The air bag light has come on in my 2004 Octavia 2 1.9 TDI, not sure why it came on in the first place, I have looked and googled all sorts. 

I took the two seats out and checked the connections (two connectors per seat) and they are fine, took them apart and clicked back together many times to try to clean up any contacts just in case. I checked the passenger and driver wiring into the doors (in the convoluted rubber bits) and again all fine, no breaks, chaffing etc.

I have a cheap OBD11 reader cable and a VCDS lite on a laptop, however it does not show the Octavia 2 only the Octavia 1 in the chassis identification but having said that I have ran diagnostic's on it before for the engine and it shows up why the EML light has been on for years (two glow plugs need replacing and the anti-shudder valve is faulty, luckily stuck in the open position so it all still runs well).

So when I run the diagnostic's it states it can't connect to the air bag controller or something similar and obviously does not show what the fault is and again obviously can't reset the light.

Does anyone know for sure if I buy a later version of VCDS and possibly a new cable will it work to show me what is at fault and if it only needs a reset will VCDS lite actually reset an air bag issue.

Basically the car runs fine and returns great miles per gallon but will soon require an MOT and I know it will need driveshaft boots, shockabsorbers and a few bushes doing but I don't want to spend out loads on parts and my time fitting them if the air bag light won't go off. I'm good with mechanical items on most vehicles but too old and long in the tooth when it comes to electronic's. Taking it to a dealer is a no no, the car will just get scrapped if I can't do it myself.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

You can reset the airbag light without VCDS as I have a cheap OBD reader that does it. VCDS Will at least tell you which airbag it might be. I have had problems for years with 2005 drivers seat airbag. Tried cleaning connector it went away for a while then comes back. It’s very common on our cars. The fix is to cut the plug out and solder together. Best you get it read first to make sure. Try the VCDS map on here see if a Briskodian might help you out with a code read. 

I also had this problem on a 2007. Mine was also the yellow connector under the drivers seat for the side airbag. Not the connection going into the floor. Suggest you confirm it is the side airbag with VCDS. The connector looks and seems OK. The warning light can be cancelled but will come back within an hour or a year. The answer is to solder as above. The connector is 3 wire and I think is spring loaded to allow it to earth when disconnecting preventing premature deployment. But allows it to momentarily break the connection when stretched or vibrated and activating the warning light. There is a very long detailed description of the problem on an American VW site. 

Took me 10 years to finally fix the problem, main dealer was absolutely totally useless! 

I bought a 2006 Octavia that had had that issue from new, literally thousands spent over the years every MOT and service time claiming to have found and fixed the fault, even charging for a new airbag which I can state categorically from investigation had never been fitted.

 

I removed the connector at the front of the seat rail and used  Wago 223 connectors on each core but to my surprise the fault returned twice again and I was onto the merry go round of resets and wondering when it would happen again, then I found out that there was a second connector tucked up under the seat squab, I released the seat rails to tip the seat up to find it and there was indeed one and giving it a push & pull resulted in a satisfying click and the problem was finally resolved after 13 years!

 

No question about the connectors under the carpet trim mouldings at the front of the seat rails are problematic but big feet pushing under the seat are equally likely to disturb the hidden unknown connector.

Edited 27 October, 20205 yr by J.R.

J.R. glad the push/pull worked for you. I did that for a couple of years but found soldering was the final solution. 

It may yet haunt the new owner, had it recurred during my time I would have bodged in more Wago connectors.

On 28/10/2020 at 00:27, J.R. said:

I bought a 2006 Octavia that had had that issue from new, literally thousands spent over the years every MOT and service time claiming to have found and fixed the fault, even charging for a new airbag which I can state categorically from investigation had never been fitted.

 

I removed the connector at the front of the seat rail and used  Wago 223 connectors on each core but to my surprise the fault returned twice again and I was onto the merry go round of resets and wondering when it would happen again, then I found out that there was a second connector tucked up under the seat squab, I released the seat rails to tip the seat up to find it and there was indeed one and giving it a push & pull resulted in a satisfying click and the problem was finally resolved after 13 years!

 

No question about the connectors under the carpet trim mouldings at the front of the seat rails are problematic but big feet pushing under the seat are equally likely to disturb the hidden unknown connector.

 

Having the same problem.

 

Today I cut the yellow connector forward of the driver's seat and joined the 3 cables with wagos. The problem persists: A few seconds after resetting the fault code, it comes back.

 

So, I would like to look for this second connector. Where exactly is it? And does it have a distinct colour? Would I be able to see it without removing/lifting/tilting the seat? 

On my car there was a yellow connector underneath the driver's seat roughly in the middle. I removed the 4 bolts holding the seat down and tilted it backwards, this made it much easier to access the connector and make soldered connections. I cannot see how you can access the connector without removing the bolts and tilting the seat. Note my seat was an electric memory seat with associated wiring. To double check you have the correct connector you can follow the cables from the the airbag in the side of the seat to the connector under the seat. 

I believe  some have simply used a cable tie to hold the two ends of the connector firmly together. I thought as I had accessed the connector I might as well do a proper job and solder the wires together.  

Edited 1 May, 20224 yr by GreenMachine1.6
clarification

Mine was identical to the one in this video, and I found it in the same spot, i.e. not strictly necessary to tilt the seat.

 

 

This seems to be the one that the forum member "J.R." refers to as "the connector at the front of the seat rail". Now, the same J.R. also mentions "a second connector tucked up under the seat squab". 

And it is this second connector I am looking for now.

On my car there were two yellow connectors. One at the front of the seat in the floor under the carpet, my garage cut this out and soldered it. It did not solve the problem.  The solution for me was to solder the connector tucked under the seat, If I remember correctly it does not hang down but is attached to the seat frame making it difficult to see. Removing the seat from the rails and tilting takes no more than five minutes.

Just noticed you are from Kirkenes, an interesting place, did the tourist bit, snow mobile, huskies, ice hotel etc a few years ago!

6 hours ago, MariusMo said:

So, I would like to look for this second connector. Where exactly is it? And does it have a distinct colour? Would I be able to see it without removing/lifting/tilting the seat? 

 

I can only suggest that you follow the detailed instructions that I posted at the time, I cannot recall or visualise the details some 4 or more years later.

 

I had to tip the seat up to find that there was a second connector, at that time nobody had spoken of it, I now see that several others have had the same experience as me, just a shame that the garages can't be as determined & would rather rip the customers off.

 

Given that you have now had confirmed from several sources the existance of said connector and its rough position you might be able to locate it by feel but to work on it will require the seat tipping unless you are a practiced blind gynaecologist.

Seat tilted now, and I found no less than 3 connectors

 

Off to see if I can find a wiring diagram. The fault code specifically says "igniter". Perhaps one of the cable bundles is for that exact purpose.

 

I suggest you locate the leads coming from the airbag in the side of the seat and follow them down to the connector. I did this as a double check before cutting the wires.

There is only one cable bundle going to that part of the seat which is actually labelled "air bag" (facing the car's side/door). This cable comes from that yellow connector in front of the seat (the one I cut off and wago'ed), with no additional connector under the seat.

 

The cable bundles from the three connectors found under the seat (see photo above) are all going to the opposite side of the seat (towards the car's center).

 

I plugged out and back in again all connectors I could find (2 in front of the seat, 3 under the seat). The problem stays the same.

 

Snowing in Kirkenes right now, by the way. Hope for better working conditions tomorrow

 

 

@MariusMo the three connectors in your earlier post are for the seat heating nothing to do with the airbag

10 hours ago, nige8021 said:

@MariusMo the three connectors in your earlier post are for the seat heating nothing to do with the airbag

 

I am starting to suspect that this might be the real thing. I.e. the igniter is in fact dead, and has to be changed.

 

I measured the electrical resistance on the yellow plug (that I cut off): Not broken.

This is the Airbag wiring diagram

 

The seat heating and you'll see the two 2 pin & one 4 pin connectors

If you are saying the wires go from the airbag in the side of the seat directly (without going through another connector) to the connector under the carpet in front of the seat, then your wiring arrangement is different to mine. Unfortunately I cannot offer any further suggestions. Good luck in fixing the problem.

23 hours ago, MariusMo said:

This cable comes from that yellow connector in front of the seat (the one I cut off and wago'ed), with no additional connector under the seat.

It is there, you just havn't found it, follow the wires all the way to the seat side airbag and it will reveal itself, it may be tucked inside the foam.