My airbag light came on after replacing the alternator and I had to get it reset by a Skoda dealer. It has come on again as a result of some more work around the alternator.

Can I do the reset myself with the shareware version of Ross-Tech VAG-COM or do I need the licenced version ? Most of the functions in VAG-COM are "out of my league" technically so I don't really want to invest in the full version.

You can clear the airbag control modules fault code memory with the VAG-COM Shareware version, however Airbag fault codes are very serious and should NEVER be cleared without REALLY checking them and the problems they relate to. All work on Airbag related components can be dangerous, some countries (e.g. Germany) do only allow trained persons to do that by law.

The first time the light came on was immediately after a change of alternator due to battery charging problems. Subsequently the charging problem returned so I took the car into a Skoda dealer who attempted to solve the charging problem by putting a new battery in. They simply reset the light without any comment on why it was on. The charging problem returned yet again. Thanks to Briskoda forum I was able to correctly diagnose a break in the blue "exciter" wire which connects to the alternator.

Anyway, my mechanic fixed the wire but immediately the airbag light came on again. So I'm guessing that there is nothing wrong with the airbag - it's the tinkering with the alternator electrics which makes it come on. On both occasions the battery had been removed from the car - could that be relevant ?

Surely if I clear the fault code memory and there is a genuine problem with the airbag the light will come on again anyway ? Any comments or insights would be much appreciated . . .