Technical Airbag ecu

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Technical Airbag ecu

snitrats

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I have a 2012+ panda easy.Been fine until the central locking failed to work yesterday,not only that, on turning on the ignition,headlights one on,cranks but won’t start and just about everything else doesn’t work.
Also it’s showing an airbag fault.
I have checked the seat belts & and the under seat wires and all seems ok.
So after much reading it’s a strong possibility it’s the airbag ecu, but where do I find it ?
 
Yes, do check the simple things before going down a possible rabbit hole!

I had a car with a failing alternator and the dashboard was lit up like a Christmas tree with warning lights (including airbag). All was well after replacing the alternator.

I now have a voltmeter that plugs into the cigarette lighter/power socket which makes it really easy to quickly check voltages on cars. Here's one for £8.99 that's also a phone charger.
 
I've just fixed and airbag warning light issue which had been caused by a failing steering wheel contact. Symptoms were that warning light would come on when wheel turned to full lock in either direction (leaving the drive in the morning for example) the error would clear when on the road but any significant turning of the wheel would set it off again. Contact cleaner did not fix it.

The replacement is fairly straight forward once you work out how to release the airbag; two spring clips via holes in the side of the steering wheel (awkward buggers!). There's surprisingly little YouTube instruction and what there is is frustratingly inaccurate... Maybe I will post a "how too" here if I can remember how to post pictures. The part is available from the parts store on here for £154.00 inc. which compared pretty well with the £260+ i had been quoted it was OEM part too.

The replacement is essentially the steering column controls (wiper and indicator) plus the "clock spring" for airbag contacts and horn switch. 30 minutes to swap part an hour or so to understand and release the steering wheel airbag. The ECU does not require a re-programme either.

As observed a failing alternator (or more accurately low battery voltage) will trigger all sorts of warnings such as airbag, ABS, 4x4 etc anything that is powered by the electrical system; I found this out the hard way in a Golf 4 recently...
 
Thanks for all the suggestions, I have tried disconnecting the battery, my scanner shows no faults despite warning lights for airbag, abs, and power steering.
All the lights come on despite being switched off as soon as I turn the ignition on'
also wipers, washers,indicaters, etc don't work, intact the only thing that does work is the heater fan.There's also a regular ticking noise from the dashboard when the ignition is switched on ?
Anyway booked in to our local garage on Tuesday. so I'll post the result, it'll either be a simple thing or a catastrophic malfunction.
 
Further to a diagnosis from an auto electrician turns out the the Body Control Module has failed. So last tuesday managed to get it in to the local Fiat main dealer . Phone call yesterday confirmed it required a new. BCM ,Can't get one until early in the new year. Cost to fit £1070 (gulp)
Comments please .
 
Not sure what to say really - bad luck seems a bit banal! I did cross swords with the BCM on my '63 plate TA 4x4 a couple of years ago. This was in relation to losing the remote key fob and wanting to maintain remote entry. In this scenario the new keys required programing and then the BCM reprogrammed to recognise them (I purchased two). FIAT wanted a fortune but I travelled 200miles to a guy North of me and got the job done for £200 including the keys - there is a thread on here somewhere with more detail and I may have misremembered some detail here.

Now I do realise your situation is different here but the point I am going to make is to ask whether it is feasible to find one from a breaker and essentially reprogramme it to recognise all the other modules that hang off it (Engine ECU, Blue & Me etc)? I just don't know but someone out there may??
 
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