Airbag warning light.

[Wully]

When I started my van on Sunday morning to head home the airbag warning light came on and has stayed on I’ve read that this seems to be a problem with some fiats think there’s a problem with one of the ecu s that manage airbags and brakes but I’ve also learned that vans with swivel seats are prone to have loose or damaged wires from moving seats about so sends a fault. would like to know if it would be worth my while buying one of these diagnostic readers and what one to buy if anybody has bought one and can recommend it to find the fault code to determine wether to have a go myself I hate going near the fiat dealers the one in Glasgow too busy with all the council contracts stuff if you turn up with a motorhome you’re seen as a hassle. Think it would be a handy thing to have one of these anyway

 

[Admin]

When I started my van on Sunday morning to head home the airbag warning light came on and has stayed on I’ve read that this seems to be a problem with some fiats think there’s a problem with one of the ecu s that manage airbags and brakes but I’ve also learned that vans with swivel seats are prone to have loose or damaged wires from moving seats about so sends a fault. would like to know if it would be worth my while buying one of these diagnostic readers and what one to buy if anybody has bought one and can recommend it to find the fault code to determine wether to have a go myself I hate going near the fiat dealers the one in Glasgow too busy with all the council contracts stuff if you turn up with a motorhome you’re seen as a hassle. Think it would be a handy thing to have one of these anyway

The system I use does do airbags on the Ducato (50 EUROS)


Multiecuscan - Diagnostics software for Italian cars


You will also need this interface and adaptor cables (£29.95)

Fits Fiat Alfa ELM 327 v1.4 Green Red Yellow cables for use with MULTIECUSCAN | eBay


And finally you will need a laptop to use it on. You have to register it to a single computer, you cannot use it on more the one PC.


Or, you could use mine

 

[harrow]

When I started my van on Sunday morning to head home the airbag warning light came on and has stayed on I’ve read that this seems to be a problem with some fiats think there’s a problem with one of the ecu s that manage airbags and brakes but I’ve also learned that vans with swivel seats are prone to have loose or damaged wires from moving seats about so sends a fault. would like to know if it would be worth my while buying one of these diagnostic readers and what one to buy if anybody has bought one and can recommend it to find the fault code to determine wether to have a go myself I hate going near the fiat dealers the one in Glasgow too busy with all the council contracts stuff if you turn up with a motorhome you’re seen as a hassle. Think it would be a handy thing to have one of these anyway

It would be worth looking for any electrical connectors under the seat,

checking it is making good contact would be a start,

the very cheap code readers might turn the light off if you find the fault, but no guarantees.

 

[Wully]

Thanks I thought I could buy one and keep it for future use the one I was looking at was Fiat & Alfa Romeo iCarsoft i950 Multi System Diagnostic Tool - SRS, ABS, Engine & Transmission

 

[RV2MAX]

In most cases the light will turn itself off once the probable connection fault has been sorted.

 

[harrow]

Thanks I thought I could buy one and keep it for future use the one I was looking at was Fiat & Alfa Romeo iCarsoft i950 Multi System Diagnostic Tool - SRS, ABS, Engine & Transmission

I have one like this,

Car Fault Code Reader Scanner Obd2 Obd Diagnostic Vehicle Tool Citroen Bmw Ford | eBay

but I have not used it yet

 

[taximan]

If you find the airbag ecu is the problem there is a company that repair them for a fraction of the price of a Peugeot/Fiat replacement. They are called Crashdata
Fiat Ducato Airbag Module Crash Data Removal Reset

 

[ricc]

we get the same problem on the wifes berlingo, its always a wiring connector under the drivers seat, pull it apart and push it back together a couple of times sorts it till the next time.

 

[TeamRienza]

As you say, a common fault. Mine failed at the end of my third year (new van). I contacted Fiat after my Fiat professional dealer who is also a Hymer dealer did the diagnosis.

I found Fiat to be quite helpful and kept me informed of their processes. I did point out that I had had a few other known faults. The dimly glowing instrument cluster warning lights, a faulty wiper control mechanism and a couple of minor issues. In the light of this they, as a goodwill gesture supplied a replacement free, although I was due to pay the labour costs, which a quite small on this job.

So perhaps worth pursuing a goodwill replacement unless your van has a few more years under its belt. I did ask my dealer for the defunct part with a view to sending it to crash data to have a spare, sadly the part had to be returned to Fiat for checking.

Davy

 

[Channa]

I have had a fiat and Honda both display airbag warning lights on both occasions It was poor connection unded the seat ,,,when the seat moves fore and aft it puts strain on that part of the system, I would check that first and rule it out before diagnosing ECUs

Channa

 

[witzend]

I heard mentioned the other day by someone with a airbag problem that they got over it by fitting a relay in line that fooled the ecu Just found this Perhaps its the same or similar

 

[Tezza33]

Thanks I thought I could buy one and keep it for future use the one I was looking at was Fiat & Alfa Romeo iCarsoft i950 Multi System Diagnostic Tool - SRS, ABS, Engine & Transmission

Don't waste your money, the one Phil posted a link to is well known in the Fiat community, I use the free unregistered version but it would find the fault for you, Phil has the paid for registered version so take him up on his offer

 

[Wully]

Had a wee quick look at the seats in my van today and believe me they are more complicated than I probably am qualified to mess with they are air ride seats similar to a coach drivers seat with more tubes and wires than a Borg has sticking out his head so for the odds of plugging in a reader first to diagnose the problem before I start tampering with seats I’m actually hoping it is a faulty ecu unit rather than a problem with a wire under one of the seats. Once I know what the problem is then I’ll decide wether to use a professional to do the repairs this seems to be a common problem with ducatos they’ve had trouble with the ecu s packing up after only 500 miles in some cases. You can have it re programmed for £60 or a replacement for £140 fiat dealers charge £500 just for the part.

 

[Wully]

Think I will terry and his knowledge on electronic stuff is light years ahead of me I wouldn’t have a clue where to start problem is he’s nearly 500 miles away and I’m not heading south for another 5 weeks don’t want to leave it that long or drive the van that distance with no airbag for my passenger.

 

[Tezza33]

don’t want to leave it that long or drive the van that distance with no airbag for my passenger.

You could always let her drive:raofl::raofl::raofl::raofl:

 

[witzend]

the one Phil posted a link to is well known in the Fiat community,

I got the same thru these people very good after sales Gendan Automotive Products :: MultiECUScan Package Chooser

 

[molly 2]

I checked the wiring under my seats and it was getting tangled I rotated the seat to remove tangles And now check regularly ,

 

[wildebus]

In the VW T5 world it is common practice if fitting swivel seats to replace the airbag connector under the seat with a resistor to fool the system it is still connected. I believe the connection is not actually an airbag connection but a 'seat occupied' signal (to tell the dash passenger airbag to fire).
Not sure if it is the same system on Fiats etc.?
Interesting that the light goes off by itself if connection resolved? Again, talking about the VW T5 area, once the airbag light is on, then the only way it can be extingished is by using VAG Specific software (generic EODB readers won't turn it off).

 

[jeffmossy]

Wully I had the same problem and it was the airbag ECU , the unit is easy to access it is just above the cab battery and simply unplugs . I got in touch with crashdata gave them the details and posted it . 3 days later unit returned and all fine , they also gave it lifetime guarantee and only £60

 

[Wully]

Wully I had the same problem and it was the airbag ECU , the unit is easy to access it is just above the cab battery and simply unplugs . I got in touch with crashdata gave them the details and posted it . 3 days later unit returned and all fine , they also gave it lifetime guarantee and only £60

Cheers Jeff it looks like I might be going the same way had a mate pop round with a fancy diagnostic thing and that’s the reading it gave so it’ll be in the post on Monday.