AirBag light/ seat belt sensor

Hello,

My airbag light keeps going on most of the times.
The garage I usually go scanned it and he told me the problem is in a airbag sensor located on the seat belt assembly.
The seat belt on light in the dash works fine.

Does anyone have any idea where it is?

Thanks

Weber

what year Grand AM ??

I'd check under the seat and make sure the wires/plug are not damaged.

Have you had any water leaking inside the cabin, especialy under the pass seat ??

I haven't checked under the seat. I'll check it out.
Is there one connector under each front seat or just the passenger's?

Thanks

Weber

year and engine size of the car :crying:

Sorry!!

99 Grand Am SE v6

did they mention any codes ?

No, they just told me it was the sensor on the seat belt assembly.

I don't see any relation between seat belts and air bags on this car. :shakehead

If you paid for diagnostics they should tell you the code.
I also checked all the possible SIR codes for your car and non of them even mention anything about the seat belt.:grinno:

However, your car may be equipped with passenger sensing sensor for the front passenger seat. Make sure you don't have anything sitting on the seat something size and weight of the baby seat and baby. Sensors will disable front passenger air bag and on some vehicles front passenger side air bag if the sensors sense that the weight on the front seat is not properly distributed and if the weight is much less than the average weight of the adult. Gm manual even mentions that if you have aftermarket seat covers that they can cause similar problems. So if you can remember when that light comes on did you have anything on the front passenger seat?

Hello,

The light is on most of the times and there isn't anything on the front seat.
Most of the times I drive alone. I looked under the passenger seat and I didn't see any wires.
There are some wires under the driver's seat. The driver's seat has powered up/down.
I've been reading some posts about water leak under the passenger seat. Mine seems to be fine. Is this something I would have to remove the seat to check?

Thanks

Being a 99 GA it's possible it's something else causing this and not the seat belt sensor.

Thier is 1 plug-1 wire with runs to the seat belt on the drivers seat.

But I'd double check all the fuses for the airbags and SRS system if you havnt already.

The SRS-airbag module is under the passenger seat, under the carpet.
It is possible that it got wet and yet the carpet not show signs of being wet.
This is a big problem with 1999+ N bodies in general, though I've seen more Aleros with this problem then Grand Ams.

And the seat belt is part of the SRS system, it keeps you in your seat, that is a saftey feature.

It would be nice to know what code(s) they read.....without it we're guessing.

ps- I would heed caution while messing with the module under the pass seat. It is possible your air bags could deploy during this operation. Disconnect the battey at least before investigating.

Your vehicle does not have seat belts that are connected to the airbag system, so the diagnosis is wrong. Seat belt pretensioners are part of newer vehicle airbag / restraint systems, but not in 1999. You will need to get the airbag system scanned to find out the exact problem.

Here's a site that will explain everything you need to know about airbag systems, airbag lights and resetting the system. It shows you the location of the components and the procedure for diagnosing and resetting airbag lights.
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/
You can check to see if your car is listed here.
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/vehicles_list.aspx
If the light is flashing on your car it's telling you there's a problem. On some vehicles, the light is flashing a two digit code. Once you know the code, you can most likely repair it yourself. There are fairly easy procedures that most people are capable of repairing.

Airbagsolutions.com has the fault code charts to tell you what is wrong and how to fix it!
Some vehicle manufacturers let you access and reset systems without a scanner (like Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, Infinity, Honda, Acura, Ford, Lincoln, Mazda & Mercury) and some require a scan tool.
Although it’s a pay site ($14.95/day), it’s a lot cheaper than going to the dealer

Hey, Thanks dugan! You the ABS man !

Your vehicle does not have seat belts that are connected to the airbag system, so the diagnosis is wrong. Seat belt pretensioners are part of newer vehicle airbag / restraint systems, but not in 1999. You will need to get the airbag system scanned to find out the exact problem.

Here's a site that will explain everything you need to know about airbag systems, airbag lights and resetting the system. It shows you the location of the components and the procedure for diagnosing and resetting airbag lights.
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/
You can check to see if your car is listed here.
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/vehicles_list.aspx
If the light is flashing on your car it's telling you there's a problem. On some vehicles, the light is flashing a two digit code. Once you know the code, you can most likely repair it yourself. There are fairly easy procedures that most people are capable of repairing.

Airbagsolutions.com has the fault code charts to tell you what is wrong and how to fix it!
Some vehicle manufacturers let you access and reset systems without a scanner (like Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, Infinity, Honda, Acura, Ford, Lincoln, Mazda & Mercury) and some require a scan tool.
Although it’s a pay site ($14.95/day), it’s a lot cheaper than going to the dealer


I agree that there is no connection between the two (belts and air bags) on this vehicle, I said this right away.

Hello,

It took me a while but I finally got the error code from the garage.

B1021 Driver Deployment Loop Resistance High

The ABS light is on at all times, it flashes a few time when I start the car then goes solid.
Any sugestions on how to diagnose this problem?

Thanks

Weber

The code means the circuit form the SIRS module to the drivers air bag shows high resistance, unless you find something loose or disconnected this is a job for a pro.

Hey Weber:
The high resistance could be any number of things, but the most common is the SIR coil (or clockspring) located beneath the steering wheel. It is basically an extension wire that feeds the driver airbag and creates a solid wire circuit connection rather than a rolling spring contact (like the horn is).
However, the problem could also be in the circuitry of the SDM (Sensing & Diagnostic Module) located under the passenmger seat and carpet.
There is no way to visually identify where the fault lies. If you feel up to it, remove the pass seat, roll back the carpet and make sure there is no water damage to the SDM. If that looks fine, I would go ahead and replace the SIR coil in the column (it's cheaper than the SDM).
That's the best you're going to get without simulators plugged in by an airbag repair specialist with the correct test equipment.
Lastly, I'm hoping you mean the 'airbag" light is flashing, not the ABS light. ABS stands for Antilock Brake System, not airbags (common mistake).
Good luck
Doug

Hello Doug,

Thanks for all the info. It is the Air Bag light for sure.
I'll try removing the seat and looking under the carpet first and go from there.

Thanks again

Weber