Technical 2 x Airbag lights and fuel cut off unavailable Warnings

[jrkitching]

If you could get it working properly for under £500 or so, I'd say it might be worth doing so; I doubt the trade would give you much for it with the light on.

The problem is that replacing the airbag ECU isn't guaranteed to fix the problem; you could easily spend £500 and be no further forward.

If you do want to sell it 'as is'; I'd suggest you describe it accurately, and put it on ebay; it might just make more than you think.

If you have the time, facilities and knowledge, the best way to extract as much value as possible from what you have is probably to break it for parts.

@typecastboy may have something to add.

 

[typecastboy]

I guess it depends on how confident you are that the issue is related to the ECU. It certainly sounds like it is. You should be able to get one for around £100 on eBay. It seems silly to sell it just because it might cost you a couple of hundred pounds. If you buy one, fit it and the airbag lights go out then it will be worth getting a proxy alignment done.

The issue could also be one of the pre-tensioners as they are low enough to get water damage if the water was a couple of inches high. You need a proper diagnostic using MES to ascertain what could be the problem. There are many many things that the airbag ECU controls, you need to find out if it's the ECU or a sensor connected to it.

 

[ramen fan]

I guess it depends on how confident you are that the issue is related to the ECU. It certainly sounds like it is. You should be able to get one for around £100 on eBay. It seems silly to sell it just because it might cost you a couple of hundred pounds. If you buy one, fit it and the airbag lights go out then it will be worth getting a proxy alignment done.

The issue could also be one of the pre-tensioners as they are low enough to get water damage if the water was a couple of inches high. You need a proper diagnostic using MES to ascertain what could be the problem. There are many many things that the airbag ECU controls, you need to find out if it's the ECU or a sensor connected to it.

Pretty sure it's the airbag ecu +/ wiring, water had gotten into the car. Multiecuscan can connect except to airbag ECU and i'm getting error U1726-87 Airbag Node (NAB). I might get a replacement and see what happens.

 

[John202020]

Salt water will ruin the ecu when you get the new one, with the old one still in place, push the connector on and off many times to clean it up in order to get the best possible connection to the new one?

 

[typecastboy]

Pretty sure it's the airbag ecu +/ wiring, water had gotten into the car. Multiecuscan can connect except to airbag ECU and i'm getting error U1726-87 Airbag Node (NAB). I might get a replacement and see what happens.

Definately worth trying a second hand unit then. You may find the pre-tensioners have still been affected seeing as they are basically on the floor, lower than the ECU too. At least with a working ECU it will tell you any other sensors that are affected. Keeps us informed of how it goes.

 

[ramen fan]

Definately worth trying a second hand unit then. You may find the pre-tensioners have still been affected seeing as they are basically on the floor, lower than the ECU too. At least with a working ECU it will tell you any other sensors that are affected. Keeps us informed of how it goes.

So i bought an ecu off ebay but it has crash data on it, will multiecuscan be able to reset and clear the code? Or if not can anyone recommend a service from ebay or offer it near me? I'm in Glasgow area

 

[typecastboy]

No MES will not remove crash data. You can clear airbag etc codes but crash data remains. You need a specialist to remove it. I always use the bloke in the link below. He is based in Kent. Send him a picture of the top of your ECU making sure you can read the codes on the top. He will then tell you the price. They are always £30 something but you need to confirm it with him first. Hit buy now, send it and he turns round the same day and sends back. 100% always works with this fella. I've tried a couple of others when this bloke was on holiday and they cooked my ECU, one person cooked two so I would never ever use anyone but this fella.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CRASH-DA...0-Alfa-Romeo-airbag-ECU-Same-day/302574613638

 

[ramen fan]

No MES will not remove crash data. You can clear airbag etc codes but crash data remains. You need a specialist to remove it. I always use the bloke in the link below. He is based in Kent. Send him a picture of the top of your ECU making sure you can read the codes on the top. He will then tell you the price. They are always £30 something but you need to confirm it with him first. Hit buy now, send it and he turns round the same day and sends back. 100% always works with this fella. I've tried a couple of others when this bloke was on holiday and they cooked my ECU, one person cooked two so I would never ever use anyone but this fella.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CRASH-DA...0-Alfa-Romeo-airbag-ECU-Same-day/302574613638

Success!!! I sent the ecu with crash data to the ebay service from the guy in Kent and got it back very quickly. I removed as much rust and corrosion from the cables by soaking them in vinegar+salt and baking soda/water solution after and dried obvs. Connected the airbag ecu back up and it was detected fine by multiecuscan. Cleared off the errors and did a proxy alignment. Worked perfectly! All the warning lights have disappeared off my dashboard
Thanks very much for all the wonderful advice. I was ready to write off my Fiat500 after its swim in the sea but this forum has saved me a lot of money and increased my confidence in fixing things. :slayer:Just need to sort out other squeaks and gear cables now but i'll leave that to my garage

 

[typecastboy]

Excellent news, I'm glad it worked. That guy in Rochester is very very good.

 

[ramen fan]

Excellent news, I'm glad it worked. That guy in Rochester is very very good.

Yeah, he was so helpful and very prompt with the service. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Wawfiat]

Hi to all, first post and with trouble, sorry.
Got a fiat 500 with no communication with airbag ecu.
Have seen some around for sale but mine is siemens 5wk43908 however the ones for sale are continental with the same number , but the number over the small barcode in the top is different , will work?

 

[Wawfiat]

Also, i have seen on this thread that mostly anyone as long as is metal one will fit, sayinv that because puntos and pandas hae similar ecus but different numbers at half the price, may worth trying if not going to deploy the airbags

 

[jrkitching]

Hi to all, first post and with trouble, sorry.

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Sorry you've got problems; we'll help if we can.
typecastboy is our resident expert on making use of salvaged airbag components; he'll likely be along soon.

But do at least consider the safety implications of what you're proposing to do. Putting out the airbag light so it'll pass an MOT is one thing; being sure the airbags are going to deploy correctly in a serious accident is another thing entirely.

If you want the latter, there are no safe shortcuts; it means having the whole SRS system tested and repaired by either a franchised dealer or airbag system specialist using new parts, and that isn't going to be cheap. It's one reason so many cars are written off nowadays; insurers and their approved repairers can't take the chance of using secondhand parts and possibly being sued later if an airbag fails to deploy correctly.

 

[Wawfiat]

Well, im enough toasted to know if that airbag system will work or not, my fear is to explode the airbags while trying, elm327 and adapters tomorrow and will check exactly what faults are there if i can, just that was wondering if for example a fiat punto 5wk44148 risk deploying when connected

 

[typecastboy]

You're not going to deploy airbags by putting in the wrong ECU but you do risk them not firing when they should.

Metal ones will work with a new metal one and same goes for the plastic.

Ideally, you get the same serial number. The only difference as far as I know is software revisions. Depending on what the errors are then you're better off getting yours repaired if you can't find a matching one. This will vary depending on the problem.

If you're not getting communication with the ECU then MES won't be able to tell you the errors. Best you can do is to send it off to the guy from eBay in Kent and let him diagnose and quote to fix.

Don't be tempted to use one out of a different Fiat model, just because it looks the same.

 

[jrkitching]

just that was wondering if for example a fiat punto 5wk44148 risk deploying when connected

The kind of folks who have access to that level of compatibility information are unlikely to post those sort of details on a public forum.

I can just about understand someone with decent technical competence using salvaged components from a similar vehicle with identical part numbers to repair a SRS system. But using salvaged parts from a completely different model of car, when you have absolutely no idea if they are even compatible, is just plain beyond stupid.

I'm sorry if you're offended by this, but it needs to be said.

And for those who are still not convinced, just suppose an airbag ECU from a LHD car found its way into the grey parts market. If someone fits that to a RHD car, just what do you think are the chances of the correct airbags deploying in a side impact collision?

 

[Wawfiat]

To be fair, left hand or right hand makes no difference, as the wiring looms will be te right ones, as long as the part have the same program, it has to work,i can tell you for sure it will work as far as the ecu is exactly the same, will be no point on installing adiffernt unit at factory.may i have to apply for moderator as seems not necesssary to understand the basics, progress isnt made by fear, it is made for reasoning and experimenting.
No in any way i can feel offended for anything said here, we all come because we dont know, anyway, i believe if the airbag system thinks it isnt working properly, have enough engineering on it to warn you of that, so of airbags not deploying if the system says ok, i dont think so, but , you never know until you crash.
About sending it to repair, well dont think it worth 200 to get a part repaired,and have you crashed with any of that repaired ecus? Just to note there is no 100% that will work, the same of one of the scrapyard or one of a different car which fits and by miracle dont fight with the central ecu, 30 for erasing crash data seems reasonable however its a thing of plug the eeprom on a sop8 and write the right data, i do that all the time in other cars but seems not enough fiats to generate the necessary knowledge or will so anybody as me can do it, however, there is places which sell the dump for that for a fiver.
As i said , different cars different stories, you can find the same airbag ecu with a different part number for example in a peugeot 207 and 308, and they will be interchangeable

 

[typecastboy]

To be fair, left hand or right hand makes no difference, as the wiring looms will be te right ones, as long as the part have the same program, it has to work,i can tell you for sure it will work as far as the ecu is exactly the same, will be no point on installing adiffernt unit at factory.may i have to apply for moderator as seems not necesssary to understand the basics, progress isnt made by fear, it is made for reasoning and experimenting.

No in any way i can feel offended for anything said here, we all come because we dont know, anyway, i believe if the airbag system thinks it isnt working properly, have enough engineering on it to warn you of that, so of airbags not deploying if the system says ok, i dont think so, but , you never know until you crash.

About sending it to repair, well dont think it worth 200 to get a part repaired,and have you crashed with any of that repaired ecus? Just to note there is no 100% that will work, the same of one of the scrapyard or one of a different car which fits and by miracle dont fight with the central ecu, 30 for erasing crash data seems reasonable however its a thing of plug the eeprom on a sop8 and write the right data, i do that all the time in other cars but seems not enough fiats to generate the necessary knowledge or will so anybody as me can do it, however, there is places which sell the dump for that for a fiver.

As i said , different cars different stories, you can find the same airbag ecu with a different part number for example in a peugeot 207 and 308, and they will be interchangeable

Maybe they would, maybe they wouldn’t but safety isn’t a compromise. I value my families life and the lives of the families I sell my repaired to cars more than an easy fix taking a chance. Get the right part!

 

[Wawfiat]

That makes sense, if the part is available, which it is, but will be good to know whats failed, the guys who repair them do not habe three balls , just learned to do it, and they are very limited as they only fix certain ones, say one brand or 10 references, and to be fair i dont think they fix anything

 

[sheriffjonny]

I pay £30. Send it off by Hermes, get 24 hour turnaround. Had several done.

Any chance of getting a link please?