SRS Airbag lights intermittently

[guitarfish]

I know this is going to end up being a dealer item, but I just wanted to get some opinions.

A couple years ago the clock spring in my steering column was replaced by a GM dealer. A body shop broke the old one, and my airbag light was on constantly as a result.

After I got the car back from the dealer, the airbag light popped on once or twice over the next week, and then it went out and the car was fine for about 3 months.

After a few months, every now and then the airbag light on the dash would come on. It would usually go out within a few minutes. It happens a few times a week, and mostly in warmer weather.

Seeing as the clock spring is part of the connection to the airbag, I've always assumed the repair and the light are related.

Anyone have any ideas what could be happening here? The nearest dealer is an hour away. The light is very intermittent, so it could be a week or more before it comes on.

Thanks

[TDWPgtp]

ive been having a similar problem. mine comes on for a few days then goes off for a while

[GMCustomerService]

I would recommend contacting your local dealership for more assistance. . I can also look into this issue further. In order to do so, I will need some more specific information from you. If you could please send me your full name, address, phone number, the VIN for the vehicle, and current mileage via private message, I will be able to take further steps. Thank you again and I look forward to hearing from you.

Tricia, GM Customer Service.

[olopezm]

The best thing would be to get the car scanned with a body dtc capable scanner. That way you´ll know how what's wrong with it.

If you can't, the first thing would be to inspect both connector of the clockspring, there is one at the top of the steering column (at the back of the steering wheel) and another one under the dash. 15 MINUTES BEFORE you start to work on it DISCONNECT the negative battery cable.

Make sure they are making good contact, when you disconnect them measure resistance accross each pin with a DMM to see if the wiring is bad; the expected value is 0. Finally the airbag connectors (2 pin) have a tab which jumps both wires when you remove both connectors to help with diagnostics, that way you only need to measure resistance accross both pins of the connector under the dashboard.

Oscar.

[guitarfish]

Well, well well, I thought I'd drop by and tell how this little tale ended.

I've had an intermittent SRS light over 2 years now, ever since a GM dealer replaced my clock spring / airbag coil. I spoke with GM about this issue, they told me I could take it to the dealer and of course pay for a diagnosis. No thanks. I decided to take a shot at this myself.

Considering the symptoms, I felt a faulty airbag coil was the most likely culprit. So I bought a replacement, not at said dealer, who wanted to charge me full list price and refused any discounts, but instead at a GM dealer that sells parts online at a discount. So, $140 for a new coil. That right there is about an hour's worth of labor at the dealer, not to mention lost work time and/or rental car.

Tonight I popped off the airbag, planning to replace the coil. As soon as the bag fell out in my lap, I saw a ground wire attached to...NOTHING. Here's a pic for your viewing pleasure.


It seems that when the experts at the dealership replaced the spring, they didn't completely finish. For the vast majority of time, the ground wire was pressed against the metal frame of the airbag module, but every now and then it would detach partially or completely and the SRS light would come on. It was a very rare occurrence the first year, and it didn't even start until months after the dealer did the coil, so that's why I never took it right back. But this past summer it just got to be too much, and I decided it had to be fixed once and for all.

SO, I am pretty confident I won't be seeing the SRS light anymore. Now the bad news...I got this $140 clock spring. Anyone wanna make me an offer? There's always eBaymotors I guess.

[procaddytech]

That ground wire has nothing to do with the SRS system. It is for the horn. Watch your Air Bag light when it is on or off and wiggle the wires under the front seats. The light will turn on or off if a fault is induced. The underseat connections are a common cause of your concern. You will see your light again unless one of the two connectors or connector locks on the back of the air bag itself was not fully seated and you corrected that while reassembling the wheel.

[guitarfish]

Originally Posted by procaddytech

That ground wire has nothing to do with the SRS system. It is for the horn. Watch your Air Bag light when it is on or off and wiggle the wires under the front seats. The light will turn on or off if a fault is induced. The underseat connections are a common cause of your concern. You will see your light again unless one of the two connectors or connector locks on the back of the air bag itself was not fully seated and you corrected that while you were in there.

Awesome, more good news.

Well, at least I have another place to look. Thank you.

[procaddytech]

There is good news. An Air Bag light will turn off and on as the code goes from history to current. (not like a SES where ou need to clear the code or pass 40 drive cycles before the light goes out) So if the light is on and you move or touch the wiring or connector under the seat the light will turn off right away and you will know that is the problem area. Remove the connector lock, unplug it, plug it back in, put thr lock back in and re-route or tie the harness so it does not get pulled or stressed when the seat is adjusted. For extra safety touch the seat frame to discharge any static electricity that may be in your body.

[Tech II]

Yeah, you need to have the air bag codes read.....

[guitarfish]

I've had the car checked for DTC codes, they didn't find any for the airbag. Is there a different place SRS codes are stored or something?

[procaddytech]

Air bag codes are stored in the SDM. Sensing and Diagnostic Module. When the car is built in the scanner; year, make, model, etc. SDM will be found in the body section. Like I said earlier, the codes come and go quick. You need to get scanned while the light is on if possible.

[guitarfish]

I've got three different connector blocks under my seat. It's the 6-way power seat with lumbar and also heat. Just out of curiousity, how does the underseat wiring tie in to the SRS system? Is it related to the seatbelt or something? I know the passenger side turns the passenger bag on/off based on whether the seat is occupied, but I didn't realize there would be any SRS stuff involved on the driver's seat.

[procaddytech]

The seat belt buckles have pretensioners in them that tighten the belt during a deployment. The Passenger Presence System is under the right seat. If the PPS has a fault, the SDM will have the IPC turn on the airbag light. A dtc will set in the SDM indiacating a PPS fault, but PPS codes need to be flashed using a scan tool and the passenger on/off lights. Your side air bags are in the roofrail. Sorry if I mislead you at all, I assumed the side bags would be in the seat, but the seatbelt buckle connnectors should be wiggled.

[guitarfish]

Well, my SRS light came on today just as I parked at work. I took a couple minutes and jiggled everything under the seat, no change.

I'm back to thinking it's the clock spring. That was the only thing that changed in the car, and the light started coming on within days after that repair.

I have a new spring, I guess I'm just going to have to steal a few hours one weekend and go for it. The GM service manual seems to indicate that the upper steering column needs to come out, but I'm not so sure. I guess I'll just go one step at a time and see how it goes.

[guitarfish]

I changed the clock spring today, just got done. Time will tell if it was the problem. Thanks for the help.