Airbag fault

Phenolic · Post by **Phenolic** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:51 am

Today I installed a sub in my GT. The sub works just fine. During the installation I disconnected the battery for a couple hours and removed the right front seat for easier access to the amp. I do not have side airbags in my Vibe. I did not encounter any yellow banded components while I was working. After puttting everything back together I have a flashing airbag light on the panel. I have double and triple checked all the areas that I worked in to be sure that I didn't accidentally disconnect any plugs or wires. I have done a lot of reading on here today and found several threads regarding airbags. I have no intention of getting into the system, I don't have the proper test equipment and of course there is a safety issue. I found one post regarding deactivating and reactivating the system. When I remove the AM2 fuse from the fuseblock the warning light is no longer illuminated, when I reinstall it the warning returns. If anyone has any suggestions for something that I may try before I take it to the dealer, let 'em fly.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:55 am

When removing the AM2, the indicator goes off because that fuse powers the SIR system.According to the service manuals, a flashing indicator means either a short to ground in the diagnostic request circuit, or an internal SDM (sensing and diagnostic module) malfunction.Unfortunately, to do a system check, you need a scan tool.Have you tried disconnecting the sub to see if the problem goes away?

Phenolic · Post by **Phenolic** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:58 am

Yes I forgot to mention that. The first thing I tried was to diconnect the sub. No change.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:02 pm

Did you just unhook the sub at the sub, or did you disconnect any wiring you installed?Make sure you remove ANY wiring added today to be sure you're not shorting anywhere.If that doesn't work, looks like a dealer visit for you. Might've shorted out the SDM module somehow.

Phenolic · Post by **Phenolic** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:03 pm

Yes I had interior panel out near the belts on both sides. Sounds like I'll be going to the dealer. $$$$$$

Phenolic · Post by **Phenolic** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:07 pm

I am hoping to be able to play the warranty card.

Phenolic · Post by **Phenolic** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:14 pm

As I said in my original post I did a lot of reading on here before I started. I found the schematic of the audio system and was very careful to do the installation correctly and neatly. There is always the chance that I caused a short to ground somewhere but I doubt it. The only wiring that I was into was in the amp area. I will double check my work one more time just to be sure. This forum is awesome by the way. The information available here is tremendous.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:22 pm

The other thing you can try is this.Pull every fuse and look for one that is blown. Often times, a blown fuse may not make itself known symptomatically.That happened to me once. Was having weird warning lights, pulled every fuse, found a blown one, and sure enough, that fixed the problem.Check both blocks - under the dash and in the engine.I'd recommend first checking the following fuses (check the block diagram on page 6-72 for locations):OBDAM2 (check it again)GAUGEAM1In the engine:MAINIf none of those, I say pull the rest, be sure it's not little like a blown fuse. You'd be surprised how likely it could be.If you're not up to that, then of course, go to the dealer.

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:45 pm

welcome to genvibe, sorry to hear about the troublesLooking in the service manual, about half of the faults will turn the light on all the time, the other half will make it flash. Could be the seatbelt pretensioners, although I confess to not knowing what a seat belt pretensioner does. It seems to say that when a fault is detected, it sets an error code and turns on the airbag light (or flashes it) to clear the indicator reuires correcting what ever fault initially set the error code, and also using a scan tool to clear the error code. That could mean that you may have already corrected the problem, but the light will still flash until someone hooks up a scan tool and clears the error code.I don't know if the error code is stored in the main ECU or in the airbag computer. Supposedly you can reset the ECU by disconnecting the negative battery cable for a couple of minutes, or by pulling a certain fuse or two for a little while. I don't know if the same would apply to the airbag computer.if you don't want to go to the dealer , you could try to find some other place with a scan tool. Some people have said that Autozone will do a free scan for Check engine codes for free, but I don't know if that applies to airbag codes or if there is an autozone near you.Given the safety aspect of it, it might be best to just go back to Pontiac and get it dealt with, if you need your airbag you want it to work. When you do figure out the cause, be sure to let us know what it was.thanks for signing up, tell us about your vibe, post pics of the audio install. make yourself at home

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:49 pm

I can't find any information that leads me to believe the pretensioners are connected to the SIR SDM

Post by **NSimkins** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:55 pm

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 Â»Get off of it man.Alright, calm down. The Vibe is different than your truck so let's see what the final result is here.I personally recommend the member to visit the dealer asap, since the Airbag system, IMO, is a little iffy to have a warning light lit at any time.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:56 pm

I SAID I can't FIND anything.I DIDN'T say it wasn't possible!

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 1:00 pm

for those of you with 2003 Vibe service manuals who want to play along at home, check out pages 9-61 and 9-64.I agree with Nick. If it was my car, I'd take it to the dealer.

threekrows · Post by **threekrows** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 1:01 pm

I too would suspect pretensioners(they have a charge in them that goes off in a deployment situation,tightening the seatbelt)They are usually on the latch side of the seatbelt.They sound like a shotgun when they go off.Best see the dealer...

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 1:04 pm

Quote, originally posted by joatmon Â»for those of you with 2003 Vibe service manuals who want to play along at home, check out pages 9-61 and 9-64.I agree with Nick. If it was my car, I'd take it to the dealer.Alright then!All I said before was I couldn't find anything. Now I see they are, in fact, connected.

Post by **NSimkins** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 1:07 pm

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish Â»Now I see they are, in fact, connected.The entire system is definitely more complex than I expected to see. Thanks joatmon for the service manual pointer.

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 1:16 pm

There are various pics around of wrecked Vibes and matrixes that people have walked away from that make me feel very safe in this car, but some of the technology in it is beyond me. Have to respect the dealer service techs for being able to make sense of it all. and look out Nick, I'm only ten behind you in post count 8^}

threekrows · Post by **threekrows** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 1:22 pm

and this tech was slightly off....the pretensioners are on the RETRACTOR side,unlike anything else gm that I am aware of...this comes at no suprise....lolBTW I don't think pulling fuses will help.You start diagnosing any air bag system with a scanner,you need to know what has set the code before you can fix it.It might turn out to be something on the other side of the car,just happening at the same time as your sub install.My professional OPINION,do with it what you will....

cdFxer · Post by **cdFxer** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 3:33 pm

Did I miss something, or did he mention if the light stopped flashing if he buckled the seat belt? And to double check: Wich seatbelt light is flashing? (passenger side I am assuming since he took that seat out)Maybe not relevant, but my 04' flashes when someone is sitting in the seat w/o the belt buckled. And yes, I feel so much safer buckling in my laptop and the 10lbs of PLC/serial comm hardware, lol. Kinda sounds to me like one of the things to check should be the sensor in the seat?

Phenolic · Post by **Phenolic** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 9:09 pm

As suggested by Ragingfish I checked all the fuses which checked out OK. I have it scheduled into the dealer tommorow. I will post what they find after I get it done. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Phenolic · Post by **Phenolic** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 9:14 pm

Side note here. I know that I am getting off the subject, but I believe that we have beaten this one to death anyway. I have seen some photos on here of painted calipers. I thought you may want to see mine. [IMG][/IMG]

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joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 9:50 pm

Quote, originally posted by cdFxer Â» Which seatbelt light is flashing? (passenger side I am assuming since he took that seat out)It was a flashing airbag trouble light, not a seatbelt light. A seatbelt light would probably be easier to deal with.

cdFxer · Post by **cdFxer** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 4:00 pm

Ah...oops...sorry....Ill read a lil closer next time

Phenolic · Post by **Phenolic** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 10:19 pm

OK the verdict is in. Anyone who had thier money on the seatbelt pretensioner is a winner. The scanner showed a fault in the right front belt assy. They didn't bother to open up the panel to look for any problems such as a loose connection or anything, they just ordered a new belt assy. Of course it was not in stock at the dealership. Thanks again for the tips.

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 12:16 am

I didn't know there was such a thing as a seat belt pretensioner, so I lost that bet. Glad you took it in and the dealer is taking care of the problem. Any estimate on when they'll get the part in?

Phenolic · Post by **Phenolic** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 6:22 am

Here's the latest . After made the last post I went out to take one more look at the car. I pulled back the interior panel over the right seat belt assy since I at least now knew where the trouble was. The electrical connector looked to be normal, but I gave it a jiggle and pushed it. It went on just a bit further...that was it. No more airbag light. I called the dealer and told him to cancel the order for the new belt. He was suprised to say the least. I must have displaced it just enough when I was working in the area.

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