replacing airbag and/or ecu

[richypoos]

Hi all
bought a 97 406 1.9 td and after a conversation with my mechanic it transpires that the airbags have been deployed and the ecu for them is unservicable (code). He seems to think this will be an expensive repair(no surprise there). Any ideas how to get around this cheaply, or just stopping the bloody airbag light from staying on??

many thanks
rich

[jameslxdt]

take the bulb out

[richypoos]

hmmmmm.........

[mbell666]

or a trip to the scappies to get a new ecu.

air bags aren't a mot failure so you could (if you dont care about your own safety) just ignore the light

[mikey s]

what makes you think that the airbags have been deployed? theres a very easy way to tell if they have, look at the seatbelt pretensioner. if they have been deployed there will usually be a flag coming out of it. its not a mot fail but you will get an advisory for it. i have had cases of airbag module failure where fault codes are flagged but cannot be removed. i will look on autodata tommorow for you tommorow and find out where its located. they are not coded so you can get one from a scrappy etc no probs.

[richypoos]

Hi mikey,
my mechanic did a diagnostic test and it came up with the 'airbag deployed knackered ecu' code.lol. But the girl i bought the car off assured me that she had had the passenger airbag disconnected as she had a baby seat in the front. Thanks for the advice will look at the tensioners when we get some daylight!!

rich

[steve_earwig]

If you do end up getting one from the scrappies, make sure you can take it back if it's no good. And not for a sodding credit note that they deny all knowledge about when you try to reuse it

[richypoos]

Hi all

Have had a look at the ecu but don't really now if it's been 'flagged' or not?? Would a flashing airbag light arise from it being disconnected? If so, where?

20 questions. sorry!!

regards richy

p.s have a photo if thats any help??

[speediepug406]

Hi mate a couple of things to try,have a look under the seats and make sure that the orange cables are connected to the seat for the pretensioners.The other place to look is if you take the plastic off the drivers side centre console near your feet this will reveal 2 orange connectors,they are behind the air vent near you knee! these connect the 2 airbags to the airbag ecu,which is located by the handbrake.I had the same flashing problem,changed the ecu(i have still got it) and it turned out to be a loose wire!

[richypoos]

Hi mate

will look at those orange connectors but i'm pretty sure they are all connected. The haynes manual doesnt seem to have a wiring diagram for the airbags etc, so my two loose connections (one a wiring block, the other female 'spade' type) are a mystery. They are not for the lighter as this one is accounted for. Mind you, i have a mystery vacant connecter behind the dash thats presumably for a higher spec model so who knows??

[richypoos]

BTW,
Did your airbag light continually flash, or flash then just stay on(as mine does)
cheers rich

[speediepug406]

Hi my light used to flash for 5mins then go steady.The reason i say check all the connections is that the otehr day i either caught the cable with the hoover or when i was putting all my audio cables back together behind the plastic.I was really peeved to see the light on again,pushed all the cables again (including the one near the pretensioner) and hey presto NO light!!