[Warning Light] airbags yet again

[GJT]

I think I inadvertently posted the following into the wrong forum a couple of days ago so am giving it another try:

Both the 'airbag deactivated' and the 'airbag fault' warning lights lights remained on when I went out this morning and in my search for possible causes found a thread in which many contributors mentioned that wiggling the connector at the front of the driver's seat cleared the problem.  Nobody mentioned shutting down the system just try the wiggle test so is that only necessary if you intend to actually disconnect it?  I also thought I'd try switching the deactivate switch on the door pillar on and off a few times to see if there was a bad contact there but when I tried to switch it to off it just sprung back to the on position.  Is this an indication of a definite fault or did I just not force the key round far enough?  After switching the ignition on and the system check has finished, I get a warning beep but not the warning notice on the display which is mentioned in the handbook.  The vehicle is a late 2008 Autosleeper Mezan camper based on the Partner LX800 chassis cab and I do have a passenger airbag which is always activated at the moment.

[DanClark]

The plug under the drivers seat is for the seatbelt pretensioners. If this is loose it can throw up an airbag warning. With the engine off you could try dissconnecting it, spray with some contact cleaner, then reconnect.

I had this problem, but my "Airbag Deactivated" light wasn't on, so may be unrelated.

[Multispacer]

Hello, how are you getting on with this?

Firstly your passenger airbag deactivate switch, when you turn it to the de-activate position, you then pull out the key, that holds it in the de-activate position [It is for if you have a child rear facing seat on the front passenger seat] That is unlikely to be your problem.

A common cause is, as mentioned in may threads the plugs under the seats. they either get kicked [as they tend to hang down] or work loose if the driver's [or passenger's] seat is moved around quite often. Sometimes it is just oxidisation of the contacts. This is easy to check/clean pull the connectors apart and look for any signs of corrosion/oxidisation. Even if you cannot see any problems it will not do any harm to clean the contacts with an electrical contact cleaner such as Servisol or IPA [other contact cleaners are available    ] and let them dry out before re-assembly. Please do not use WD40 as some on here recommend, as WD40 is not good for electrical contacts [as it doesn't dry out/evaporate for a long time and even when it does it leaves a residue on the contacts] It is also worth using some tie-wrap straps to secure the connectors to the  seat to stop them hanging down. Make sure if you do you leave enough slack for the seat to run along it's full travel.

In the past when I had just "Air Bag Fault" as a warning the connector was the problem. Earlier this year though, I got the very same warnings as you first "Air Bag Fault" then "Passenger Air Bag Deactivated" [Berlingo 2007 Multispace]

Rather than go through the whole story look at my thread here:

http://www.berlingoforum.co.uk/thread-11787.html

To cut a long story short, what it turned out to be in my case was a broken wire in the data line between the BSI and the fuse box in the engine bay [this was also the case in the Cocos thread referred to in my thread above] so if the normal connector cleaning doesn't work, you should try the data lines.

[GJT]

Thanks for the helpful replies.
DanClark:  I managed to get outside yesterday to have a fiddle around under the driver's seat but found it difficult to get at the connector properly.  Although the seat is pushed right back I could not get both hands in a position which would allow me to disconnect them as they seem to be set too far back and I could not pull them forward.  There appear to be two connectors attached to a plastic plate which clips on to the the seat frame.  One is white with blue and brown wires going to it and the other is black with yellow and orange/yellow wires.  As I have breathing difficulties, I was unable to stick at it for much more than a couple of minutes but I might have another go in due course now I know the layout. It does sound, though, as if wiggling the connectors or disconnecting them is unlikely to solve the problem since both warning lights come on as opposed to just the 'airbag fault' light.
MultiSpacer:  Thanks for explaining how to disarm the passenger airbag by removing the ignition key once in the off position.  It would be helpful if they'd explain it like that in the handbook:-)   Thanks also for your detailed explanation  on tackling the connector.  I followed the thread dealing with the broken wire between the BSI and the fuse box;  oh dear, I'm afraid the days are long past when I would enjoy stripping the car down just to get at the appropriate wires/components so it looks as though I'll have to call in my ace mobile mechanic or, at worse, take it to the local Pug Garage who seem pretty trustworthy and might be more familiar with the problem since it's not uncommon.  I'l let you know how it works out, though it may take a bit of time.  Thanks again to you both

[Multispacer]

The White connector under your seat will be for the seat belt warning light, so it will be the other connector [mine is brown]

If you do go down the road of taking it to a garage, they really need to do a diagnostic check on the system. As I said in my thread the one definite fault that was thrown up in my diagnostic check was

"Permanent Fault: Communication Fault on the Data Wire with the engine relay unit"

Note there were many other faults on the diagnostic check [mostly thrown up, I suspect as a result of the broken data wire]

Diagnostics normally cost about £30-£40.

Sadly, it seems, many garages will immediately go down the road of changing units [which customers then get charged for as electronic items cannot normally be returned] rather than do an in depth check of wiring first. So something like my fault [a broken wire] can cost a lot of money in hardware replacements before the wiring fault is found.

Hope you manage to get the problem sorted. Where are you in the UK, maybe a member with a diagnostic machine could help??

[GJT]

The White connector under your seat will be for the seat belt warning light, so it will be the other connector [mine is brown]

If you do go down the road of taking it to a garage, they really need to do a diagnostic check on the system. As I said in my thread the one definite fault that was thrown up in my diagnostic check was

"Permanent Fault: Communication Fault on the Data Wire with the engine relay unit"

Note there were many other faults on the diagnostic check [mostly thrown up, I suspect as a result of the broken data wire]

Diagnostics normally cost about £30-£40.

Sadly, it seems, many garages will immediately go down the road of changing units [which customers then get charged for as electronic items cannot normally be returned] rather than do an in depth check of wiring first. So something like my fault [a broken wire] can cost a lot of money in hardware replacements before the wiring fault is found.

Hope you manage to get the problem sorted. Where are you in the UK, maybe a member with a diagnostic machine could help??

Yes, I had already taken note of the diagnostic report that lead to solving your problem since I definitely wanted to get a diagnostic check carried out if my initial fiddling failed to solve the problem.  I think the bloke I use (and have done for nearly 30 years) has access to diagnostic software. A year or more ago he brought it along to diagnose an ABS fault on my Mk3 Berlingo and it pointed to a fault in the offside rear brake which he assumed to be a faulty sensor.  Rather than just go and buy one to see if it solved the problem he took the trouble to swap the sensor with the nearside one to see if the fault followed the sensor to that side, which it did.  A sensible bit of lateral thinking, I thought.

I share your suspicion of garages, especially franchise garages, but I think our local one enjoys quite a good reputation.  I had to use them back in May when the camper was due for an MoT and an interim service and my chap was out of action following a minor op.  I was worried because they were doing a special offer of MoTs for £40 which, in my suspicious way, leads me to think they'll find something that needs attention, ideally by them, to make up for the offer but my worries were unfounded as all was well.  They might be worth keeping in mind if my chap ever had to give up.

Hadn't though about other members being able to help maybe.  I live near Margate in S.E. Kent so maybe someone around here could hook it up to see what it came up with if I paid them a visit.

I appreciate your interest and trouble.