Technical Fiat 500 1.2 2019 airbag light

[Lonewolf70it]

I have an issue happened not long ago on my fiat 500 regarding the airbag light that came on all of the sudden while starting to use the car.
It just came on...I have been to my local garage ( since it was just out of warranty) and to the local Fiat dealer ( Stoneacre)
It has come out from both diagnostic that the wiring loom on the passenger side is damaged ( after investigation it is the part between the body of the car and the passenger door section apparently where the wire is faulty) and needs to be fully changed with a cost between £ 650 and £ 750.
Since these costs are bang out of order for my pockets for a car that has done only 31K miles in 3 years and a bit, is there a way that only the damaged wire/s can be changed/repaired in that section instead of the full loom and reset the light from dashboard??

Thank you in advance!!!

 

[John202020]

Welcome did you buy the car new?
"If" it's a simple broken wire then any auto electrician should be able to fix it, I find it hard to believe that a car so young has this issue, the fiat wires are known to break in the tailgate where they are constantly flexed but not in a static state, perhaps a call to citizens advice? My gut says it's not the actual wires, more the connectors or bits they're plugged into? A much more in depth investigation will be required though that could cost several hundred in time?

 

[Lonewolf70it]

Welcome did you buy the car new?
"If" it's a simple broken wire then any auto electrician should be able to fix it, I find it hard to believe that a car so young has this issue, the fiat wires are known to break in the tailgate where they are constantly flexed but not in a static state, perhaps a call to citizens advice? My gut says it's not the actual wires, more the connectors or bits they're plugged into? A much more in depth investigation will be required though that could cost several hundred in time?

No the car is 2019 bought nearly new then with only 6k on clock... apparently both my garage and Fiat dealer (Stoneacre) found and confirmed the same defect/fault as described.. the part/wires that allegedly are damaged is the one that flex in the passenger door.
I just don't want to pay that amount of money when it could be repaired with more less than that.

 

[jrkitching]

I think you've been unlucky.

This is (I think) the first post we've seen reporting a door loom failure, though it's extremely common to find a similar failure where the loom flexes between the hatch and the bodyshell.

is there a way that only the damaged wire/s can be changed/repaired in that section instead of the full loom and reset the light from dashboard

Sure, just get an autoelectrician to patch what's actually failed. A franchised dealer is unlikely to do this, and many smaller garages contract out any significant electrical repairs.

How long this will last depends on three things; the type of cable used to make the patch, the skill of the person doing the work, and whether there are any other wires in that part of the loom which are close to failing.

Given what we've seen with faults in the hatch area, I'd certainly advise anyone doing a patch repair on any part of the loom which is subject to flexing to check all the other cables bound with it.

In your case, I'm wondering if the door loom could have been compromised during manufacture.

and reset the light from dashboard

We've seen cases before where loom failure in the hatch area has triggered the airbag warning light.

In those cases, there are three possibilities. If you are lucky, the light goes out once the wiring is repaired. If you are just fortunate, rather than lucky, then the airbag light can be extinguished by using a Fiat-specific scanning tool such as MES or Fiat examiner once the wiring is repaired. And if you are unlucky, the wiring fault will have put a stray electrical feed onto the airbag ECU, destroying it - and then the airbag ECU will also need to be replaced.

 

[puntodeltathema]

Airbag wiring in the passenger door? I didn't think there were any airbag components in the doors (side impact sensors?).

Someone on here might be able to do a plug-in for you so you get the diagnosis first hand, rather than relying on people with a vested interest. Have a look at the MultiEcuScan members' register to see if there is someone near you.

Wiring plugs coming adrift at the seat are not unknown.

Nick

 

[jrkitching]

Airbag wiring in the passenger door? I didn't think there were any airbag components in the doors

There aren't any airbag components in the rear hatch, either - and that wiring fault has also been known to trigger the airbag light.

On a canbus car, an unwanted wiring short can put a stray feed just about anywhere.

 

[John202020]

OK out of curiosity does everything work correctly on the passenger door, locking, windows, mirrors/heating/temp sensing( spec dependant IE. Lounge ) ?
Can't see how this would effect the airbags that said modern cars are very fickle.
What exactly did they say was not working/communicating Eg. passenger seat airbag or pre tensioner or curtain airbag ETC?

 

[Lonewolf70it]

Thank you all for your replies but it is more complicated and costly to go through the hard route like finding a needle in the haystack than just changing the passenger loom.

OK out of curiosity does everything work correctly on the passenger door, locking, windows, mirrors/heating/temp sensing( spec dependant IE. Lounge ) ?
Can't see how this would effect the airbags that said modern cars are very fickle.
What exactly did they say was not working/communicating Eg. passenger seat airbag or pre tensioner or curtain airbag ETC?

Yes everything else works correctly on that side

 

[John202020]

Thank you,
All I can assume is the "passenger door" loom also contains the air bag wiring without going into the door? Unlucky

 

[Lonewolf70it]

Thank you,
All I can assume is the "passenger door" loom also contains the air bag wiring without going into the door? Unlucky

Yes it looks like it...it seems to me that just after 30K miles it came up like that...and on the passenger door...it seems a slightly common problem as I have been told ..there might be some light at the end of the tunnel thou...I found a proper auto electrician that will investigate the issue and repair the wire problem instead of changing the full loom at less cost for my pockets...wish me luck!!!

 

[jrkitching]

.wish me luck!!!

Good luck!

 

[Lonewolf70it]

Hi all..I managed to have the issue repaired by an auto electrician that tackled the problem and repaired the fault and solved it without changing the wiring loom...let's hope nothing else happens on that same issue type.
If you live around Sheffield area and you need an auto electrician let me know and I'll DM you his details...he is good and reliable

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi all..I managed to have the issue repaired by an auto electrician that tackled the problem and repaired the fault and solved it without changing the wiring loom...let's hope nothing else happens on that same issue type.
If you live around Sheffield area and you need an auto electrician let me know and I'll DM you his details...he is good and reliable

Basic repair to a single wire..?

Older cars can suffer this..with weird results :-(

I think you were just unlucky .. certainly not a common occurence.

 

[puntodeltathema]

Hi folks - just to revive this, over the Christmas holidays my Abarth 595 developed a sudden airbag warning, which the code suggested was the driver's door sensor (turns out there is an impact sensor in each door) and/or its wiring (error code B012D-2F).

The wiring loom to the door within the flexible body-to-door boot had fatigued, with one broken wire and a few others with split insultation.

Sounds like the hatch wiring all over again eh? Thing is my car has not even been out of the factory three years, and a quick bit of online searching reveals a couple of other newer 500s with this issue. Poorer quality wiring in recent years perhaps?

Anyway thought I would share...happily the looms are available via Shop4Parts for about GBP80, though I have repaired mine for now.

Nick

 

[The Panda Nut]

Hi all..I managed to have the issue repaired by an auto electrician that tackled the problem and repaired the fault and solved it without changing the wiring loom...let's hope nothing else happens on that same issue type.
If you live around Sheffield area and you need an auto electrician let me know and I'll DM you his details...he is good and reliable

I should buy a machine gun with the rest of the £650 to £750 and go shoot up the place who suggested that as a sane repair cost!

Garages who suggest such stupid and unreasonable things should be reported to trading standards. Their advice falls below the standard defined in law! It is not the standard of a reasonable tradesperson to which you have a right. Its a totally unnecessary and unprofessional rip off. Please do a review on here so we can all avoid them and their disreputable incompetence.

 

[steveras57]

WOULDNT spend £650 quid on a machine gun!.
Id sit outside and see which car the owner uses then pop to b&q and get a can of expanding builders foam!!- blocks the exhaust quite nicely(so in told of course!) see how long it takes the "mechanics" to figure that one out! not that im advocating,sneak attacks or revenge or the like! Id never do that now would I!?.