Air bag light mystery

[calmarshall]

Orite ppl...

Recently i got my self a seat ibiza cupra tdi... when i was giving the car a hoover out i noticed a yellow plug and socket taped up underneather the seat, i took the tape off and the plug wasnt into the soket, a resistor had been put between two of the cores as if to link something out... i took the resistor out and plugged it in how it seemed it was ment to be and now the air bag light is on constantly even when i put the resistor back in...

anyidea wots going on?

cheers cal

 

[Cal91]

I'm guessing someone disconnect the airbag :| Kind of sounds a bit serious, has the car been in a crash before?

OMFG! We have the same name I'm called Callum Marshall too.

 

[Nath.]

The resistor is a bodge, by removing it you have caused an air bag fault and this fault will not go until it is reset with vag com or at a dealer.

 

[Adam R]

or disconnected your battery for 20 min

 

[muddyboots]

Sounds like one of the airbag components is faulty, and rather than fix it, someone has just bypassed it with a resistor to fool the Airbag ECU that all is OK.

Pretty dangerous really, as it means something ain't going to protect you in a crash.
Whether it's side airbags, or seatbelt pretensioner, I don't know.

The airbags & pretensioners in the Mk4 are one of the reasons I got out of my crash last year pretty much unscathed.
If it was my car I'd be getting it fixed ASAP.

 

[TllEWL]

Do the seats that are in it now have an airbag label on the side ?

Sounds like someone could have swapped the seats over and used a 5ohm resistor because the 'new' seats don't have airbags in them (that what I did with the Recaros in the Toledo)

...either that, or they've just put the old seats back after having aftermarket seats in it before, and just not plugged them back in

Might be worth disconnecting the battery, plugging the yellow connector into the seat (if you can find a socket) - leaving it for an hour - re-connecting the battery and seeing it that resets the fault code.... if it appears again, there's a fault with the airbag in the seat

 

[calmarshall]

I'm guessing someone disconnect the airbag :| Kind of sounds a bit serious, has the car been in a crash before?

OMFG! We have the same name I'm called Callum Marshall too.

Yea i think the car may have been in a crash as u can tell the front windscreen has been replaced, it hant got the SEAT marking its made by a different company...

yea cal marshall is a mint name mate

 

[calmarshall]

Do the seats that are in it now have an airbag label on the side ?

Sounds like someone could have swapped the seats over and used a 5ohm resistor because the 'new' seats don't have airbags in them (that what I did with the Recaros in the Toledo)

...either that, or they've just put the old seats back after having aftermarket seats in it before, and just not plugged them back in

Might be worth disconnecting the battery, plugging the yellow connector into the seat (if you can find a socket) - leaving it for an hour - re-connecting the battery and seeing it that resets the fault code.... if it appears again, there's a fault with the airbag in the seat

yea mate they have the airbag label on the side. yea i will try tht trick with the battery and i will let u know. cheers mate

 

[calmarshall]

cheeers for all the info lads i will keep yas posted

So is the plug and socket under the seat only for the side air bag in the seat?

 

[muddyboots]

Not sure - IIRC, it could also be for the seatbelt pretensioner, which I think on the Ibiza is mounted to the side of the seat nearest the handbrake.

 

[kenny-cupra]

Do the seats that are in it now have an airbag label on the side ?

Sounds like someone could have swapped the seats over and used a 5ohm resistor because the 'new' seats don't have airbags in them (that what I did with the Recaros in the Toledo)

...either that, or they've just put the old seats back after having aftermarket seats in it before, and just not plugged them back in

Might be worth disconnecting the battery, plugging the yellow connector into the seat (if you can find a socket) - leaving it for an hour - re-connecting the battery and seeing it that resets the fault code.... if it appears again, there's a fault with the airbag in the seat

can you tell me what size of resistor you used , and did you connect it across the 2 colours rather than the brown cable as this is a ground

Kenny

 

[calmarshall]

yea mate they have the airbag label on the side. yea i will try tht trick with the battery and i will let u know. cheers mate

which out of the 3 wires am i putting the resistor in if i put aftermarket seats in mate?

 

[backus]

for after market seats is it a 5 ohm resistor you use? has anyone done this yet? which two wires you connect it to?

 

[TllEWL]

Blue and Black on your seat plug

 

[marshey]

Sorry to revive old thread but I have just tried this with 5ohm resistor and it hasn't worked. Any pics of the resistor and plug completed.

 

[TllEWL]

See the post immediately above yours (unless it's blocked for some reason)

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/2/4021/4701/22552350069_medium.jpg


It won't turn the light off if it's already on btw - you need VagCom for that.

 

[marshey]

Right ok thanks for that. So I'm in need of vag com now then. Do I buy it or do I see if a member can do it for me.

 

[.Si.]

whereabouts in Essex are you??..I have a mate who can pop round if not to far away

 

[marshey]

Degenham mate. Don't mind traveling

 

[.Si.]

pm incoming