Technical more electronic gremlins

[gazzauk]

I posted a few days ago about an irratic oil level sensor which at the moment seems to have sorted itself out but nnow have another problem.The red air bag warning light ,i assume this is the drivers side as turning off the passenger side only effects the orange indicator light .Ive checked the air bag connection at the steering column and all appears ok , ive also checked the passenger inhibit key switch just to make sure a cable hadnt come off there. I know i should take it to a dealer or auto elec but moneys tight and i want to eliminate any obvious problems before i do so , cna any body tell me
1. where the fuse/fuses are that control the airbag system
2. where is the sensor located that triggers the aire bags , is it located inside or outside the car . I only ask as this light only came on a short time after driving through a very large puddle.
3. Are there any relays in the airbag circuit and if so whre are these located.
4.Is it possible for myself to re set the ecu fault memory to see if the problem is still there,
any help in resolving this problem would be much appreciated . Come on lads help us out pls.

 

[Captain Creasy]

The manual does say that if you remove the fuses with the ignition on you can get this problem with the airbag indicator.

At least I remember it saying something like that, but I don;t have it with me to check.

The manual is quite good with regard to fuse locations and purpose - haven't you got one?

 

[gazzauk]

Bought a manual from ebay captain but was absolute rubbish so then bought on line from a store but data was corrupt and no picture data was included and so this was useless aswell.
Any ideas on where the trigger sensor is located anybody?
Any air bag relays/crappy push connectors under the bonnet which might get exposed to the elements?

 

[psevans]

try disconnecting/reconnecting the male/female connector under the front passanger seat

 

[ahhl]

Bought a manual from ebay captain but was absolute rubbish so then bought on line from a store but data was corrupt and no picture data was included and so this was useless aswell.
Any ideas on where the trigger sensor is located anybody?
Any air bag relays/crappy push connectors under the bonnet which might get exposed to the elements?

request premission from Stuart DemonD to download the worksop CD

 

[gazzauk]

Thanks for all the feedback but found out that the airbag system can only be reset with a computer so have had to bite the bullet and book it into fiat
st helens for this and at the same time it will the front suspension recall work done . 33 pound just to reset the system (i hope thats all it is anyway)sounds a bit steep to me though , im just waiting to see what they say will need replacing when they do front springs (ie pads disks etc).Any way many thanks for the replies

 

[dr_hitz]

Hey gazzauk, I'm having the same problem (airbag system failure light) with a Punto Dynamic (02). If you did take it to Fiat, I would appreciate some feedback. How much did it cost? was it a serious problem? The light's been on for a few weeks now, but better to be safe than sorry...?

 

[gazzauk]

hi Dr , i took it in on thursday to have front springs replaced under recall and air bag light checked. All they had to do was reset the system and all is now good. I asked what might have set it off but all they could tell me was that this happens quite a bit with no fault being reported by the onboard computer. I was charged 34 quid for resetting the system which i was told was fiats standard price.

 

[dr_hitz]

34 quid just to reset an LED!? hmm... bit extortionate? Thanks for the info, think I still might take it in just to make sure its safe...

 

[Captain Creasy]

I had my car in for a mini 6 month service (warranty demanded it) and they very nicely reset my ECU at no extra charge

 

[gazzauk]

34 quid is quite a bit but if i hadnt needed springs replaced i would have gone to local auto electrician who has fiat diagnostics . My last car (and by far the worst ive ever owned) was a 1.8ltr petrol freelander in 50,000 miles i had 2x engines at 1800 quid each (Engine design fault) ,endless services at outrageous prices (to keep warranty on factory engine which blew each time 3 months out of warranty ,70000 mile service alone cost me 985 quid) along with a string of air con / sunroof & transmission faults (rear diff 390quid and i had to fit it myself) so 34 quid was a bit of a relief really ive never had a main dealer bill as low as that in a long time.

 

[T14086]

You got of lightly at £34 however there is no point in just resetting the airbag light you must act on the fault error!

Dr Hitz...take punto to dealer as its quite possibly it will need a wiring modification(not the exclusion swtch terminal thing).

Lastly...spend thousands on a car yet wont spend anything on fixing a system that is designed to save your life? come on guys!

 

[dr_hitz]

T1486, as much as I hate to admit it, u do have point! It will be taken to have the system checked out... I guess £34 is nothing when safety is concerned!

 

[ivantate]

Stoneacre Doncaster tried charging me £70 to put the Seicento on the diag tool.
Said it was the standard charge! although I have used them a few times over the last couple of years with the cinq and sei and it was always about £30ish.

Walked out.

 

[T14086]

Yep,get to know guys at garage & they will do it cheaper (customer loyality etc) but to just put the light out should be no more than 0.5 (half hour) as its not a full diagnostic.

 

[ivantate]

Cant see them getting customer loyalty if they double the price in a year.

I am an electronic design engineer,working for McCormick tractors.
Our big machines have 12 ecu's all running on a network. To do a full error code read/erase and reflash all with the latest software would take half an hour.

 

[smiffy]

I'd had a similar problem myself just last week. Turned out to be the connector under the front passengers seat.

 

[gazzauk]

This JTD multipla is really beginning to anoy me now. Now in the last 2 wks the airbag light has come on again also im getting an engine control warning coming up intermitantly when accelerating with engine at approx 2500rpm , at which point the car bogs down a little then returns to normal as does the warning light and message. What the hell can this be , is it the dreaded EGR valve or air mass flow sensor . Somebody give me a clue where to start. I was seriously thinking about buying a new multipla but right now id settle for a can of petrol and a match so i can put the car ive got out of its misery. Italians and electronics , it just doesnt work.

 

[gazzauk]

Hers a bit more info on the problem.
1 it only appears to happen when the engine has had a good run at a constant speed ie 60mph on motorway for 3/4 hr. At which point if you excellerate (usually hard acceleration)upto and beyond 70 the problem shows itself.
2 this morning it happened again so i tried disconnecting the air mass sensor , it made no difference at all.

 

[T14086]

there is no point in just resetting the airbag light you must act on the fault error!

All this disconnecting the connectors the reconnecting them/putting the light out is just a waste of time...YOU MUST FIND THE FAULT AND RECTIFY IT!
Chances are (did they say where the fault was?) Gaz you have a poor connection at the passenger airbag,problem is alot of the dash must be stripped to get to it & there are TWO connectors there to sort.
As for the engine fault i'd start by checking all the vacuum pipes & the overboost valve first then take it from there.