[ds968]

I could be wrong ( I often am..  ) but I believe a Durametric will show a fault only if there is a real problem with something which a sensor detects, but if it’s merely an electronic gremlin that causes a fault light to appear and disappear ( happens very frequently with Italian cars when the battery starts to get low on power , or even from time to time for no other apparent reason ) the Durametric , similar to the OBD reader I use with the Maserati , won’t show anything.  I’ll call it the Brigadoon syndrome ( for those here who remember seeing that movie on the old classics channel ..)

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[Roboman]

Your Durametric will give live readings of revs, speed, voltages, timing etc as well as stored readings of faults detected .... the question then is "when is a fault a fault"?  Whoever designed the airbag fault detector may well have put a 20 second, or 30 second, or whatever time limit on it, so if the detection is good within the prescribed time limit then it's not considered a fault so isn't registered.

 

The steering wheel is the more likely suspect.  If I remember correctly there is a resistor bridge which can be bought to fool the system into thinking the bag is there and working.  It is for those who replace their steering wheels with Momo or whatever steering wheel without airbags ..... so someone on the forum should have/know about these.  I know your not about to start ripping things apart Dan, but if you can get hold of the resistive bridge then your local guy can identify which bag is causing the light to stay on and may as well clean the connectors at the same time, possibly eliminating the problem.

 

I don't think I have anything more to add on this topic, so I wish you good luck and a spectacular 2024  :clap:

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[ds968]

Next time I need to take it in for service , I’ll have the mechanic take a look at that also .  I have two left hands and ten thumbs and zero electrical systems knowledge, so I’m not messing with anything of that nature..also sounds like you need to be a contortionist, on top of it all. 

 

Happy New Year !

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[Waylander]

Check and clean all your earth points

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[ds968]

I have no clue what “ earth , or, ground  “ points are and where they may be .. 

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[Rap]

Perhaps you need to become more grounded or one with Mother Earth.

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[Waylander]

I have no clue what earth , or, ground   points are and where they may be .. 

They are all over the car, the wiring diagrams give you a insight to where they are

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[94SilverCab]

For Ground Points and Ground Map, check out this thread, Post #3

 

Dash gauges out...with another symptom - Electrical Gremlins - 968 Forums

 

Jay

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[ds968]

Well,  it has gotten worse .  The light now stays on for 5 to 10 minutes sometimes.  While,I’m driving , so it bugs me too much to continue ignoring it .   I wish there was a fuse dedicated to the air bag sensors which I could just remove, but no way German engineers would make something that simple, would they ..  :glare:

I’ll take it to the shop and let the mechanics deal with it .

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[tejon007]

Sometimes it just makes sense to get someone else involved...



The warning light tells you there's a fault in the airbag system. Having a working airbag system is a good thing...you know, in case you have an accident. Personally, I like good restraint systems over airbags, but airbags are a good option for the street.



Best wishes for getting things straightened out.

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[ds968]

Yeah, I just wish it would indicate if it’s the passenger air bag or the driver one .    But agreed , better left to professionals.   

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[Inkedupfatboy]

mine does the same thing...first it stayed on until the car was restarted, then it would shut off if I smacked the airbag, now it's a time thing, Once it warms up it goes off.

I figure as long as it's got oil and the rest of the gauges read right, I am not going to worry about it.

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[ds968]

Even if the light would go away in a matter of seconds as it did when this started , and theoretically I could put up with that ,  I still would not be able to have the emissions test done here .   A couple of years ago even stricter restrictions have been imposed ;  when they hook it up to the computer, if ANY fault codes come up , which in most cases will, even if the alert lights are not on at the time,  the smog test cannot be performed .   It does not matter what the fault is , and can be totally unrelated to emissions ; brake pad wear,  one fog light burned out,  etc, etc.   About as idiotic as it gets,  but oh well, this is Kaliforniastan after all…. 

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[Inkedupfatboy]

Move to Florida and we can hang out....

No state inspection, no emissions testing and no state income tax...

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[ds968]

Haha, the no state income tax is compelling ( I pay the max - 12.3 % here )  but I could never live more than 3-5 days in that weather. However , as a vacation spot for a week, I’m all for that  B)

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[Inkedupfatboy]

It's not so bad and you get used to it. It's been down to 40 this week. I am freezing..

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[ds968]

So I checked the air bag thing with a local friend’s Durametric ;  it shows air bag module fault, and it cannot be reset / cleared with the durametric,  so it’ll have to go into the shop.  That won’t be cheap , the labor cost will likely bite hard .   Just hoping the module itself is not a NLA part .   

 

The Durametric also showed an O2 sensor fault , but that’s very odd, a bad O2 sensor always throws a check engine light warning.. doesn’t it ?   

 

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[unknown4u]

Maybe your airbag hasn't a fault anyway. Because in my opinion, a fault in the airbag system gives always a permanent failure, not a one that randomly gives a ! Red light.

I should first repair the emissionfault and reset all the components and make a testdrive before repairing the airbagsystem.

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[Regajohn]

Semi old string, but my car does the same thing …. For the last three or four years the airbag light and exclamation light will (sometimes) stay on for a couple minutes … if I’m driving the car a lot it will go off within 10 or 15 seconds, if the car sits for two or three weeks it can take up to five minutes for the lights to go off … But so far they’ve always got off (knock on wood).

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[ds968]

Semi old string, but my car does the same thing …. For the last three or four years the airbag light and exclamation light will (sometimes) stay on for a couple minutes … if I’m driving the car a lot it will go off within 10 or 15 seconds, if the car sits for two or three weeks it can take up to five minutes for the lights to go off … But so far they’ve always got off (knock on wood).

thanks, good to know .

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