Air Bag light 10 seconds????

[Linus Toy]

The post-recall airbag controller is much more sensitive to a number of
fault conditions, and can (and does) store faults in non-volatile
memory.  The fault-code can be cleared by anyone with a 1551 or equivalent
tool, including Ross-Tech's VAG-COM.  The diagnostic connectors for the
airbag controller should be in the center console behind the left side
panel--if you sit in the driver's seat, go directly right of your
knee--I've also heard reports of them being behind the right side panel, by
the airbag circuit connector.

Disconnecting the power will NOT clear this fault, and in fact,
jump-starting a flat battery is one potential cause of a fault (the system
needs a minimum voltage to operate).  Other reported situations that
trigger a fault code include turning on the ignition without the airbag
attached (i.e. "testing" your instrument panel repair work by turning on
the ignition with the steering wheel off or the connector in the center
console disconnected, enabling the Check Engine light where it had been
removed by swapping in the warning light for the airbag and incorrect
resistance in the spiral spring.  According to one report, tolerance for
the spiral spring resistance can be changed by recoding the controller;
unfortunately, this is not documented in the Bentley (but may be available
in a later car's manual).

--Linus

At 11:23 PM 2/8/2003 , Todd Phenneger wrote:
>On my D1 my ligth is on all the time.  I know why, (bulb was
>pulled while ignition on) but I need it reset.  Is there ANY way
>to reset it WO going to Dealer?  What about disconnecting power?
>Thanks
>   Todd
>
>--- Phil Rose <pjrose at frontiernet.net> wrote:
> > At 10:41 PM -0500 2/8/03, BriceW at webtv.net wrote:
> > >After pulling the cluster and replacing bulbs you begin to
> > notice a lot
> > >of things. My air bag light comes on as it should whenever I
> > start the
> > >car. Per the owners manual it it should only stay on 10
> > seconds. The
> > >manual says that if it stays on too long you could have a
> > malfunction in
> > >the airbag system. But the owners manual doesn't specify what
> > is too
> > >long but only says 10 seconds or more.
> > >Mine stays on 80 seconds.
> > >I just wondered if any of you have noticed how long yours
> > stays on
> > >before and if there is possible malfunction.
> >
> > That's a problem commonly encountered after the airbag recall
> > is done. One
> > of my cars has an airbag  that does that too--about 1.5-2
> > minutes. The
> > other car is the normal 5 or 10 seconds. It is a
> > "malfunction", but not a
> > serious one unless you drive away and have an accident during
> > that time
> > (the bag is inoperative until the light goes off). A dealer
> > can reset the
> > fault detection so the light will behave normally, but it's
> > presumably not
> > a permanent fix. I don't know what the nature of the fault is.
> >
> > Phil
> >
> >
> > Phil Rose
> > '91 200q lago blue                            Rochester, NY USA
> > '91 200q tornado red                          mailto:pjrose at frontiernet.net
> >
> >
> >
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>
>
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*  Linus Toy                      Insanity is doing the same thing   *
*  Mercer Island, WA              you've always done and expecting   *
*  linust at mindspring.com          different results                  *
*                                      - Roger Milliken              *
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