Hi All

First of all I'll say hello, I live in North Lincolnshire and have had the car in the family for just over 3 years. Really the wifes car but I seem to use it more. I found the forum after trying for a while to cure the fault below..

 

The fault we have is a code 0588 Drivers side airbag igniter.

So here is what I have done to try to cure this. I have replaced the steering wheel clock spring as after taking advice from my friend who is an ex mechanic he said this could be the most likely cause.

Did this and didn't work i used a tested second hand one of the same part number etc.

I have bought an airbag tester and gone through all the resistances that i believe it could be for the drivers airbag and any others that maybe correct after reading on all links etc googled, I have linked out the drivers seat airbag with a 3.3ohm resistor as this was the only value i could find being referenced..

 

So I'm at a loss. the problem initially seamed to start when my daughter pushed a bag under the driers seat with her foot. But this was cleared with a obd 2 scanner. This lasted for about a month and then the airbag light came on and hasn't cleared since, even though I have reset the fault code several times. i have visually checked the wiring and the plug and socket under the seat. i have removed the seat to allow me to short out with a resistor

 

So does anyone have any other suggestions please as to what would bring on 0588 besides the things i have tried listed above, or a I looking in totally the wrong direction?

Also does anyone know the correct resistance values needed for the drivers airbag and the drivers seat airbag so that I can rule out those airbags as being at fault..

 

Other that this pesky fault the car is just a brilliant little run about.

Thanks for the anticipated replies.

 May sound a tad silly but it would cost you nothing to check any earthing point that you may find. Problems like this often can be attributed to an earth issue but believe me EARTHS move in mysterious ways. I realise that my comments may seem a bit tenuous but here is a quick weird story for you to ponder, one to whet your appetite for oddity.

 

 A pal has a an Audi A1,A10 A100 dunno wouldn't buy one myself can't afford the biils to run one. I think it's one of the above but if i'm wrong in this context it means nothing as the story remains the same. So my pal has had an issue with long cranking before starting when hot, when cold it's fine. Weird as it's a diesel and should start easier when it's hot. So this prob persisted until he spoke to an Audi mech about it, the mech said your 'battery is on the way our mate!' no cranking/starting probs cold though, so that's very odd.

 

 The thing was that although the engine cranked fast enough to start when cold and hot apparently the cranking speed was not slow enough to register an ECU/Sensor or code fault for cranking speed when hot fault. Long winded maybe but a new battery solved the issue which has not re occurred in the last two years. Not an earth fault I know but as close to one as you will get because there is no rhyme or reason as to why t his would happen as is with earth faults. Of course one could spend lots of cash replacing sensors which may fix the issue or may not. I wish you well on your search however. All the very best.

 

 

 

when hot, weird but true.

Thanks kazfaz

I'm beginning to wonder myself if its related to something not directly linked to the airbags themselves. I must admit I'm more used to dealing with my Discovery TD5 than the Fabia

but you could be onto something as I have experienced weird things with the D2 that came down to earth issues, even a fuse that was fractured. When tested it was OK but when that circuit was in use i.e. when running the D2 it was going open circuit and causing all sorts of issues Now that was a pain to find.

 

So does anyone know where the earth points are on the fabia 2 please inside and out so I can eliminate possible earth faults... The only other thing i could think of is an open circuit on the wiring or would a sensor on the airbag system flag up 0588 or would it be another fault code if it was a sensor?

Above and beyond the Audi issue mentioned I would like to add that when my fault developed with my Fabia 1.4 Tsi 2011 mk2 after running through water I went and bought a download pdf manual to try to find fault locations the download failed and so protracted refund negotiations were set in motion ahem, I digress however and hopefully you may have one. I was going to add more but as I am being thrown off the tablet I will have to add to this later, all the best for now.

Quite a common problem, most likely the connections from the air bag to the coupler (clock spring)

 

Ideally there is normally text / explanation with the fault code...

 

00588 - Airbag Igniter; Driver Side (N95)

00588 - Airbag Igniter; Driver Side (N95): Resistance too Low

00588 - Airbag Igniter; Driver Side (N95): Resistance too High

00588 - Airbag Igniter; Driver Side (N95): Upper Limit Exceeded

00588 - Airbag Igniter; Driver Side (N95): Lower Limit Exceeded

00588 - Airbag Igniter; Driver side (N95): Short to positive

00588 - Airbag Igniter; Driver side (N95): Short to ground

Possible Symptoms

• Airbag Warning Light active

Possible Causes

• Wiring from/to Airbag Igniter Driver Side (N95) faulty
• Coil Spring with Slip Ring (F138) faulty
• Airbag Igniter Driver Side (N95) faulty

Possible Solutions

• Check Wiring from/to Airbag Igniter Driver Side (N95)
• Check Coil Spring with Slip Ring (F138)
• Check Airbag Igniter Driver Side (N95)

Special Notes

• When "Short to positive" or "Short to ground" is found, DO NOT CLEAR THE DTC. This can cause the airbag to deploy. See repair manual for more information.

Edited 26 March, 20206 yr by UrbanPanzer

Right  I have eventually identified the fault to find that yes it is the clock spring ..... Again....

The good second hand unit that was supplied even though it metered out for continuity on all tracks from one side of the clock spring to the other a little problem was happening.

 

For those who like me were unaware of the clock spring make up and what it does on when plugged into steering column itself. ~~on the connections that in effect come from the airbag (the 2 yellow wires) and go through the clock spring to the plug that connects to the socket on the steering column. If you look very closely at the plug on the clock spring you can see that it has what looks like a sprung clip that creates a short on the pins which carry the connection from the 2 yellow wires. This on the "good" second hand clock spring was not happening, when plugged in the little spring clip was not removing the short from these 2 pins hence the fault 0588 drivers side airbag igniter still appeared and would not clear.

 

I found this out after eventually stripping down the steering column to access the multi plug that supplies all the connection to all controls on the steering column. I cleared the fault by directly connecting to the plug and using a 4 ohm resistance value, this prompted me to look very closely at the clock spring.

 

So now I'm just waiting for another clock spring..

 

For reference for others the resistor to use to test the seat airbag is a 3.3ohm resistor and a 4 ohm resistor for the drivers airbag.. So to cut a long story short I have identified the problem and am waiting for a clock spring. Now I know the value resistors to use, I can check at each stage of replacement to make sure the fault light clears.

 

Thank you all for your input, very much appriciated..

If you get the chance please take some pictures when they arrive and when you're fitting them, I'd be interested to understand the process...