Air Bag Light On ?

[killian96ss]

Has anyone ever had the Air Bag Readiness Light stay on after off roading? I was wheeling yesterday through some canyons when I happened to notice that my air bag light was stuck on! I immediately pulled the SIR fuse to prevent the bags from deploying for whatever reason. The FSM says that if the light stays on that there is some sort of failure in the system and that the air bags may not work in an accident or they may go off without warning ( not good ). I will be taking the truck in very soon, but I was just curious if anyone else has had this problem. Thanks, Steve.

[kf6kmx]

Has anyone ever had the Air Bag Readiness Light stay on after off roading? I was wheeling yesterday through some canyons when I happened to notice that my air bag light was stuck on! I immediately pulled the SIR fuse to prevent the bags from deploying for whatever reason. The FSM says that if the light stays on that there is some sort of failure in the system and that the air bags may not work in an accident or they may go off without warning ( not good ). I will be taking the truck in very soon, but I was just curious if anyone else has had this problem. Thanks, Steve.

Yep.. Had it in my '03... no idea why though since the dealer was stupid and didnt check it when I took it in...
It came on leaving work here at the air base, I took it straight to a dealer (if the bag light goes off, there is no stored codes and they cant diagnose it.. it only gives a code when the light is actually on.. a friend had this problem in an Avalanche).. They said "we're too busy to look at it (I left it running in the parking lot to keep the light on) and to bring it back in 2 days.." I told them it will clear the codes. his response was "no it wont, it'll still be there"... Fine I took it back in 2 days (of course the light cycled out as soon as I turned off the engine), his reponse after keeping the truck for an hour, loosing my radio memories from having the battery unhooked, was "it cant be found unless the light is on at the time".. I told him "thats what I told you when i brought it in the first time" .. no reponse at all.. unfortunetly, if it does it again, my warranty has run out from mileage (19months old and I have 37k on it!)..
Also, when they put the battery neg cable back on, they didnt tighten it all the way, causing it to work loose over the next 2 weeks, but thats a completely different story..

[killian96ss]

I had about the same experience at the dealer. When I went to have it checked out, they told me that I would need an appointment, and that they could see me the next day. Well guess what, the next morning when I started my truck no air bag light, and when they checked it out they told me that there were no codes stored and they could'nt find anything wrong. The light has never come back on, but I would still like to know what happened.

Steve

[kf6kmx]

I had about the same experience at the dealer. When I went to have it checked out, they told me that I would need an appointment, and that they could see me the next day. Well guess what, the next morning when I started my truck no air bag light, and when they checked it out they told me that there were no codes stored and they could'nt find anything wrong. The light has never come back on, but I would still like to know what happened.

Steve

Yep.. same exact thing..

My dad has an '03 Ex-Cab 2wd S10.. he said his airbag light came on once for a few hours also.. Almost wonder if it is something in the airbag control on these trucks.. almost like the old 'Service Engine' flag that would creep up out of the odometer on the early 80's GM trucks..

[killian96ss]

Well, the Air Bag light is back on again. Once again after off roading and driving across a few water crossings it came back on. It has been on now for 2 weeks and I am getting a P0126 code. I cleared the code with the HPPIII, but the light is now stuck on. I've tried pulling the fuse and disconnecting the battery, but it won't go away! I can't seem to find an explanation for the P0126 anywhere. I know someone is going to say take it to the dealer, but I have to pay a $100 deductable for my extended warranty. I would like to fix this on my own if possible. When the light came on before it only lasted 2-3 days before turning itself off. Any ideas?

Steve

[HenryJ]

SIR trouble codes should be "B" codes

Are you sure it is not DTC B0026?

None of the SIR codes are triple digit all B00XX , except for B1001

[killian96ss]

SIR trouble codes should be "B" codes

Are you sure it is not DTC B0026?

None of the SIR codes are triple digit all B00XX , except for B1001

My Hypertech definitely read P0126. Maybe it's not designed to pick up B codes?

Steve

[Retep]

... I know someone is going to say take it to the dealer, but I have to pay a $100 deductable for my extended warranty.

OK I won't say "take it to the dealer"

[killian96ss]

My dealer is telling me that my air bag module which takes input from all the sensors is bad and needs to be replaced. They want $300 for the module and $300 for labor, and apparently extended warranties won't cover any problems within the air bag system. This is a major safety item, and I can't believe neither GM nor my extended warranty will cover this. Right now my air bag system is completely disabled because of this failure and won't work in an accident. Has anyone here ever replaced this module? Every time I have been off road on very bumpy trails the light would come on and then go off after a day or two. I think the module failed do to the vibrations.

Steve

[SONOMA915]

Hey, just my .02. I have experienced alot of airbag problems, working here at a VW dealer. Even if the light goes out it still stores a code but it is only a sporadic code. There should still be a code even of the light goes out.

[adrenalnjunky]

My dealer is telling me that my air bag module which takes input from all the sensors is bad and needs to be replaced. They want $300 for the module and $300 for labor, and apparently extended warranties won't cover any problems within the air bag system. This is a major safety item, and I can't believe neither GM nor my extended warranty will cover this. Right now my air bag system is completely disabled because of this failure and won't work in an accident. Has anyone here ever replaced this module? Every time I have been off road on very bumpy trails the light would come on and then go off after a day or two. I think the module failed do to the vibrations.

Steve

Personal opinion - wear your seatbelts, and make all your passengers properly buckle up. Pray you aren't plowed into head-on by a rogue Wells Fargo truck at 80 mph, and be glad that your bags can't deploy in other situations.

I've now had 3 vehicles deploy airbags in my immediate family, and in all situations the damage/replacement of the SIR system and everything it breaks (dash, windshield, etc..) - the cost of fixing all of that is equal to or more than the actual body damage. It tacked $3600 onto the repair bill for my 97 Z24 - the total repair was $7800, which almost made the insurance company total a 9 month old car. Would have been about $4000 in just replacing sheetmetal otherwise.

Just my opinion.

[killian96ss]

I have never really liked the idea of something popping out in my face unexpectantly, but I have a friend who is alive because his air bag did deploy in a head on collision. He was driving a newer Mustang on a nearby 2 lane highway when an old lady in a Lincoln swerved into his lane and hit him head on. Both cars were traveling about 60 mph when this happened. The old lady died on impact, and my friend broke several bones, crushed 3 vertibrae, and required immediate brain surgery! He was told if there was no air bag he would surely be dead.

Steve

[barch97]

So, as far as I can tell from what's been posted here and here and here, I can either pay $600 to get my airbag light shut off or wait another 251 clear starts and it'll go off on its own?

[killian96ss]

So, as far as I can tell from what's been posted here and here and here, I can either pay $600 to get my airbag light shut off or wait another 251 clear starts and it'll go off on its own?

It depends on why it's on in the first place. If the control module has gone bad like mine, then it will never go off until the module is replaced. When the light is on (for any reason), the whole SRS system is completely disabled and won't work in an accident. When I first got my CC the light would occasionally come on after driving on really bumpy dirt roads, or driving through deep water, but then it would usually turn off after a day or two. I now realize that the control module was probably starting to fail way back then.

Steve

[barch97]

hmm...

Well, it came on for the first time yesterday while bouncing relatively violently over a railroad crossing. It stayed on for the rest of my ride to work (about five more minutes). When I started up to go home it didn't come until I was a block or so down the road. Then it stayed on for about twenty minutes and went off for about the same amount of time only to come back on just before I got home.

So, I disconnected the battery for about ten minutes in the hope that this would reset whatever was triggered. But, later last night I ran out for a bit and it came on again about a block from home and stayed on for the duration of a short trip. Similar activity of on/off cycling on the way to work this morning.

Maybe my module is going also?

Or, maybe I shook something loose crossing the train tracks yesterday?

[killian96ss]

Barch97, it sounds like your light is behaving like mine used to before it finally just gave up and decided to stay on. When mine first started doing this it seemed as though my CC could sense the dealership, because every time I took it in for this problem the light would magically go off before I could get there. If I could have proved that something was wrong before the factory warranty expired, then they would have fixed it, but now that the light is stuck on and the control module has been found to be defective, GM and my extended warranty company refuse to replace the module since I currently have 64k miles. I only had 22k miles when this problem first started, and it finally broke around 48k miles. I refuse to give up though, and I'm still going to try and get GM to cover this, especially since I have a documented complaint about this problem on an earlier service repair when I only had 24k miles.

Steve

[barch97]

So, if I just pull the fuse, the light will go off, therefore fixing the problem?


my warranty ran out about two years ago

[killian96ss]

So, if I just pull the fuse, the light will go off, therefore fixing the problem?


my warranty ran out about two years ago

Well at least you wouldn't have to look at that stupid light anymore.

Steve

[green02crew]

Apparently my airbag light comes on after exposure to water. It has happened twice now fording deep water or torrential downpours leaving small bodies of water along the road and blasting through them. Is there any fear of airbag deployment? The light turns off after some time drying out.

[HenryJ]

The light on signals that the system is disabled. Once the system is again active the light goes off.

[blaz]

Back from the dead thread.

My air bag light came on. The code said that the drivers air bag loop is open, thus leading me to the clock spring. Anyone have a step by step for replacing it? I will test the conductors before replacing it, but as I turn the wheel the light will go on and off so I think there is an almost broken wire . Any links with pics would be awesome!

TIA
Paul.

[blaz]

Did the clock spring today and no more airbag light! The job is not too bad at all. It took me about 2 hours start to finish thanks to a couple of youtube vids and a write up on other s10 sites.

Lots of preperation makes the job so much easier!

[F9K9]

Clock springs can be intimidating but, knowledge is power.

[blaz]

The air bag was my main concern because I have never had to deal with them before. Caution is required but common sense is a valuable tool also.