Small accident - front airbags deployed - need some advice

[liteonit]

Hi all,

 

Got a little accident a few weeks ago with my Octavia from 2007 :(

My front airbags (steering wheel and dashboard) deployed, and all 4 seat belt tensioners went off too.

I've already repaired the damage on the body. I'm now at that point to finish the airbag part.

I've already replaced the dashboard and all 4 seat belts. One thing left, and that is installing the steering wheel airbag.

Although i'm working on cars for a while as a hobby, replacing airbag parts is something new to me.

 

I'm pretty much sure the airbag module has to be replaced. However the local Skoda dealer said that on this kind of Octavia they usually are able to reset the module with dealer equipment. They said that they do it all the time, and pretty much never had to replace the module itself on this specific model car.

Well, I thought they may give it a try - if it doesn't work, they may replace the whole module for me.

 

But now the question.... can I install and connect my new airbag and belt tensioners while still having my existing airbag module in car?

At this moment I have pulled the airbag fuse. Although i've installed a new dashboard and seat belts, all of them aren't connected yet to be safe.

Can anyone tell me if I can connect all airbag parts while using the existing module, or can the same airbags deploy immediately again after connecting the battery? I don't care about the airbag light being on, and having fault codes... i just want to make everything ready to be able to drive to dealer so they can do their job.

 

I have VCDS Pro myself. If i'm able to connect all airbag parts together with the old module without blowing them out again, can I try to clear all fault codes myself of does that increase the risk of deploying the airbags another time? 

These are the airbag fault codes stored right after the accident;

 

8 Faults Found:
01214 - Crash Data for Belt Tensioner Stored
000 - - - MIL ON
00595 - Crash Data Stored
000 - - - MIL ON
00588 - Airbag Igniter; Driver Side (N95)
001 - Upper Limit Exceeded - MIL ON
00589 - Airbag Igniter 1; Passenger Side (N131)
001 - Upper Limit Exceeded - MIL ON
00654 - Seat Belt Tensioner Igniter; Driver Side (N153)
001 - Upper Limit Exceeded - MIL ON
00655 - Seat Belt Tensioner Igniter; Passenger Side (N154)
001 - Upper Limit Exceeded - MIL ON
01211 - Belt Tensioner Igniter; Rear Driver Side (N196)
001 - Upper Limit Exceeded - MIL ON
01212 - Belt Tensioner Igniter; Rear Passenger Side (N197)
001 - Upper Limit Exceeded - MIL ON

Thanks for all the advice

[cesarbogota]

Hi,

 

I had a simillar situation. You have to put a new airbag computer or unlock the old one.

[devonutopia]

Probably better to find a second airbag ECU - note down the soft coding on your triggered ECU, and ensure the new airbag ECU mirrors that.

 

I can't seem to get anything for second hand airbag ECUs although with the mk1 once airbags have been triggered, cars just get written off...

[Tranberg]

The forum at mhhauto.com has a lot of threads with airbag controller reset.

 

http://mhhauto.com/Forum-Automotive-Airbag-Dash-ECU-IMMO

Edited 2 November, 2015 by Tranberg