Hi and thanks for looking at my post, hope someone can help or
advise on my problem.

I have a Stilo 1.6 2002 and had it since new. Excellent car, drives
like a dream and is mechanically sound, bar the usual airbag problems
now and again. Which with the help of the forum I have managed
fix most times. Until now, so stuck it into the garage for the MOT and
to fix the airbag.

Shock! Horror! they came back with the following estimate and
list of faults.

Estimate for parts £1200-£1400 plus labour.

the list of faults are as follows:-

Drivers lateral airbag squid open circuit,
Passenger airbag squib 2 valve 2 high
Passenger airbag sqiub open circuit
Front passenger weight sensor internal error
Drivers side window airbag squib 1 valve too high
Drivers side window airbag squib open circuit

Can anyone advise on the following questions please

(1) Do you think this is excessive cost
(2) Is there anyway to disable the airbag to pass the MOT
(3) Can the bulb be taken out of the dash

The garage said (off the record) that if the bulb were taken out,
then the tester could not see if the light was on and probably
give me the MOT. ( Not a good idea, but it would be better than
scrapping a perfectly good car )

Your thoughts would be most appreciated, and a solution to
the above would be most gratefully received.

My thanks for looking at this post
Regards - Linamp

Yeah you can remove the bulb and get a pass, seems like an awful lot of airbag faults, my stilo has the dreaded ocs airbag fault and the previous owner has removed the light although it still beeps loads when started which is annoying

Markt8 said:

Yeah you can remove the bulb and get a pass

Click to expand...

No you can't, A) its an LED not a bulb, so can't simply be removed, and B) if airbags are fitted its an MOT failure if the warning light doesn't illuminate and self test when the ignition is switched on. In addition to this dash will still say airbag failure.

OP how old is the battery? For that number of issues its possible the battery is on its last legs, and not supplying the required voltages needed by the airbag system for it to see everything as being A-okay. A new battery may be all that's required, so get it tested with a Voltage Drop tester

That's not true at all, if the light isn't on then its a pass, I know they were talking about changing it to how you say but I was under the impression it hasn't been done yet?


I know its an led, ive had to fix a corsa that had been blanked before, they quite simply covered the led with blutac, easily done.

Markt8 said:

That's not true at all, if the light isn't on then its a pass, I know they were talking about changing it to how you say but I was under the impression it hasn't been done yet?


I know its an led, ive had to fix a corsa that had been blanked before, they quite simply covered the led with blutac, easily done.

Click to expand...

WRONG..!!,
the MOT tester is supposed to see the "check-light" illuminate,
then extinguish.

our old ALFA had the light painted over, failed an mot as soon as the law changed.

as MEP says, sounds like a power supply fault with so much flagging as faulty.

Hi again and thanks for your input.

Done a little research today on the airbag, and apparently
the whole system has to be renewed after 10yrs. So will
have to check with Fiat what that will cost.

The car is 12yrs old now, but as I said previously, it goes
like stink and I have had no problems with the car since I
had it from new - Bar the airbag faults. It looks like new so
it would be a crying shame to have to scrap the thing.

Anyway, will try the battery test as suggested as it must
be all of 5 yrs old.

Have also decided to try and solder the wires as discribed
in a post I was reading earlier. Can't do anymore harm if
the car can't past the MOT. Bit sick really as I have only
recently fitted new tyres all round plus a new exhaust.

I like the idea you suggested on covering the LED. Not sure
what type of work would be required to take the dash out though.

Thanks anyway all for your help and comments. Much appreciated.

Cheers and beers - Linamp

.

10 years mine is 12yrs old and i think the 10years is it may need to be tested again. (maybe wrong)

id still go with MEP and check your earth points?, also i might be barking up the wrong tree but do you have your battery cover on or in one piece? maybe a dirty/corroded fuse board?

im not the best with Airbags apart from the ocs problems, hope you get it sorted.

Paul

Recheck the airbag life . On our car (2004) I'm sure its marked as 15 year life.
You don't say where you are located but there are specialists who can fit airbags for much less.

The airbag life expectancy is only a guidance and Fiat covering their back side tbh. It can safely be ignored as I've yet to find another vehicle manufacture put similar stickers in the glovebox.

Even early airbag systems in cars well over 2 decades old now, like the Vauxhall Cavalier for example, will still function properly without issue 99.9% of the time, but the 10/12/15 year (seems different in almost every Fiat model, and differs for airbags and pretensioners for some reason) sticker really is a very vague guidance only.

Hi again and thanks for your replies and the heads up
on the life time of the airbags. So that is one less worry
to cope with.

Will have to do a search on the forum for earth points
to check, not sure where or how to find them. Was
hopeing to have a go today, but have the grand children
today - so will have to have a bash at it tomorrow.
Weather looks a bit better as well then.

Ok guys, my thanks again for all your help and input, will
post again on my progress. First must try Fiat and see
what they charge to replace the airbag system. Could
do with a laugh at the moment. LoL

CUL - regards Linamp

Once again Guys thanks for your input.

Ok Peat on the OCS unit - that looks like another avenue
I will have to down. But first will look at the battery and
earth points.

Not sure what the "Battery drop down" is, as my battery
is one of those sealed for life things.

Would there be a way of testing with a meter at the
battery to see if it was OK.

Also where would I find the earth points to check.
(was hoping someone would post the answer, so busy
at the moment not had time to search through the forum.)

Have decided to take 'Eastern Pandas' advice and try and
fix the airbag without covering the LeD, or even taking the
dash out. Too big a job for me. LoL

OK am again grateful for all your comments and help.
Hope you have a good weekend.

Cheers - Linamp

Re: Shock! Horror! £1400 to fix Airbag -Update!!

Hi again - not managed to solve the problem yet, but
got the reader code of the airbag.
So if any kind gent could tell me what it all means,
then would be very grateful.

Total codes: 005

OE

CODE002
0A
CODE003
OF
CODE004
21
CODE005
OE

These are the error codes supplied by the garage, so as I said,
if anyone knows what they mean or can point me in the right
direction, will have a go at it tomorrow and also get a new
battery and clean up the earth points.

Had a look at the guides - so thanks to the guys that posted them.

Cheers again - Linamp

.

Hey,

instead of chucking money' away at garages, for code read's.
Buy your own leads off the Ebay & Download 'M.E.S'

And plug it in your self,
there is plenty of info on how to use it on the forum or even video's on Youtube,

Hi OldHammer - and thank you for your advice.
As always, it's much appreciated. So again
Thank You.

Cheers & Beers - Linamp