My VRS is 2006 too. I hope they fixed it on later models, but the SEAT dealer I got it from, and who replaced the seat to floorpan connectors (to no avail) said it was a familiar problem on Leons too so a general VAG trait I guess.

If it was a fault that went away, then came back, then my guess is it could be a resistance becoming momentarily too high, e.g. connectors breaking apart briefly when you go over a bump etc. I'd guess it's not a bad connection to clean up with eectrical spray but a good connection which breaks apart occasiaonlly, causing the light to come on. The light doesn't reset when the connection goes good again, you need to have it reset. I'd say lose the socket connection under the seat base (not the one to the floor-pan) as this one can become under tension if the seat is moved backwards and forwards too much - I believe this is what the dealers did.

I don't know what a seat loom cable is but I guess for 130 notes it includes the airbag too!? The cable under the seat with a connector at each end can't be more than a tenner!

I'd try the resistor like me. For under a quid you can tell if it's a problem in the seat or whether it's in the SRS control unit/door wiring. In my case it's the seat and the connector under the seat has been removed, so it must be the airbag. Sad times, sadder now I know it will cost at least £130!

Well the place i went to only said £130 for the cable. Ouch it did seem very expensive for a cable with two connectors. Have you changed the internal fuse after changing the cable under the seat? I know from past experience that they can develop highline cracks that happen over age and cannot be seen with the naked eye. A small thing for another thing to cross off the list.

Wonder if anyone on the forum has the cable number? Or knows where they can be had ?

FWIW, Vauxhalls used to suffer badly from this, and the trick was to use a tie wrap to wrap round the under seat connector and pull tight to hold the two halves of the connector together. This was the official Vauxhall fix instead of soldering.

It won't make any difference in your case as it looks like a dodgy airbag or a dodgy connection at the airbag end of the loom.

Wonder if anyone on the forum has the cable number? Or knows where they can be had ?

Anyone?

My octy is coming with exactly the same error (01217 n199 side airbag, igniter, driver side) and the cable under the seat looks to have been repaired so could be causing the error. I cant find the cable anyware so far

Is the following the part number for the harness which attaches the 2 socket from under the seat to the main loom?

1Z0 971 365 BP

Anyone?

My octy is coming with exactly the same error (01217 n199 side airbag, igniter, driver side) and the cable under the seat looks to have been repaired so could be causing the error. I cant find the cable anyware so far

I don;t know the part number, sorry, but a dealer should be able to get that for you. Are you sure it's been repaired, or has a connector been removed and soldered up without it. If it's taped up in yellow tape then I guess it could be the latter - the official VAG fix to the problem which in yours (and mine) case has come back again.

its going into the garage tomorrow to hopefully fix it. I'll keep the thread updated

Airbag warnkng light has been on in my 55 plate octy estate for a few months, today I noticed that depending what position drivers door was in when I turned on ignition then the warning light went out momentarily after turning on ignition when the door was fully open but when closed or half open the light did not go out at all. In both cases the light remains on constantly but with door fully open it goes out very briefly. Would this suggest a possible broken wire inside the concertina between door and car?

Airbag warnkng light has been on in my 55 plate octy estate for a few months, today I noticed that depending what position drivers door was in when I turned on ignition then the warning light went out momentarily after turning on ignition when the door was fully open but when closed or half open the light did not go out at all. In both cases the light remains on constantly but with door fully open it goes out very briefly. Would this suggest a possible broken wire inside the concertina between door and car?

Yeah,look for the yellow one.

Sorry to jump on an old thread.

I removed my glovebox to try and fix my heater fan, in doing so I disconnected the passenger airbag switch, after reconnecting everything I now have an airbag fault light, is this normal??

 

Does it just need to be reset??

Yes, just get it reset and your good to go. Needs dealer or VCDS to clear the code, it will not go of its own accord even if the fault is no longer present.

Will a generic code reader my mechanic has do the trick??

if the reader has the ability to clear codes then yes

Hey guys, i have a 04 Octavia mk1, the airbag light started showing up yesterday. Took it to the dealer asap and they initially said it was a 2min job and will get the code cleared. While they were checking it, I saw a fault code that said' Too high resistance'. They tried clearing it but the light wouldn't go. One time it disappeared but came back after 1 sec. Then i was told i would have to replace the squib, i was like ok, do what you got to and left their place as they said it was a 1hr job. After an hour i get a call saying I’ll have to replace the entire airbag since the light didn't go out even after replacing the squib and that they checked replacing the airbag with a new one and the light disappeared. They later tried again by installing back the old airbag and the light didn't show. This is strange, isn’t it?

 

Do you think the problem is sorted out or will the light re-appear again? What could be the exact issue?

 

Thanks

That code is normally caused by the wiring under the seat rather than the airbag itself. The fix is to cut out the plugs and solder the wires together.

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quote name="trundlenut" post="3697370" timestamp="1395211052"]That code is normally caused by the wiring under the seat rather than the airbag itself. The fix is to cut out the plugs and solder the wires together.

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Im guessing this was in response to my query. So i don't have to replace the airbag then? That's great! Instead of cutting out the plugs, can't we replace them? What wires are we talking about exactly?

There are two sets of plugs on each side. One set under the seats and the second under a flap of carpet or door just next to the front of the outer runner. Official fix is cut and solder.

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To be fair, if you are asking which wires it maybe best to leave it to an electrician. Messing with the airbags can go horribly wrong if you are not very careful. The repair must be completed with the battery disconnected, and the cars electrical systems fully discharged. The last thing you want is to accidentally short a wire or connect incorrectly, as the airbag will deploy. Then you'll need a lot more than a wiring fix.

 

The official fix is to solder the wires together, reason is that all the extra joints create extra resistance that could be seen as a fault (as indeed the extra resistance is now). The airbag electronics are very sensitive, and a small change in resistance is seen as a fault.

To be fair, if you are asking which wires it maybe best to leave it to an electrician. Messing with the airbags can go horribly wrong if you are not very careful. The repair must be completed with the battery disconnected, and the cars electrical systems fully discharged. The last thing you want is to accidentally short a wire or connect incorrectly, as the airbag will deploy. Then you'll need a lot more than a wiring fix.

The official fix is to solder the wires together, reason is that all the extra joints create extra resistance that could be seen as a fault (as indeed the extra resistance is now). The airbag electronics are very sensitive, and a small change in resistance is seen as a fault.

Fair point.

Also, don't even think about using a circuit tester on any of the airbag wiring.

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There are two sets of plugs on each side. One set under the seats and the second under a flap of carpet or door just next to the front of the outer runner. Official fix is cut and solder.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

To be fair, if you are asking which wires it maybe best to leave it to an electrician. Messing with the airbags can go horribly wrong if you are not very careful. The repair must be completed with the battery disconnected, and the cars electrical systems fully discharged. The last thing you want is to accidentally short a wire or connect incorrectly, as the airbag will deploy. Then you'll need a lot more than a wiring fix.

 

The official fix is to solder the wires together, reason is that all the extra joints create extra resistance that could be seen as a fault (as indeed the extra resistance is now). The airbag electronics are very sensitive, and a small change in resistance is seen as a fault.

 

Thank you guys! There was no way i was going to touch the wires, i love my cars too much to be able to fiddle with them. Thanks for the advice tho! I just asked for the specifics because i wanted to know what to explain to my service advisor at the dealership. I din't want to hear something like " No sir!, that isn't recommended by the manufacturer" kinda talk. Now that i've learnt it's the official way, i will have a word and try but since the airbag light isnt flashing anymore, should i go in for the fix anyhow or wait till the light re-appears? Would it ever re-appear? While handing back the car yesterday, i was told that the warning light vanished when they installed a new airbag and dint re-appear even after they replaced it with the old one. What does that even mean?

That you didn't need a new airbag.

It will be the connectors under the seats, sometimes just moving the seat is enough to trigger the light.

The temporary fix is to use a tie wrap to help keep pressure on the two halves of the connector, wrapping it end over end if you see what I mean. This was the official Vauxhall fix for Fronteras for some time. They only resorted to soldering if the light still kept coming on.

Sent from my phone so please excuse brevity and spelling

On 29/04/2012 at 06:42, gord said:

I had the airbag light come on about 2 year ago.

It turned out to be a yellow wire broken,between the car body and the drivers door (peel back the concertina type wire loom cover first)

I just soldered the wire and had the codes cleared.

Might be worth a check.

++ 1 for this solution, thank you.  Having removed the driver's seat and checked all the wires after the dealer suggested the issue was with the seat loom, I found nothing wrong.  Popped off the concertina door wiring connection seal and lo and behold the yellow wire was in 2 pieces and its neighbour the brown wire had broken although the insulation was intact.  Cut and resoldered both, reset the fault using Carista and the airbag light is now off.  It does still come on briefly after ignition, but goes off after a second or so.