Passanger Airbag Status Indicator Question

[mikey00]

When a passanger is present the indicator displays "on". When a passanger is not present the "on" goes out but "off" never comes on. The manual seems to indicate it should display "off" without a passanger. Can anyone confirm this for me? I can see "off" on the indicator during the bulb check when the car is initially turned on.

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by mikey00 »When a passanger is present the indicator displays "on". When a passanger is not present the "on" goes out but "off" never comes on. The manual seems to indicate it should display "off" without a passanger. Can anyone confirm this for me? I can see "off" on the indicator during the bulb check when the car is initially turned on.I'm not really sure what you're referring to...The passenger seatbelt light above the radio? That only flashes if weight is on the seat.

[joatmon]

The 2005 Vibes tie the passenger seat sensor into the airbag system, so that the passenger side airbag doesn't blow if there's nobody sitting there. The 2005 owner's manual seems to indicate that under normal circumstances, the indicator should light up either the ON or OFF lights. mikey00, The top of page 3-31 in the 2005 owners manual says :"If, after several seconds, all status indicator lightsremain on, or if there are no lights at all, there may be aproblem with the lights or the passenger sensingsystem. See your dealer for service."so either there is an error in the owners manual, or there is an error in your car if after several seconds neither ON or OFF are lit up.

[Jahntassa]

On trucks, and other vehicles that don't have a rear seat, there's a status light to say if the passenger airbag is on or not. Do you have an '03 or 04 or 05? On the 03'-04' all the passenger light does above the radio is flash if someone is sitting in the seat with their seatbelt off. Does the 05' have an airbag disengagement light like other GMs, or not?

[mikey00]

The 05 has a "Passanger Airbag Status Indicator " above the radio. It does not flash. It just displays "Airbag" and also has a "On" and "Off" on the display. On mine when a passenger is present it displays "On". When no passenger is present "On" goes out but "Off" never displays. The manual seems to indicate "Off" should be displayed when no passenger is present but is not very clear on this. All I am asking for is someone else with an 05 to verify how their system works. I bet it is the same as mine.

[GMJAP]

Just re-read my manual - and I agree it's confusing.I normally don't drive with a passenger, and I don't think the OFF light is normally on. Like you said, I think neither of the lights are on.I'll check mine later and post!

[GMJAP]

So I played around a little with it today:When I start the car, both "ON" and "OFF" light up, so both are working. If nobodies in the passenger seat, both are unlit. If someone sits in the seat, then "ON" lights up. If they get out, "ON" goes out but "OFF" stays unlit. I never saw "OFF" light up except when starting the car.

[joatmon]

If that's normal, then what's the point of having an OFF light? What happens if you fasten the passenger seat belt? the owner's manual hints about trying to detect if a safety seat is installed. Maybe it combines the pressure sensor with some sensor to identify if the seat belt is fastened but only pulled out such a small amount that there couldn't be a person in the seat, but maybe a child seat. A rear facing child seat in the front passenger seat can be at risk when the airbags go off, maybe the OFF indicator is only lit in those circumstances. Maybe another topic for the Pontiac gurus at the michigan megameet. All you who go to that thing better take full advantage of the opportunity to talk to them. Here's an interesting quote from the 2005 owner's manual:Quote, originally posted by "2005 owner's manual page 1-61" »Do not perform any of the following changeswithout consulting your dealer. Such changes caninterfere with the proper operation of the airbagsystem, passenger sensing system and/or safetybelt pretensioners.• Repairs on or near the front seat belt retractorassemblies• Modification of the suspension system• Attachment of a grille guard (bull bar, kangaroobar, etc), snowplow, winches or any otherequipment to the front end• Repairs made on or near the front fenders,front end structure or console• Installation of electronic devises such as amobile two-way radio, cassette tape playeror compact disc player• Modification of the suspension system• Modification of the front end structure or the sidestructure of the passenger compartment• Repairs made on or near the console of thefront seatModification of the suspension system is such a risk tha they list it twice.I put a CD/tape unit from a matrix into my vibe, I sure hope that the cassette player in it doesn't cause my airbags to malfunction. The damn car comes with a CD player, you can't buy one without a CD player, how is that going to interfere with the airbag system?

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »If that's normal, then what's the point of having an OFF light?I'm willing to bet that the only time you'll see OFF is when there is an occupant in the seat, heavy enough for the sensor to detect someone is seated, yet does not weigh the correct amount to enable deployment...I'd say throw something 30 lbs or so in the passenger's seat on an '05 and see what happens.

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »I'd say throw something 30 lbs or so in the passenger's seat on an '05 and see what happens. If I do that in my '03, then I have to look at the stupid passenger seatbelt light flashing forever. (unless I disconnect the light )

[GMJAP]

Joatmon, I think you might be on to something about whether the seatbelt is connected or not; I never latched it while checking it out. I think their concerns about installing electronic devices are mostly due to EMI interference with the airbag system. Since you've got a factory deck from a Matrix it shouldn't be an issue. However, if someone got a really cheapo crappy aftermarket unit it might cause fluctuations on the battery voltage or radiate a lot of EMI that could affect the airbag sensor system.

[Jahntassa]

I have the feeling they took an indicator 'off the shelf'.. Like I said, most trucks and two-seater vehicles have a keyswitch that lets you disable the pass airbag manually, in case you have a child seat there.. I'm betting OFF doesn't light unless there's a severe problem..since I'm pretty sure the '05 doesn't have the OFF switch..

[ragingfish]

As jahntassa said, maybe the "off" light goes on if there's a malfunction?

[mikey00]

The "off " is not just there because it is an of the shelf indicator nor does it indicate a malfunction. If the system detects a small person the "off" light does work. You can verify this by buckling the seat belt with either nothing or a small amount of weight in the seat. The big question which the manual does not cover is what happens if no one is in the seat. Neither "on" or "off" light up. Is the passenger airbag on or off. The manual indicates you will always have "off" or "on" light. I think the indicator in that mode signals that the system has determined no passenger present and has also turned off the passenger's belt pretensioner. But I don't think we here have any way of verifying that with the information available to us in the manual.

[joatmon]

the manual is pretty confusing on the topic. There is a Getting to know your 2005 Vibe brochure, and on page 6 it saysQuote »Your Vibe is equipped with an advancedpassive suppression air bag system forthe front seat passenger. The systemgauges the weight of an occupant andthen sends the information to a controlmodule that determines whether, and towhat extent, the air bag should bedeployed. The system automaticallyturns off the air bag to protect smalladults and will not deploy when the seatis empty. This feature works automaticallyand requires no driver or passengerinteraction.so although this doesn't mention the on/off indicator lights, it does say that the passenger airbag will not deploy if nobody is in the passenger seat.

[GMJAP]

Okay, joatmon was on the money: "OFF" lights up when the passenger seatbelt is connected, but no weight is on the seat.(--- AIRBAG --) both unlit when no weight in seat, and seatbelt unbuckled(--- AIRBAG ON) When weight detected in passenger seat(OFF AIRBAG --) When seatbelt is buckled but no weight in seat detected.I think it's safe to say the airbag is only on when "ON" lights up. I guess OFF only comes on when it might be expected that the seat is being used (seatbelt buckled) but it doesn't detect enough weight.