I turned the ignition off on my 71 plate Skoda Octavia and turned the airbag switch to the OFF position before removing the switch and  side panel cover to run a cable up the A pillar. After putting everything back again and turning the airbag switch to the ON position I started the engine. Now I have an airbag warning light appear. Why could this be?

 

The switch isn't damaged! One thing that I noticed whilst removing the switch was the main digital display in the centre of the dash came on after i closed the driver door. Could this of caused the airbag light to come on?

Removing the airbag switch with the battery connected will flag a fault.

 

You'll need VCDS or similar diagnostic equipment to clear the fault code and which in turn will turn off the airbag light

57 minutes ago, langers2k said:

Removing the airbag switch with the battery connected will flag a fault.

thanks for your reply. Is the only way to avoid the airbag warning light on these new Skodas is to disconnect the battery before removing the airbag switch?  

It's not specific to "new" Skoda's, it's been the case for 15 or more years... My old MK2 Octavia would have done exactly the same when unplugging the airbag switch

 

I'm not aware of any other method apart from removing the battery. Given the explosives in the airbag system, you should really be removing the battery and giving the system time to discharge before touching any airbag system related component...