Vagcom & airbags

[Cobalt]

Hi folks, I wondered if you could help at all. I know this isnt really a VW forum but as most of the parts are the same and the testing software is the same I wondered if you could help

My brother has recently just passed his test and had the immense luck of managing to pick up a mk4 golf for peanuts as his firends dad was desperate to get rid of it. Anywho, the problem is that it keeps telling him there is an problem with the airbags.

Now it has been taken to garages in the past and looked at and the garages say its a problem with the passenger side airbag but when i plugged my K-line cable in it today and ran an auto scan with vagcom (latest version, offical cable) it said there was an 'intermitent fault with the drivers airbag - resistance too low' and nothing else.

I was hoping you might be able to point me in the right general direction of what the problem(s) might be?? Any assistance or advice would be helpful

 

[Slimy]

Firstly, can I recommend you don't do an auto scan? I've found that if there is any problem with the components, the auto scan just ignores them. Even if the problem is only an intermittent bad connection. You could be missing fault codes.

Resistance too low to me would suggest a damaged cable. But it does seem odd that it's the wrong airbag compared to what the garages say. I would pull the airbag connectors then run vag-com again, just to see what errors are being generated. For example, if removing the passenger side connector makes no change to the fault codes, it means that the garages are right and the cable has been damaged at some point.

 

[Cobalt]

Well I'm still a bit of a newbie with VCDS/Vagcom Slimy so I do tend to stick to the simple stuff at the moment, hence the auto-scan. Next weekend when he brings it over again tho I'll run a test just on the airbag unit and see what comes up, we should have a service manual by then as well so we can go about checking over the cables etc.

Thanks for the reply Hopefully we can get it sorted out.

I should probably point out both me & my brother are pretty terrible when it comes to cars, so bear with me if i ask anything stupid or silly

 

[BeartheBruce]

Firstly, can I recommend you don't do an auto scan? I've found that if there is any problem with the components, the auto scan just ignores them. Even if the problem is only an intermittent bad connection. You could be missing fault codes.

The next time you find that condition Slimy, would you do us a favor and email us the scan data and then the difference in the internal module? What you describe is not supposed to happen and to the best of my knowledge - 7 years in the company - this is the first report of such an occurrence.

For the record, are we talking about the current version of the software or are we talking about the shareware/311/409 versions?

Resistance too low to me would suggest a damaged cable. But it does seem odd that it's the wrong airbag compared to what the garages say. I would pull the airbag connectors then run vag-com again, just to see what errors are being generated. For example, if removing the passenger side connector makes no change to the fault codes, it means that the garages are right and the cable has been damaged at some point.

Resistance too low could also indicate seats that have been changed - different airbag set up. Factory original or has something else been swapped in?

 

[Slimy]

The next time you find that condition Slimy, would you do us a favor and email us the scan data and then the difference in the internal module? What you describe is not supposed to happen and to the best of my knowledge - 7 years in the company - this is the first report of such an occurrence.

For the record, are we talking about the current version of the software or are we talking about the shareware/311/409 versions?

It is the shareware 311 version. What I find is that if the autoscan can't communicate with a module, it just carries on and reports it as 'no codes found'. Whereas the individual module fault scans seem to be more 'tolerant', if that makes sense?

I first found it with module 46, which I get the impression is a troublesome module anyway. There are posts on here about people having to pull fuses etc just to get it to be recognised. On autoscan it just comes back with no codes found, whereas an individual scan reveals the rear passenger side control fault that I know is there.

I'll try and take a snapshot of the next time I do a fault scan, just to show you what happens.

Edit: Sorry, forgot to add it's an Ebay USB job for the lead. I don't know whether that also increases the unreliability of the autoscan?

 

[BeartheBruce]

Version 311 released in Nov of 2003 - may have such an issue. We've moved well beyond that version in the last nearly 7 years. I'm not going to worry about such a condition on such an old version of the program.

The leads can have a lot to do with communication errors. Many of the low cost leads do not have adaptable hardware in them - hardware that is required to make and stay in communication especially on the older cars. As things have evolved, the newer cars and newer leads are far more tolerant.

There is much evidence that certain modules are much more difficult to communicate. I'm not sure why the autoscan would have difficulty communicating but then in selecting the module less difficulty. I should think that would be consistent.

Thanks for the input. I will let the development team know but I don't expect them to take any action on 6 year old versions. If your lead will support it, try updating to 409 to see if it would help. Perhaps there was a bug that was corrected in the 5+year old software since there is mention of "bug fixes" in the interim versions between 311 and 409.

 

[Slimy]

I did look at the 409 version, but it said it works with only official leads so I stayed with 311.

I'd just chalk it up to one of many reasons why I shouldn't be such a skinflint and should buy the latest and greatest!

 

[BeartheBruce]

Not true. There are many aftermarket wires that will work with 409. Certainly the latest versions of VCDS do not exhibit the problem you have described. I won't push but if you have found that 311 has worked well for you, I promise that 908 and newer will give you that much more value.

I understand costs and finances. As I said, I'm not pushing.

 

[Cobalt]

As far as I know BeartheBruce, its all as it came off the assembly line, its an 01(jan) mk4 golf 1.6l 16v. So the airbag configuration etc *should* all be standard, but we've no way of knowing if any changes have been made. Would we be able to tell with VCDS at all?

Oh is there anything we should be aware of when working around airbag units? Any warnings or tips?

 

[Slimy]

Not true. There are many aftermarket wires that will work with 409. Certainly the latest versions of VCDS do not exhibit the problem you have described. I won't push but if you have found that 311 has worked well for you, I promise that 908 and newer will give you that much more value.

I understand costs and finances. As I said, I'm not pushing.

I'll give the 409 a go then, see if it helps. I promise I will buy a full version at some point, I've certainly saved enough money with fault code reading to buy it!

 

[burnsy_b]

As far as I know BeartheBruce, its all as it came off the assembly line, its an 01(jan) mk4 golf 1.6l 16v. So the airbag configuration etc *should* all be standard, but we've no way of knowing if any changes have been made. Would we be able to tell with VCDS at all?

Oh is there anything we should be aware of when working around airbag units? Any warnings or tips?

COBALT JUST MAKE SURE TO DISCONNECT THE LIVE FROM THE CAR BATTERY WHEN WORKING WITH AIRBAGS!!!!!!!!!!!!

IVE LEARNT MY LESSION THE HARD WAY

 

[BeartheBruce]

COBALT JUST MAKE SURE TO DISCONNECT THE LIVE FROM THE CAR BATTERY WHEN WORKING WITH AIRBAGS!!!!!!!!!!!!

IVE LEARNT MY LESSION THE HARD WAY

I second this. Airbags can go off. Read the factory recommendations before you play with them. You could eat your laptop if you are not careful!