Airbag warning light

[larryr123]

My airbag dash warning light comes on when either the driver of passenger seats are adjusted or go over a bump.
Tried electrical contact cleaner on the contacts under the seats but the problem keeps recurring - any ideas on a permanent fix?

[Yorkshire GOC]

1. Sounds like the connectors are loose - i assume beside contact cleaner you have physically pressed the connectors together - if loose you will feel movement as you re-seat them.

2. Are the air bag looms/connectors tie wrapped to the seat itself ?- if so cut the tie wrap - I did this with a re-occurring warning light and it did the trick - every time the seat moves/jolts it loosened the connectors via the tie wrap.

[larryr123]

Hi York, yes I usually give the two under each seat a squeeze and a shake and it usually kills the light on the dash when starting up again.

I'll take a look at the wraps to see if that eases the interference from the seat movement.

Regards Larry

[RhinoTourer]

I've just gone the other way, the blue connectors mount had broken so and I was getting the exact same issue.

I've just cleaned the contacts on both connectors and cable tied the blue back approximately where it should be. Hasn't come back on yet...

Looking at the pins in the connector and the length on the connection itself I would say the pins will only make a fraction of the contact inside the sleave that they really should as the male pin is so small it will just bend away from any point of contact over time.

It's likely oxidization on the female side that's causing the issue.

Maybe try soaking the female side in contact cleaner for a while and if that doesn't do it possibly try very very slight movement on just one of the male pins and then make and remake the connection several times and repeat if necessary.

[COLVERT]

Quite a few folk ditch the connectors and just solder the wires together. Be difficult to stop them from connecting then.---

[stevestrat]

Originally Posted by COLVERT

Quite a few folk ditch the connectors and just solder the wires together.

I ended up doing that on both cars, my old 1.8T and the 260 much to Brian's displeasure

If you go down that route do it properly, solder, heatshrink and add about 6-8" to all the wiring, that eliminates the possibility of the wiring being affected by seat movement and also allows the wiring to be cut and rejoined should you ever have to remove the seats. Also, by removing the connectors you are shortening what is already tight wiring.

[Arctic]

Why not change the connectors for some more reliable ones,

1

2

With a little more wire so the seat can be moved without pulling on the connectors

[larryr123]

Aren't the connectors forming part of the function of the airbag, and taking them out will render the airbags inoperable in the case of a crash?

The airbag system should work when a MEM (micro electro mechanical) device is triggered when a severe jolt is experienced - are these located in the switches or elsewhere within the actual airbags?

[stevestrat]

Originally Posted by larryr123

The airbag system should work when a MEM (micro electro mechanical) device is triggered when a severe jolt is experienced - are these located in the switches or elsewhere within the actual airbags?

The connectors are simply that, connectors. There are impact sensors located under the carpet.