Technical Airbag Warning Light

[derekos82]

Hello
Looking for some help here.

I own (recently acquired) a 1997 Punto. When I bought the car, the airbag warning light was on, the bloke said it was an intermittent problem and probably wires just need to be checked.

I think he duped me, it hasn't gone off.

So I brought it to a Fiat Garage (I know nothing about cars) to check it out.
Mates (who say they know about cars), reckoned fuse or simple reset and it be fine, £60 type job.

FIAT garage returned this result
"Ran Diagnostic to check out the airbag system and found control unit faulty error. Checked all lives and earth - all ok. Suspect a faulty control unit. Carried out battery test. Good battery, needs recharging"

So I was like "Ok, so how much"

FIAT - £505 inc VAT !!!!!!!

I bought the car for £700 so I told him not to bother.
and just paid £36 for the diagnostic. Now the guy was like 20 at most, so just wondering:

anyone had this problem and found a simplier (less expensive) solution?

Will it pass an MOT with this problem?
(to all intents and purposes it passed its last MOT with this problem)

RAC check came back with all clear - no accidents, so no deploy of bag as far as I am aware. Car is in excellent condition bar this.

Thoughts, advice and answers to above much much appreciated

Regards
New Driver.

 

[s and b]

fiats do go faulty in the electrics occasionaly
if control box is showing a fault then cheapest solution is to buy another one from an internet site or a scrappy,remember to disconnect battery for 30 minutes first though before you do anything
alledgedly any car with an airbag light on and or airbag removed will be an automatic fail in the new mot regulations to come in in january due to new accross the board eu directives
we will see

 

[MadMan0]

It should pass the MOT with the fault our mk2b has warning lights on the dash also and it passed fine (airbag & Engine management warning lights)

 

[s and b]

It should pass the MOT with the fault our mk2b has warning lights on the dash also and it passed fine (airbag & Engine management warning lights)

it will MadMan0 new regulations jan coming not gone

 

[DaveMcT]

I also have an airbag light that's turning out to be a struggle to fix. My passenger seat disable switch lights up on the dash so I assume it works ok but the red airbag light is on all the time

I seem to have had the wrong steering wheel clockspring which is now sorted but the airbag light is still on. Next I will get the glove box out but so far its screws have eluded me - they are well hidden. There is a known issue with an airbag connector behind the glovebox.

When that turns out to be ok (as it might) I will get the ECU codes checked and reset. I'll be getting myself a laptop cable and software.

If it is the airbag ECU you could talk to BBA-Reman or as s and b says, get one from a scrappies or ebay (same thing).

This guy has recently been very helpful to me with my clockspring issues
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/FIRST-CHOICE-ITALIAN-CAR-SPARES

 

[s and b]

interestingly the loom cable for the passenger airbag on the 2b comes up rather than across the glovebox
i think the wires get stretched when glovebox full but the switch is a very cheap nasty piece of work

 

[DaveMcT]

I might get the Italian Spares guy to get me a Mk2B glovebox loom as mine is the Mk2

 

[multiplied]

have you tried wiggling any connection blocks under seats?, mainly passenger seat?, these often chuck up the airbag fault light even if they look ok & often a good wiggle is all that is needed. dont trust fiat stealer, he is there to rob you, plain & simple

 

[DaveMcT]

dont trust fiat stealer, he is there to rob you, plain & simple

TBH I have found Norris Bros in Tamworth to be ok and Griffin Mill Cardiff. Kegworth less so but it was years ago.

 

[dave]

I also have an airbag light that's turning out to be a struggle to fix. My passenger seat disable switch lights up on the dash so I assume it works ok but the red airbag light is on all the time

on a mk2 this is a common and covered loads on here problem, you need the new loom from pasenger disable switch, the part is a fiver and fitting and reset is about an hour.

for the op'ss mk1 he can just remove all traces of air bags from the car and no one will know as its very rare to have a mk1 with air bags

 

[DaveMcT]

Mine also seems to be (partly) related to having the wrong steering clockspring which I noticed when fault finding a horn problem. The passenger side cable is the next on the list.

 

[s and b]

The passenger side cable is the next on the list.​

airbag looms are usually all one piece so not as simple as a quick plug in for one side
but not sure on a punto so i could be wrong

 

[DaveMcT]

Sounds like solder and heat shrink sleeves might be the best option.

 

[s and b]

Sounds like solder and heat shrink sleeves might be the best option.

pulled the dash down on the 2b and yes airbag loom goes into standard car loom so not straight forward

 

[dave]

:bang: its a well known problem on a mk2, the new part is only a fiver, with fitting it should still not cost a lot at all, how much is a new face?

 

[s and b]

:bang: its a well known problem on a mk2, the new part is only a fiver, with fitting it should still not cost a lot at all, how much is a new face?

we were talking about updating a m2 airbag loom to a mk 2b
keep up man

 

[dave]

we were talking about updating a m2 airbag loom to a mk 2b
keep up man

to save a fiver:bang:

 

[s and b]

to save a fiver:bang:

its nothing to do with money
its a learning curve

 

[DaveMcT]

I ride a bike so while I want the airbags working I'm not madly fussed about them.

I also want to know how the circuits work so I can fix things when they break. Obviously a £5 fix is nice but its usually not that simple.

 

[red]

On mine I stripped the connector and the inhibit switch down and cleaned the bits. I reckon the crap was in the connector. All worked fine after that (and a reset via my modified KKL lead, FiatECUScan and a laptop). Shame it took me a year to get round to it!

red