hiya all!

ive had my punto sporting 1.2 16v 2003 mk 2 for about 3 months now, two day after getting the car, my steering column went so had to fork out about £500 to sort that out which it worked and now for about a month or so, my air bag light has been coming on and off after driving the car for about 5 mins.

The other day when driving to work, my colleugue and i smelt an electrical burning smell (like burnin batteries) that seemed to be coming from the steering wheel area. (the air bag light was on at this point too!)

i took it to the garage that day and asked them to have a look at it, which they said they did.

They said that two mechanic test drove it to see if the problems showed - which they didnt and they said they took the dashboard panels off too to see if anything heated up - which it didnt.

This made me feel abit of a hypocondriac as the problems didnt show but i know my car and its not right. As i was leaving the garage, my air bag light came on straight away which i called the mechanic over to show him and he didnt really seem bothered about it and said i should drop it back in on saturday.

im abit fed up of mechanics treating me like a dunce because im a girl and fobbing me off. im concered about my safety and my passengers safety and want to get it sorted.

Any ideas what it could be and what could be causing it??


(Sorry for waffleing on guys!!!)

Both the EPS and the Air bag light are on
They POSSIBLY both related, such as the battery is knackered, and isn't able to provide enough juice when needed

But best way is to get a CheapCable and Adaptor Set - download fiat ECU scan From the Lets talk fiat section and Get the fault code from the airbag / Engine

however the EPS (electric power Steering) you'll need the full software

Safety for you passengers - open you gaps up a little more
And be prepared for the steering to switch off, so take corners with a little more care and less speed

Ziggy

its only the airbag light that comes on, i refuse to take my 5 month old nephew in the car incase the air bag goes off and causes a crash or anything happens (id never forgive myself) and its making me scared to drive it incase its dangerous.

im abit miffed off at the garage as they dont seem to really care about it or my safety and i dont know what to do about it myself.

as the light dosent come on all the time, i think it could be a intermittent fault which probably wont show up on a diagnostic (same thing happened with my steering column)

AHHHHH! what to do!!

Right for your nerves
When a warning light comes on like EPS / ABS / Airbag
Indicating there is a fault, then the system is DEACTIVATED

So in the event of a crash - it does mean the airbags WONT work
And the airbags shouldnt go off randomly

its like ABS when thats deactivated, it means you can lock your wheels up and leave a nice set of 11's on the road

And if the light is coming on and off - there is a good chance the fault codes are been stored

Only real way to find out is toget a cable and fiat ECU scan, you can find out why the airbag is going funny on you

a 2003 means the car is now 7 / 8 years old
That would lead me to believe that the Battery MIGHT be at fault if the lights come and go interminantly - as the voltages have to be perfect for devices to work
Too low and they go into safe mode

try a Known GOOD battery in your car, see if this seems help the problem
Make sure if you do drive the car tho - make sure its been secured down, as a loose battery is a big risk to you and other road users

Ziggy

Ziggy122 said:

Indicating there is a fault, then the system is DEACTIVATED

Click to expand...

normally so, but if its coming on because they have trapped a wire when dong steering and its shorting out i wouldnt like to say its so in this case.

intermittent fault are still stored but not all code readers will be able to read them, fes can so can examiner ( fiat dealer only machine)

where do you live? just a town not door number and street

Im with Dave, the new steering column and the wiring fault are lilely to be connected.

There is also a common fault on airbags where the cabes behind the glove box develop a fault. Its a well know fix with auto electricians.

A weak battery will cause the steering to missbehave because electric power steering needs a stong supply to work properly.

The airbag system fails safe. It will not go off once a fault has been registered. Ideally get the cables behind the glovebox checked out then reset the airbag codes.

You will need these -
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ALFA-FIAT...iagnostic_Tools_Equipment&hash=item3a67c635dd

and the full paid-for version of this:
http://www.fiatecuscan.net/

The full cable adaptor set is not absolutely needed, but they are low cost and make life a lot easier.