Technical Airbag light / Control Unit

[MJG]

Kind of know where you're coming from here. It makes you wonder if modern day cars can really become 'classics' given all the regs.

I think that's a good point

- one of the things we really liked about our 500 when we looked at it was it's NCAP 5 star rating and the fact it has more air bags than you can shake a stick at, but we only plan to keep it for 3 years 4 max

- what happens to the folks who own it in 8-10 years time, will all that technology still be reliable?

and whilst having an SRS deploy can save your life as ably demonstrated in the post by jrkitching it can also make for a very expensive post accident repair, increasing the risk of the car being written off by your ins. co.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

and whilst having an SRS system deploy can save your life as ably demonstrated in the post by jrkitching it can also make for a very expensive post accident repair, increasing the risk of the car being written off by your ins. co.

What relivance has that got?

OP as mentioned by others get it sorted. Your auto electrician saying the ECU is at fault is basically saying he's almost retarded and he's equipment isn't capable of sorting the issue.

Might be worth getting FES and doing it yourself

 

[loveshandbags]

I think that's a good point

- one of the things we really liked about our 500 when we looked at it was it's NCAP 5 star rating and the fact it has more air bags than you can shake a stick at, but we only plan to keep it for 3 years 4 max

- what happens to the folks who own it in 8-10 years time, will all that technology still be reliable?

and whilst having an SRS deploy can save your life as ably demonstrated in the post by jrkitching it can also make for a very expensive post accident repair, increasing the risk of the car being written off by your ins. co.

That was a key factor for me in going for a modern day 500 as opposed to a 90s 205GTI or a leg crusher 106GTI. With all the safety (it is even in the seats) you would be conscious of not taking the seats out to give a car a good clean in case the seat airbags went off !
With all the SUVs around (which weren't there in the past) you need all the protection you can get.

 

[MJG]

What relivance has that got?

Errr...it was in response to the discussion that had developed from the original posting.

So no not relevant to the OP but very relevant to how the discussion has moved on

- I'm new here so advise me if I've breached some forum rule/guideline.

Ed to add - actually something strange has happened there as Lorna_99 the OP seems to have been credited with the wording in my post - what happened there then?

 

[jrkitching]

and whilst having an SRS deploy can save your life as ably demonstrated in the post by jrkitching it can also make for a very expensive post accident repair, increasing the risk of the car being written off by your ins. co.

I'd suggest it's better to write off a car than to write off a human being.

 

[ahmett]

That was a key factor for me in going for a modern day 500 as opposed to a 90s 205GTI or a leg crusher 106GTI. With all the safety (it is even in the seats) you would be conscious of not taking the seats out to give a car a good clean in case the seat airbags went off !
With all the SUVs around (which weren't there in the past) you need all the protection you can get.

In Turkey they call the Peugeot 106 the highway rat! In fact there are hardly any Smarts in the country, too many trucks around and you dont want to mess with them. Sometimes, bigger is simply better.

 

[loveshandbags]

Errr...it was in response to the discussion that had developed from the original posting.

So no not relevant to the OP but very relevant to how the discussion has moved on

- I'm new here so advise me if I've breached some forum rule/guideline.

Just to jump in here - MEP works in or has an insurance background. As regards rules etc there isn't that many on the FF but I would suggest teasing MEP out because he might have a point.
Sometimes thread discussions can get a little dis-jointed since some can't response when the 'discussion' is happening.

 

[MJG]

I'd suggest it's better to write off a car than to write off a human being.

Indeed, I have no beef with that,

but I don't think I indicated anything to the contrary, just that it would lead to more cars being written off and less likely to make it through to classic status which is the context in which my response was made.

 

[frupi]

As nostalgic as it was looking at that picture of the Allegro and that amazing steering wheel (brilliant car to learn how to drive in by the way!) I'm so very glad technology has moved on.

I would feel incredibly unsafe these days driving a motor from the 50's/60's/70's even the 80's as a daily commuting drive. My reason? When you've seen as I have, the steering wheel from one of our classic 70's motors embedded in the chest cavity of some poor sod caught in a horrendous front-ender, airbags can (when working correctly) do what they were intended for, and be an absolute life saver. Certainly, as I've previously posted, I attended the scene of an accident just off the M1 last year and the driver was saved not only by their steering wheel bag, but by the side overhead curtain bags. If they hadn't deployed, the person would have been deceased, period.

I for one know, if an airbag fault light comes up on our own 500, it will be dealt with as soon as possible even if it is expensive. My life is worth more to me than a couple of hundred quid if that is what it costs to fix.

 

[loveshandbags]

As nostalgic as it was looking at that picture of the Allegro and that amazing steering wheel (brilliant car to learn how to drive in by the way!) I'm so very glad technology has moved on.

I would feel incredibly unsafe these days driving a motor from the 50's/60's/70's even the 80's as a daily commuting drive. My reason? When you've seen as I have, the steering wheel from one of our classic 70's motors embedded in the chest cavity of some poor sod caught in a horrendous front-ender, airbags can (when working correctly) do what they were intended for, and be an absolute life saver. Certainly, as I've previously posted, I attended the scene of an accident just off the M1 last year and the driver was saved not only by their steering wheel bag, but by the side overhead curtain bags. If they hadn't deployed, the person would have been deceased, period.

I for one know, if an airbag fault light comes up on our own 500, it will be dealt with as soon as possible even if it is expensive. My life is worth more to me than a couple of hundred quid if that is what it costs to fix.

That's a good point. I have drawn up a 'wish list' and Sabelts were in there. I wondered if I could live without them. I might have to re-consider.

Just to re-cap on the airbags in the 500 - there's 7 in all with the 'odd' one for the driver's knee.
2 airbags in the front, 2 in the seats and the other 2 'side overhead' ?

 

[frupi]

That's a good point. I have drawn up a 'wish list' and Sabelts were in there. I wondered if I could live without them. I might have to re-consider.

Just to re-cap on the airbags in the 500 - there's 7 in all with the 'odd' one for the driver's knee.
2 airbags in the front, 2 in the seats and the other 2 'side overhead' ?

Yes, more airbags than I've got fillings!

 

[jrkitching]

With all the safety (it is even in the seats) you would be conscious of not taking the seats out to give a car a good clean in case the seat airbags went off !

I once took the seats out of my old model Ka (which had seat side bags) to give the carpet a thorough clean. Disconnected the battery, waited half an hour & nothing went bang when I split the connectors. Then without thinking, I put just the right hand seat back so I could continue to drive it whilst the carpet was drying out :bang::bang::bang:.

The car immediately put on the airbag warning light. I drove it around without incident for a couple of days, then put it all back together properly. Fortunately the light stayed off & all was well - whew! .

I certainly won't be repeating that, but I'm not aware of any reason not to remove the seats if you follow the proper precautions and keep the battery disconnected until everything is back in its proper place again. If those more familiar with this car know better, then please correct me.

 

[jrkitching]

Yes, more airbags than I've got fillings!

Sadly not for me, in spite of adhering to the recommended service interval .

 

[loveshandbags]

I once took the seats out of my old model Ka (which had seat side bags) to give the carpet a thorough clean. Disconnected the battery, waited half an hour & nothing went bang when I split the connectors. Then without thinking, I put just the right hand seat back so I could continue to drive it whilst the carpet was drying out :bang::bang::bang:.

The car immediately put on the airbag warning light. I drove it around without incident for a couple of days, then put it all back together properly. Fortunately the light stayed off & all was well - whew! .

I certainly won't be repeating that, but I'm not aware of any reason not to remove the seats if you follow the proper precautions and keep the battery disconnected until everything is back in its proper place again. If those more familiar with this car know better, then please correct me.

Quite enjoyed that. Reminded me of taking a lot of 'precautions' to re-wire a cooker switch and ended up getting such a 'belt' my hands were shaking for a good hour afterwards.

 

[RUI]

Take the warning bulb out and the problem is fixed.

















I am joking

 

[rkt2003]

Although it is annoying the (light warning) and £80 but like the rest have said its a small price to pay ,life if the worst happened ,is priceless

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

- I'm new here so advise me if I've breached some forum rule/guideline.

Not rules broken, I just didn't see the relivance at the time but can now

Indeed, I have no beef with that,

but I don't think I indicated anything to the contrary, just that it would lead to more cars being written off and less likely to make it through to classic status which is the context in which my response was made.

Although your correct about more being written off and not making it to classic car status, these days a 10 year old car only needs a panel dented and its past the point of economical repair

But regarding the cost of replacing airbags, tbh if deployed there is normally often structural damage as well which will make the car a write off, the airbags will just add slightly more to it.

Can't say I'm a fan of the amount of 'waste' caused by writing cars off though, when a lot can be repaired for not much more than the value of the vehicle. But then again with courtesy car cost etc on top its easy to see why.

 

[jnoiles]

Lorna,

Look under the seats in the front. There's 2 connectors on each seat. Give each one a push to make sure the two halves are plugged into each other. This is known issue with a bunch of fiat models. Costs you 5 mins of time and might sort your issues out

In the picture below the passenger seat of my 500 has been removed and you can see the cable and the connectors (grey and orange). Those connectors click into place on the bottom of the seat. Have a rummage under your seat and you'll see what I mean.



cheers
Jason

 

[ahmett]

Lorna,

Look under the seats in the front. There's 2 connectors on each seat. Give each one a push to make sure the two halves are plugged into each other. This is known issue with a bunch of fiat models. Costs you 5 mins of time and might sort your issues out

In the picture below the passenger seat of my 500 has been removed and you can see the cable and the connectors (grey and orange). Those connectors click into place on the bottom of the seat. Have a rummage under your seat and you'll see what I mean.



cheers
Jason

You know if i was still living in London and owned a Fiat 500 there I would ask you and pay you to service it! Would be a good side business for you, some extra pocket money!

 

[jnoiles]

You know if i was still living in London and owned a Fiat 500 there I would ask you and pay you to service it! Would be a good side business for you, some extra pocket money!

Lol. I barely get time to work on my own