Airbag fault

[Stevie Callaghan]

It ain't my day! I now have the words 'airbag fault' come up on the dash and the airbag light stays on. Is there a way of reseting this, or does it need to be checked out? Its a 3-door 02 with side bags. This car has been nothing but trouble!!!!

Thanks

Steve

[topher]

Not your day is it mate, you didn't knock anything while taking the bumper off did you ? Or leave anything disconnected ?
Disconnecting the battery for 10 - 15 mins should clear the fault, but if it comes back I'd get it looked at, don't want airbags going off randomly.
I seem to remember some models being recalled because of a fault that caused the airbag light to come on, I'd take it to the dealer to be sure.

Chris.

[Rally_Chris]

If you've not disturbed anything that might have unintentionally upset the airbag system (eg wiring), then I'd suggest that the problem lies under one of your front seats, where the side air bag wiring has possibly become disconnected or even only momentarily disturbed. This is a commonly reported problem, particularly on 3 door models due to the seat movement flexing the wiring loom as the seat is tipped forward. You'll probably find that the connection is fine now, but you'll need to get the airbag controller reset by a dealer or by someone with VAG-COM to turn out the warning light and re-activate the airbags.

Chris

[Stevie Callaghan]

Thanks gents for your suggestions, come to think of it i did tilt seat forward before it came on.
 This will sound like a dumb question to you boys but what is VAG COM? Is it VW's diagnostic tool or something? Do other garages other than VW have them?

Cheers

Steve (just waiting for something else to go wrong!)

[Rally_Chris]

Steve,

VAG-COM is a widely available diagnostic software that emulates the functionality of the dedicated VW/Audi service diagnostic tool. The software can be run on a home laptop and requires a special lead that plugs into the OBD connector in the car (just above the front ashtray) and the computer's serial or USB port. For more information please take a look at the software developer's website at www.ross-tech.com.

A number of people on this forum may have VAG-COM themselves (myself included), so it is possible that you may be able to find someone who can help you out with this 5 minute job rather than paying a dealer ?40-60 just to plug their machine into your car. If you are anywhere near Newbury, Berks, then I will be happy to do this for you - please drop me an email via my website.

Regards

Chris

[philip_felop]

my mk3 8v seems to be abit low on power - and am abit concerned it might be the ECU. have read about the VAG-COM software and want to know if this is a good place to start for fault diagnosis?

cheers in advance