An Audiophile fix for airbag light

[1schoir]

Dang ... they just called back and mentioned that the computer flagged BOTH sides as faulty. Plus I'm moving over this weekend (i.e. no time) and have a prospective buyer for the car (going back to business school). Looks like I'm going to have to ask them to do it for $870 ... this sucks. Man, this airbag light came on at the worst possible time ...

Loren, what is the TSB number?

Maurice, do you know which place to buy the parts from? Trying to see if I can REALLY squeeze this in ...

Sid:

The TSB number is 6924 dated 6/99.

Part numbers are as follows:

996 803 183 09 Driver's side belt buckle

996 803 183 10 Passenger's side belt buckle

000 043 206 06 Service set belt buckle (2 sets required)

The seat belt buckles you can only get from the dealer. Make sure that when you get them, that the driver's side connector (small square four prong connector) is blue and that the passenger's side one is green (same size connector as the blue one, but has only two prongs, with other two slots left "unprongged").

The "service set" can only be obtained from the dealer as well, but you can get all the parts from Sunset Imports (Board Sponsor) for a substantial discount off of what your local dealer would charge. If you give them a call, ask for "Jeff", he knows his parts.

The service set is only a bunch of wire leads with some special "gold plated and greased" connectors on their ends, and a (relative to the original ones) thick brown ground lead with a cable lug on one end. Although it's tempting to just use thick brown ground wires to solve the problem (and I think some indie mechanics may have actually done this), it's safer to use the factory supplied parts in the service sets.

As far as special tools, only a heat gun (or hair dryer) to shrink the heat shring tubing, a soldering iron, and a small terminal extractor (which you can make from a small pointed pick by grinding it down to about a 1.2 mm flat end).

Regards, Maurice.

[mdgcentral99]

Ok, so I just got a call from the dealer. He said that they need to replace the

1) seat belt clips (the part fixed onto the seat, neat hips)

2) and the wiring harness under the seat

For both drivers and passengers side to fix it. Parts + labor = $870. Does that seem ok or a bit high ??

Also, is it necessary to replace both sides or just one side, the faulty side, would be ok? I didn't confirm yet, but I think its unlikely that both sides would go out at the same time, eh?

Edit: Sorry, but last question: Assuming I buy the durametric tool, does anyone know how easy/tough this repair would be a DIY?

As always, thanks!

Sid

Sid:

Assuming you already have the fault code that indicates it's the seat belts (or one of them), you can do the repair without the Durametric, although you will need it to reset the light and it's an excellent tool to have if you DIY.

Once you decipher the language in the TSB, it's a very straightforward DIY. As long as you know how to solder, and can follow directions, it should take no more than about 3 hours to do both sides. The dealer can do it in less than 2 hours if they have done it before. Total parts cost is less than $150 IIRC.

Regards, Maurice.

Dang ... they just called back and mentioned that the computer flagged BOTH sides as faulty. Plus I'm moving over this weekend (i.e. no time) and have a prospective buyer for the car (going back to business school). Looks like I'm going to have to ask them to do it for $870 ... this sucks. Man, this airbag light came on at the worst possible time ...

Loren, what is the TSB number?

Maurice, do you know which place to buy the parts from? Trying to see if I can REALLY squeeze this in ...

Yep, that's what I had to do. Only I did it at different times when the fault light went on. So almost $1000 later, both buckles, a new wiring "grounding" system all installed by dealer are in. On the other hand, it took the dealer two full days and many calls to the factory to get it done. It was a mess, they we'ren't up on it, and one of their mechanics had misdiagnosed the second fault as a radio installation grounding problem, so they owned it. If I had done it, it would have gone really bad, so at least they are on the hook for two years.

Of course, the light went on two months later, they reset it, and it hasn't again. I figure it will as soon as the warranty is up. Good Luck:)

Mark

[SpawnyWhippet]

I have been running my car with one spray of DeoxIT D5 for 8 months, no recurrence of the airbag light. At this rate, one can of cleaner will last the lifetime of the car.

[dporto]

There's no doubt in my mind that the "Stealerships" know this "dirty little secret" and use it to pad their party slush funds...My local Porsche "stealership" has broken my car both times I've brought it there (for NYS inspection - $35). The first time, my passenger side window regulator "went bad"... it worked fine when I dropped the car off. They wanted $600 (and change) to fix it...no thanks! I bought the regulator for $125 and installed it myself. The second time, they blew up my steering rack - it was working perfectly when I parked the car and waited for them to do the inspection. After paying the bill ($35) I walked out to my car and noticed a large puddle near the front bumper. Upon starting the car and turning the wheel to pull out of the parking space, the car started to groan...Long story short, it was $1100 for a re-built steering rack, and they did me the "massive favor" of giving me the "internal labor rate" of $100/hr. 

[jhshelton]

I have the airbag issue, as well. Both seatbelt receptacles have been replaced at the dealer, and still light stays on.  But, Durametric is showing "Seatbelt drivers", is this a software issue that has to be re-flashed at the dealer?

 

"Education is what remains after you have forgotten everything you learned in school" - Albert Einstein