Evening all,

 

 

I've got an airbag warning light on the dash after moving the seats back and forwards.

 

I'd like to try to re-seat the yellow airbag connectors, but I can't seem to get them apart.

 

I see there is a part of the connector that pivots, but beyond that I don't want to force it.

 

 

Is there anyone who can advise on how to get them apart please?

 

 

Also:

 

Does it need to be reset using a device afterwards?

 

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Update:

 

Took it to an independent garage and it’s come back with 01221 Crash Sensor Airbag Drivers Side G179 Short With Power.

 

I’ve ordered some 3.7 Ohm resistors and a airbag igniter.

 

Will disconnecting the battery reset once I’ve cured the problem?

1 minute ago, MK1Elegance said:

Will disconnecting the battery reset once I’ve cured the problem?

No, it's a latching warning light, and requires VCDS or similar rather than a code reader to be reset.

Thought so, thanks 

1 hour ago, MK1Elegance said:

Took it to an independent garage and it’s come back with 01221 Crash Sensor Airbag Drivers Side G179 Short With Power.

I’ve ordered some 3.7 Ohm resistors and a airbag igniter.

Im not sure what you think a 3.7 ohm resistor will do? And what do you mean a airbag igniter?

The crash sensor drivers side is a small module located either in the drivers door or somewhere around the aperture that is there to detect a crash. 

 

Now all i can think is, with a resistor you are trying to bodge repair it, which is a terrible and stupid idea with airbags! 

The resistor is to diagnose the fault. The garage suggested getting hold of another airbag just in case. I’ll see how it goes, but I may have to use a German specialist on the same industrial estate. Trouble is, it could be too costly on a 2001 Octuy

Oh, and getting hold of parts from Skoda might be a problem, as the shelf life of these parts is way past the 10yrs

17 hours ago, MK1Elegance said:

The resistor is to diagnose the fault. The garage suggested getting hold of another airbag just in case. I’ll see how it goes, but I may have to use a German specialist on the same industrial estate. Trouble is, it could be too costly on a 2001 Octuy

But it’s not an airbag fault code you supplied, it’s a crash sensor on the drivers side 

I spoke to the garage yesterday and for an update.

 

They're going to have a word with Skoda to definitely determine where the problem is, because they've had instances where the code didn't match the TRUE fault 😶

 

I'll update soon 🏎️

Well the garage never got back to me, so I bought an OBD lead and used VCDS lite. Definitely either the crash sensor under the seat or the wiring. Got a reader / code clearer coming and ordered a second hand sensor 

Update:

 

 

I have pulled the carpet up and located the side airbag sensor:

 

If it's plugged in it says "Short to positive"

If it unplugged it says " Short to positive"

If a resistor is put in it says "Short to ground"

 

I'm going to bell the wiring out tomorrow and I've ordered another sensor (ordered the wrong one previously)

 

If these don't resolve the issue it looks like I'm scrapping the old boy 😥

 

Any thoughts?

I had an airbag light on my 04 mk 1 - local garage with VCDS  gave G179 drivers side crash sensor (under carpet in front of seat) ordered a new one from Skoda but in the meantime fitted a secondhand one and got garage to clear the fault light - that worked

Wish I’d tried the secondhand one first - the new one was £160! 

On 11/02/2023 at 17:36, MK1Elegance said:

Update:

 

 

I have pulled the carpet up and located the side airbag sensor:

 

If it's plugged in it says "Short to positive"

If it unplugged it says " Short to positive"

If a resistor is put in it says "Short to ground"

 

I'm going to bell the wiring out tomorrow and I've ordered another sensor (ordered the wrong one previously)

 

If these don't resolve the issue it looks like I'm scrapping the old boy 😥

 

Any thoughts?

You should not have been putting a resistor in its place.

 

It sounds like either the sensor has failed or the earth return cable is broken/disconnected.

 

No on reflection it has to be the former, putting in the resistor made the short to ground.

 

As always the VCDS descriptions are rubbish, short to positive means not enough volt drop sensed for the sensor to be working, although were an additional 12v feed shorted to the one for the sensor the result would be the same, short to earth means too much volt drop, in this case your resistor.

 

I believe that the sensor has failed open circuit.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

If I have shorted anything, where are the fuses for this circuit please?

On 14/02/2023 at 16:15, MK1Elegance said:

Thanks again for the advice.

 

If I have shorted anything, where are the fuses for this circuit please?

 

Tried another impact sensor today, some message about not set up was returned. Also the original did the same. Then after resetting it came up short to plus. So I cut the carpet out and I think I’ve found where water is coming in (cracked bings), now sealed up.

 

The airbag control unit is on the tunnel I think. Might try tracing and wiring directly into it later

 

What do you think?

On 14/02/2023 at 17:15, MK1Elegance said:

If I have shorted anything, where are the fuses for this circuit please?

 

On 14/02/2023 at 13:37, J.R. said:

As always the VCDS descriptions are rubbish, short to positive means not enough volt drop sensed for the sensor to be working, short to earth means too much volt drop

 

Nothing said about blown fuses.

Thanks for the info. Yes, VCDS is quite vague. I’ve soldered in extension wires to the replacement sensor that came with a connector. I’ll splice this in further along the loom, hopefully tomorrow.

OK,

 

I cut into the loom and soldered in the second hand connector / sensor.

 

The original loom was a white wire and a brown wire. The second hand one is yellow and brown (should make any difference.

 

VCDS then came up with 62-00 "No or incorrect adjustment"

 

This was also the case with the original sensor in the rewired loom

 

Later on it came up with "Short to plus"

 

🙄

 

I belled out the wires, so they are definitely the correct ones.

 

One last thing I might try is to splice the original wires into the new part I've added, but other than that I'm at a loss.

Update

 

 

The second hand sensor I fitted is listed as a type 3 in VCDS, the passenger (known good) is listed as a type 2.

 

Is there anyway to recode to impact sensor so they both match?

 

 

I have ordered a second hand airbag ECU from a reclaim yard that doesn't have side airbags, this might another solution

Im gonna be honest, at this point im tapping out and not offering any further assistance except stop messing with things and bodging them and take it to a reputable qualified person.

 

Fitting incorrect parts, bypassing wires, secondhand ECUs, shorting other wires, sticking random resistors in, mixing wire colours up - this is all a list of things you should not do when it comes to airbag systems.

 

You seem to have a small amount of knowledge and I respect trying to repair your own car, but when it comes to airbag systems you need all the knowledge - you cant just try things and see what happens, you risk damaging components or triggering airbags.

Edited 5 March, 20233 yr by ApertureS

Update.

 

Sorted. I’ve managed to source a front airbag only unit and make it fit the connector. Ok, the ones in the seats won’t activate, but that would be the case in some models anyway.