Hi all

 

This is a new one and just curious to see if others have experienced it, or similar, and potential solutions.

 

2016 VRS, here in Aus.  Car was fine then once day showed airbag error on dash.  Read codes, and cleared.   144 km later it reappeared.   Have now reset it a few times, and it varies as to when it reappears - quickest was about 5km later, others can be 50-150km later.   Not always when starting the car either.   Reading seems to be that the wires can get frail or stretched a little and thus cause dodgy connections.   So, my assumptions and thoughts (for your guidance) are:

 

Error is 'Front passenger rear thorax airbag igniter' - resistance too high.  Fault code B10101B

 

I assume this means the seat airbag, passenger side, and the igniter would be under the seat?   Seats are electric.

 

Next steps would be to disconnect battery, lift seat up high and see what is underneath.   From experience clean the terminals or should I look at getting a replacement igniter?

 

Thanks

 

Yellow connector under seat,might be tucked into a void under the carpet inside the seat rails.

 

There may be another unknown to many connector between the seat frame and lower foam squab if fixing the first one does not resolve matters.

 

Do you carry rear seat passengers? Those with big feet that like to stretch out?

Thank you.   

 

And no, very rare to have people in the back and certainly not for a while.   I think this is just one of those quirks that once started will not stop.   Could be a dodgy igniter of course but will go for the contact cleaning first and see what happens.   It is more annoying than anything!

My MK2 Octavia was sold to me for spares after the owners could not face the annual bills to get the vehicle through the MOT because of said airbag warning light which would always reappear a few days later, they had paid out thousands over the years including having the airbag replaced, well thats what the invoice said, I found it had not been touched.

 

After making a decent job of their bodged joining of the wires to remove the connector (they are troublesome) I was still getting the warning light from time to time, on tracing the wiring throughout its length I found the extra connector in the seat frame which was responsable.

On 11/12/2024 at 22:34, J.R. said:

Yellow connector under seat,might be tucked into a void under the carpet inside the seat rails.

 

There may be another unknown to many connector between the seat frame and lower foam squab if fixing the first one does not resolve matters.

 

Do you carry rear seat passengers? Those with big feet that like to stretch out?

So took the seat out (partly) today and found the yellow connector under the carpet by the seat rails.  Gave it a good clean and put it back.  Light was cleared and came back within about 30 secs.   So next thing is to take the full seat out and try and find where the cable ends inside the seat itself.

That was exactly what I did and how I found the hidden connector branching off to the airbag, it was in the vicinity of the seat occupancy pressure mat.

8 hours ago, J.R. said:

That was exactly what I did and how I found the hidden connector branching off to the airbag, it was in the vicinity of the seat occupancy pressure mat.

Ok - I could see in the chassis there were three connectors.  Two black and one yellow from memory.   The two black ones then joined up into the same cable which would be electric seat controls and then heated seats.   The single cable (with three wires) was the yellow plug and that went off on it's own and seemed to go off into the edge of the seat base and then up into where the curtain airbag lives.  I imagine that is where the other connector must be and that I need to get out and clean.

 

The light came back on after after 15 mins of driving yesterday.  I cleared it again and will see.   This is using OBD11.  Wonder if VCDS is actually required though! 

And airbag light back on within 10 mins.  Oh well - seat fully out I guess and need to find the connector in the seat and not under the seat as I suspect that it is the one!