Can Durametric Reset Aibag Light After Crash?

[FFaust]

Purchased a crashed 987.1 Cayman with a triggered belt tensioner. I replaced the belt but seem to be unable to reset the Airbag light. Durametric says something to the effect that there is a stored event: Anyone know if the Durametric can reset this, if I need a PIWIS, or even if I need to replace the airbag controller?

 

I e-mailed Durametric who said: " The Durametric tool is capable of reading and clearing fault codes in the airbag in this car. Beyond this, there are few options. If the airbag unit in this car reports an issue, you will need to fix the cause of the code and then you will be able to use the tool to clear the fault code from the unit's memory. If the cause of the code remains, you either will not be able to clear the code or the code will return shortly afterward. Given you circumstances, we do not know the steps you must take to resolve the particular issue you experience.

 

Thanks

[Loren]

Do you have a fault code(s)?

[FFaust]

Hi Loren, was just coming back to post them:

 

# 8057

AWS Control Unit Read Out Fault Memory

 

 

[Loren]

Any damage to the steering lock mechanism?

8057 implies that there is something wrong in that circuit or the control module.

You may have hidden damage...

[FFaust]

No, no apparent damage to the steering lock.

 

No airbags deployed either, just the one belt.

 

Which control module are you referring to? I do have an airbag controller that I took out of the spec Cayman that I built; my next step was to try that, but it would be nice to be able to reset.

 

It also says on the airbag controllers that they are car-specific, but not sure why.

 

Damage to the car was minimal; the front left fender and a chunk out of the left front wheel. Hood, door, and bumper were not even touched.

[Loren]

You have a fault in the circuit so there is still something wrong.

The seat belt was replaced - including the tensioner?

Once a seat belt tensioner has fired it must be replaced (pyrotechnic tensioners since 2002).

 

[FFaust]

32 minutes ago, Loren said:

The seat belt was replaced - including the tensioner?

 

Yes, the whole assembly was replaced. A benefit to building a race car in parallel with repairing this car is that it provides some spares. 

 

Still something wrong or a recorded event (crash) that needs a special procedure to 'erase' (if even possible) due to the possible severe nature of the event. Just as over revs stay in there forever, maybe Porsche, or the DOT, treat airbag deployment and/or seat belt triggers differently than mere equipment failures...

[Loren]

You will likely need a PIWIS to further explore and solve your fault 8057.

Recorded events (that can not be erased) are only kept in the DME to my knowledge.

[FFaust]

Also, remember that the fault description given by the Durametric does say "AWS... Unit...Fault Memory" after all.

[FFaust]

Ok, was expecting that.

Will try my spare controller first however, and will try to remember to report back.

 

Thanks

[FFaust]

A quick work around, with 2 caveats (see below):

 

Apparently, whenever a belt is triggered, the AWS (Auto or Advanced Weight Sensor, depending on where you read it) needs to be calibrated using the PIWIS. This is done automatically when the tool is plugged in and takes a minute. I heard this from a guy who knows a guy, who knows a guy...

 

I was able to get rid of the lights (red on the dash and amber on the console) by using the Durametric.

 

Go to Airbag, select Coding, choose 'NO' next to AWS, and that's it, the AWS is no longer part of the equation, which means that you are now operating with an airbag system similar to a 996 or 986, which also means that the passenger airbag is ALWAYS HOT when ignition is on. THIS SHOULD BE VIEWED AS A TEMPORARY MEASURE.

 

The two caveats are due to the pax airbag indeed always being hot: (these are my assumptions)

 

- The airbag will no longer be de-activated when a small person is in the pax seat

- Should you hit something or be hit by someone hard enough to activate the airbags, both front bags will go off, even if no one is sitting in the right seat, costing you one more bag than it should have

 

This does not clear the 'accident' history from the ECU or airbag controller (not sure which), and I am not certain whether even the PIWIS clears this; I read somewhere in a PAG publication that the airbag controller needed to be replaced after 3 events...?

 

Again, I will try to remember to come back here once I get to the bottom of this

Edited October 22, 2016 by FFaust

[FFaust]

So, to close the loop for posterity:

 

Using the Durametric, I coded the AWS back to yes, meaning that the passenger seat weight sensor was now back in the loop, and the red and amber airbag lights were back on.

 

Went to an indie (Mantis), who plugged in the PIWIS and cleared the memory, the fault, and calibrated the AWS.

 

Cost me $100, but the lights are now gone.

 

Now I need to figure out the airbag light in the 996 GT3, sheesh. All was fine when I stripped it, swapped the doors for some hollow ones, and removed all airbags and the controller to go racing. I have now put everything back in to make it a street car again, and everything works, except I have an airbag light (damned airbags, lol). Code 30, "ignition circuit - side airbag, passenger".

Edited December 3, 2016 by FFaust
Clarity

[FFaust]

So, again in an effort to help others that might look for this in the future:

 

996 GT3, Airbag Light and Durametric fault " Code 30, ignition circuit - side airbag, passenger".

 

Side airbag = door airbag: There was nothing wrong with it, the connector was good, and I also electrically swapped a spare airbag that I had, but the fault remained.

 

Knowing the issue was coming from that circuit, and since I had disconnected the door and the controller when I stripped the car, I looked at both of those, looking for a bent pin, or? I expected the door connector to be the bad player since it's a bit less straightforward to connect and disconnect than the controller. 

 

While trying to identify the relevant pins on the big connector at the door jam to wring out the wires, I noticed that, with the connector off, the two pins/wires for the door airbag were shorted together (no doubt a shunt to prevent accidental airbag deployment when the connector is not connected). I also noticed that, in the connector, right next to the two pins, there was a small rectangular slot that matched a small plastic piece on the mating connector. At first I thought that it was an alignment device, but there was more to it than that, because there was a small piece of metal in the slot.

 

While ohming the two airbag pins, I shoved a pick in the slot and suddenly, the two shorted pins/wires were no longer shorted, meaning that THE PLASTIC PIECE HAS TO BE ALL THE WAY INTO THE RECTANGULAR SLOT so that the circuit is in an acceptable state for the airbag controller. So again, even if the connector appears to be connected, you need more than just the pins to be in contact, you need the plastic tab to be all the way in to the slot.

 

These pins and slot are part of a sub-connector within the main door connector and the sub-connector is somewhat free to move a bit. I made sure that it was all the way in and now my airbag light is gone. 

 

I'm sitting in the car with the laptop, having gone back in with the Durametric to clear the code, and decided to tell my story. Hopefully it can help someone. 

 

Case closed :)

Edited December 3, 2016 by FFaust