[V6-12v] Airbag light blinking for 30 sec, then solid on. What's up?

[Tom Christiansen]

Folks,

Pesky airbag light... I measured the airbag contact spring thing (the
deal that sits in the center of the steering wheel) following the
procedure in Bentley. It checks out OK. I cleaned the contact and
brass ring on the back side of the contact spring thing with an eraser
and some rubbing alcohol. I applied some dielectric grease to the
ring.

The airbag light still blinks for 30 seconds and then stays on.

Bentley mentions that you can pull some codes from the airbag module.
I've tried pulling the ECU codes by jumpering the two terminals in the
fuse box. The code reads 4444 (no trouble).

Does anyone know how to read the airbag trouble codes? Can this be
done with a VAG-COM?

Tom