Srs light

Hi the SRS light has come on with airbag fault showing in display after adjusting the steering wheel any ideas what connection to check it's a 1996 4.6 so only front airbags am in Burnham near Slough Berks thanks in advance

Andy

If you have been fiddling with the steering wheel, you may have damaged the rotary coupler behind the wheel. I hope you had disconnected the battery and waited 10 minutes, a face full of exploding airbag is not pleasant. Otherwise there is a connector behind the trim between the column and the centre console.

I actually meant changing the the rake of the the wheel that's all, did not undo anything just up down in and out to find the position I like as the wife had moved it.

Andy

Sorry if that sounds like a porn movie:focus:

Baileyroverq said:

Sorry if that sounds like a porn movie:focus:

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Pics please !


Did your wife adjust the seat too ? there is a yellow cable under the seat for the SRS system. Had the SRS fault on mine when the passenger seat was adjusted once. make sure the cable is secure with a cable tie to prevent it flapping around, vibration works wonders on electrical joints

thanks I will check later when back from work

ukadamwest said:

Pics please !


Did your wife adjust the seat too ? there is a yellow cable under the seat for the SRS system. Had the SRS fault on mine when the passenger seat was adjusted once. make sure the cable is secure with a cable tie to prevent it flapping around, vibration works wonders on electrical joints

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Not on a 96 there isn't.

Datatek said:

Not on a 96 there isn't.

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well that answers that one then. probably the ring on the steering wheel then !

Yes no side airbags on 96 steering wheel off then is it?

Baileyroverq said:

Yes no side airbags on 96 steering wheel off then is it?

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Check the connector down by the column. Does the horn work or any of the other buttons on the wheel?
If everything on the wheel works, it may just be the SRS ECU has thrown a wobbly and needs diagnostics to reset it.

Thanks will check connector, Yes horn still works as does everything on the wheel sorry for delay wifi was down

Also what is the score on the airbag out of date after 10 or 15 years surely the ECU doesn't recognise this and throw up a fault does it?

As far as I am aware that idea was scraped and is not enforced.

Baileyroverq said:

Also what is the score on the airbag out of date after 10 or 15 years surely the ECU doesn't recognise this and throw up a fault does it?

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Air bags have a replacement date after which they cannot be guaranteed to work. there is no inspection and as far as I'm aware no law requiring replacement. The ECU is not affected by the date as to fire them it just energises a filament, it's the explosive that deteriorates.

Unfortunately on the early (pre 99) models the only way of checking what the fault is/was is by connecting it up to diagnostics. The later (post 99MY) SRS ECU does a self-check and will reset the fault itself if it detects it is no longer there when it next powers up. The earlier models however keep the fault code in memory until it's reset with diagnostics.

It could be the rotary coupler that has faulted, or there is a SRS connector under the steering column which connects the rotary coupler to the vehicle loom. Worth checking this aswell.

Airbag replacement after 10/15 years was scrapped. From what I remember reading it was to do with the technology being very new at the time and they weren't certain if after that time the airbags would still deploy, but apparently studies have shown that they will still be fine and will deploy as they should, so the advice to do a mandatory replacement was revoked.

Also as a side note - whilst you should disconnect the battery and wait 10 mins before doing anything to the SRS system, if you do inadvertently disconnect a plug whilst the system is 'live', you won't automatically get an air bag in the face. The connectors are all specialised and have shorting links in them - so when they are unplugged, the shorting link does just that - shorts the connector, which means that even if a voltage is applied to the wires, the air bag will not fire (as the circuit is completed with the short circuit, rather than the squib in the air bag). there are also shorting links in the vehicle side loom - which is one of the things that will generate a fault code in the ECU

Marty