By pass Airbag

my SRS (airbag) warning light as started staying on - just took my car (Rover 620si) to rover & they say i gotta buy a new passenger airbag (£650 + fitting & VAT)

i'm bit brassed off since it's only 6 years old and i've not worn it out - hell i haven't even used it once, so whatevers wrong with it now, is a result of it never being right in the first place

asked rover if they can bypass it - they said they could, but they wont :o(

anyhow - i wondered if anyone knows how to bypass passenger airbag - so the driver bag still works and the light goes out - i read in the state they now sell a lot of airbag 'switches' in light of the new dangers of airbags on short people (including blinding, amputations ewwwww & even fatalities)

i know they're dangerous to mess with but at £650 i had a go - took the dash out - found the connector - held my nose - unplugged it - held my nose again - put ignition on - still left the warning light on - switched ignition off - stuck a short in the end of the connector (not airbag end, the other end :o) - held my nose again - turned ignition - still leaves the bloody light on

any clues - i read on some cars you need to include a resistor in the short

Reply to
JethroUK©
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just leave it unplugged that way it won't go off :)

Reply to
dojj

yeah but i dont think it pass mot either :o)

Reply to
JethroUK©

then pull the dash light out :)

fatalities)

Reply to
dojj

Find the connecters under your seats and open and close them a few times, they seem to get corroded and make a duff join after a time. I cut them off and soldered the wires on my xsara.

pb

Reply to
pb

i'll give that a try thanx - is that usually where the sensor is?

Reply to
JethroUK©

ISTR seeing something on the telly (not exactly 100% reliable of course) about there being multiple accelerometers used to decide whether or not to set the airbags off.

Reply to
Doki

Nope, but thats where the seat belt tensioners are, most cars with air bags have seatbelt tensioners,

dont ever try to test them with a multimeter if you thing you got a high resistance connection, as the voltage a multimeter uses to test resistance can fire the tensioners charges, some people find that out the hard way,

but a load of cars have problems with the air bag light, and it's down to the seatbelt tensioners connectors, pug 106's all seem to suffer that problem at some time too.

Reply to
CampinGazz

here about pretensioner connections are valid although cutting off connectors and soldering isn't something insurance companies are always happy with.try remaking them first to see if it alters the problem(disconnect and reconnect) in this situation i usually run a cable tie round the connection(between the

2 wires) and pull it tight if the airbag itself is the fault then the dealer has a resistor which is plugged on in place of it to test the circuit in my experience(i.e the cars i have worked on) it's usually 100 ohms but bear in mind that your insurance company have allowed for this part being fitted and working on your car and bypassing it could void your insurance btw it's not an MOT fail(not in my testers manual anyway,at least not yet)
Reply to
Mindwipe

Try a non main dealer first. It's unlikelt it's actually the passenger air bag that's faulty & even if it is they're nowhere near that expensive from the scrapyard (even the unused ones :-))

Reply to
duncanwood

Reply to
JethroUK©

fair,suggestions

if i unplug airbag and plug a 100 ohm resistor in the end instead - will that put out the light?

Reply to
JethroUK©

So now you know that it isn't your passenger airbag at fault - the airbag module will have the suppliers name on the back of it (probably) so write them a letter asking what resistance the squib is for test purposes (use the word 'squib') if they decide to correspond to you you will have your answer, in order to obtain the correct resistance of resistor to disconnect the system and plug the correct value of resistor in, if that is what you want.

Don't forget, before you start messing about with plugging/unplugging airbags you must disconnect the car battery and short out anything to do with the wires you are plugging in - unless you want a surprise!

Myself - I'd rather reconnect the system - I'd like my wife to remain lovely - so you're better off going to an airbag specialist for a full system diagnosis as the problem seems to be elsewhere in the system - it isn't unknown for the control module (Often about the size of a cigarette packet) to pack up - these are cheaper than an airbag module but the entire airbag system will need a reset through the vehicle diagnostics.

It always amuses me the prices charged for airbags - you've probably around £90 pounds worth of components in that passenger airbag module! (I used to work for a large swedish co. that makes them by the million!)

I absolve myself from any actions or even feelings of guilt as a result of anyone taking up the advice in this posting.

Reply to
Rev. Alfa Adam

Excellent.

-- Malc

Reply to
Malc

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