(T) Airbag Warning flashing

does anyone have a prob with the airbag failure flashing for weeks then dissapearing only to reappear again. major prob is I cannot see my oil pressure gauge when the warning is always on. (small screen bewlow speedo 2003 abarth). is there a quick fix, been to the dealer twice so thats not an option.

i had this on an old car
did the check the sensor cables underneath the seat
on my old car the seat belt pretensioner caused this problem
EDIT- sorry the fix was taking the electrical block connection out and soldering the wires

I had this prob after I was moving the seats forward to put stuff in the back. Apparantly there is a sensor in the front seats and the cables can come loose. It was just plugged back in by the dealership.

same problem here, the conector under the passenger seat (the white one), after taking to dealer about three times i just cut out the connector and replaced it with an elecrical connector block. no problems since.

Hi there,

Had my stilo's 60k service today (£204 later) and my airbag light came on last week.
After the service was complete they said they'd fitted a resistor somewhere!!! and ordered a new offside seat belt as this was where the problem lies. Anyone else heard this one?

The f*&%ing light is still on as well!!!!

cheers

Our Stilo Active has come up with an airbag warning.
This was fixed by the local dealer, by fitting a new connector.

That was a couple of weeks go, now the warning has reappeared.

Apparently there are a number of connectors that may cause a problem.

Wonder how much they will charge to 'fix' it this time round?

Should this sort of problem be covered by 3rd year warranty?

Soldering! cutting airbag wiring! some of you are risking your & other passengers lives by doing this.NO manufacturer endorses this kind of practise & would insist on a new loom being fitted if this was ever done at a dealership.
Go back to dealer,explain this fault keeps re-occuring and a discount would be a kind gesture & would keep you using the dealership.After all £30-40 to fix airbag system....you'd probably spend more on a saturday night out!
Wiring/connectors not covered by 3rd year warranty.

Isn't a life saving piece of safety equipment like an airbag that is unreliable through poor quality contacts and connectors comprising driver and passenger safety more?

Customers paying for "repairs" to unreliable safety systems that have not been properly quality tested just shouldn't be happening. They aren't "repairs" but modifications to substandard systems that weren't properly tested in the first place. Bravos suffered from spurious air bag warnings 8 years ago, it shouldn't still be happening now.

Unreliable life saving safety systems are the worst. It's better not to have it fitted at all than to not know whether it's going to work when needed.

Good Afternoon all,

In relation to my previous post, Fiat Middleton, West Sussex had my stilo in on Tuesday. They fitted a new offside seat belt. Which parts exactly I'm not sure but the actual belt itself is definately new and the whole mechanism feels smoother.

So far, so good I've had no further warnings pop up.

Does anyone know why it's this bit that got replaced? I assume the airbags and seatbelt pretensioners are all linked together and work together if and when an accident occurs? Could one of you techies assist with a simple explanation? Cheers

On a good note, my stilo sailed through it's 1st MOT with no problems. I even got it post dated as it wasn't due until July 05!!!! result

Keep grooving guys

[quote=Deckchair5]Isn't a life saving piece of safety equipment like an airbag that is unreliable through poor quality contacts and connectors comprising driver and passenger safety more? QUOTE]

Agree,but in the owners manual it states to go to dealer straight away if light comes on & its your responsibility to do that.Most Alfa owners I know stop car & get AA to tow it in & quite rightly so as what if they had a accident on way to dealers???

All airbag repairs must be carried out by DET's & approved technicians (not just a mechanic) to cut down on repeat repairs....check this has been the case if you take yours to be repaired.

I totally agree, airbag systems should never have any soldering work done on them. Fiat have sent out a service news to all dealers stating that the ONLY people to work on airbags are Dealer Expert Technicians. Soldering wiring under seats is highly dangerous and should not be carried out.

Yes I agree too. If something's up with the airbag system then get it fixed by someone qualified to repair it.

My point was just why is the air bag system so unreliable when it's supposed to be life saving equipment. Bravos are infamous for airbag lights (only they lock on and can only be reset by the dealer) and now we we see Stilos have more faults than should be happening. Time moves on but technology apparently has not.

It's not just Fiats, a huge range of car manufacturers suffer from eroneous air bag warning lights so what is it that causes it? Is it the low voltages and therefore problems with the slightest increase in resisitance? Are the electrical connectors just not a capable of reliably carrying the low voltages?

Think its down to a few reasons really,
Poor routing of airbag wiring (like getting caught when moving seat back etc)
Poor quality terminals in multiplugs (Fiat use tin foil I reckon )
Lots of connectors due to amount of components in the system (I repaired a stilo otherday with 8 bloody airbags!)
Money!.....most 'punters' would prefer colourful strips/CD player/alloys etc thus the manufacture has to provide this and keep price down so sacrifices/cost cutting is carried out.
Your right that Fiat (and Alfas) suffer more than most but the faults are well known and the areas they occur what annoys most folk is £40-50 to 'put light out'!

Is there a separate Airbag type examiner and access point to pinpoint where the fault lies? It must be a nightmare trying to trace one dodgy connector without something to help narrow down its location

I think there's one for the air con too, is that correct?

Damn! I thought the Stilo air bag light was self extinguishing. Is it the same as the Bravos then that the warning light "locks on" and can only be put out by dealer examiner software?

I dunno M8, but mine's on and off like a whore's drawers this week !!