys out, put them in a box and hide the box in the house.

I removed and replaced an airbag without disconnection.
I reset my own airbag light and wiggled the underseat connection to make sure it didn;t come back on. 18 months on its fine!
if you really want to sort it, get some electrical lubricant stuff (can't remember the name) like a super conducting silicon spray. quick squirt of that in the connector and you will be fine.

get yourself a VAG COM cable. save yourself a fortune in Audi fees

 

[jazzyc]

did you have a vag com and reset it then or was there some other way?

If i just clean up those connections under the seat then it should be ok? will the light just go out then?

 

[Lowlife]

As an ex-mechanic I would not only advise disconnecting the battery but also to ground your self before touching any wires leading to the airbag, this reduces the danger of creating a static discharge and setting it off. We were warned plenty about airbags and pre-tensioner systems, I personally find it hard to believe that people would advise someone not to take all the precautions they can.

 

[jazzyc]

i guess its better to be safe than sorry.

thanks

 

[205man]

id stick with what i and blue turbo have said and disconnect the battery/discharge air bag before touching, i cant belive people would risk, messing with one whilst still connected, even with the ignition off.

airbags hold a charge in them for about half an hour after discconecting, and this is more than enough to set one off, im guessing people havent seen the effects/aftermath of one going off, or the wouldnt risk it

its better to have a problem like finding the stereo code than the problem of removing an airbag from their face

 

[jcb]

had a free download of rosstech VAG (see web) and a £12 eBay VAGcom cable.

 

[jazzyc]

id stick with what i and blue turbo have said and disconnect the battery/discharge air bag before touching, i cant belive people would risk, messing with one whilst still connected, even with the ignition off.

airbags hold a charge in them for about half an hour after discconecting, and this is more than enough to set one off, im guessing people havent seen the effects/aftermath of one going off, or the wouldnt risk it

its better to have a problem like finding the stereo code than the problem of removing an airbag from their face

thanks

good advice from you and blueturbo

will let you know how i get on