Hello. Long time reader, first time poster.

 

I have a 1.6 FSI MK2 Octavia Estate (1Z5) and the airbag warning light on the dash has come on. A check of the fault codes shows a fault of ‘01221 - Side airbag crash sensor: Driver side'.

 

This happened about 12 months ago and was caused by the (yellow) airbag wire within the door bellows having snapped. Soldering in a repair section and a clear of the fault code saw the airbag warning light go (and stay) off.

 

Fast forwards 12 months to a few weeks before this years MOT (why do these things always occur before the MOT!) and when the airbag warning light came on I expected to find that the other (brown) airbag wire in the door bellows to be broken. However it isn’t and section of the loom inside the door and crash sensor itself is showing a resistance of 26.41k ohms (passenger side is 26.46k ohms) which proves the wiring is fine and the sensor isn’t dead.

 

The next logical thing to do is to replace the sensor as whilst it isn’t dead it might be defective but as this involves drilling out the rivets to remove the inner skin of the door (due to Skoda’s design choices!) so before doing several hours work I wanted to ask:

 

1. Are there any other possible causes?
2. Is it possible for the crash sensor to show a resistance but still be the cause of the fault?

 

From the boards I take that this fault code can’t be caused by the connector under the seat and in the floor but I’ve open these up, checked and cleaned them and rejoined them to no avail.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

D

Is that a current or the historical fault code?

 

Can it be deleted and does it come straight back again?

 

You say the light has come on and it is logical to replace the sensor but only if an active fault code points to that circuit.

That for the prompt reply.

 

Sorry I overlooked that, it's a current fault code. When I clear it the light goes out and then after a short period of driving the light comes back on triggered by the same 01221 underlying fault code.

 

As you say it's logical to replace the sensor as this is what the fault describes (and the door loom is fine) but I just wanted to check for any other potential causes before embarking on hours of work and ££'s of spend.

 

D

So to close this out for others future reference I bought a replacement sensor and fitted this and (annoyingly) the issue remained.

 

In the end the cause was the loom where it passes through the bellows between the door and the body. The yellow wire had developed an intermittent break in the previous repair which manifested depending on the positioning of the wires, hence why they showed a good resistance but also caused a fault to be thrown as opening and closing the door caused the break to open up and break the circuit.

 

The conclusion of this for others future reference from this experience is that the impact sensors in the door are likely to outlast the wiring in the door and to manipulate the door loom when assessing if it is the cause of the fault.

 

D