End of the road? (Airbag light latest)

[Mewcenary]

Hi,

Main dealer took a look at the airbag situation today. The diagnostics are showing fault codes on the airbag ECU as well as the side impact sensors. This was all following water under the seat. They say they have checked the wiring and that looks good.

As a result, estimates are:

Labour - £82.45
Sensors - £134.59 x 2 = £269.18
Airbag ECU - £394.81

Total - £746.44
VAT - £149.29

TOTAL: £895.73

This is on a 2002 Leon Cupra with 205k on the clock. MOT is in March and airbag lights are now a fail for that.

Is it worth stumping up for this or should I pick up a tidy Ibiza? :-/

 

[akchappers]

At that price you could get another car. However....
Get secondhand sensors etc etc
Much cheaper. I got a side sensor for a tenner...
Price it up mate
Ak

 

[wisesmurf]

I thought my ACU was gone before and bought a certified second hand ACU on ebay. Got Vagcom whilst waiting and reset the code and it has never come back on. Turned out to be a loose under seat connection.

I've a 2004 LCR so if your ACU has the same model number you can have it for less than cost. ~€40 posted. It's no use to me.

Breakers are your friend for 10 yr + cars.

 

[PSX]

Wow, the costs youve quoted are staggering.. I would start as suggested, look under the seat, clean up any corrosion on the plug for the airbag ECU and reconnect. Use VAGCOM to clear fault codes and see if they reappear.

If they do.. a second hand ECU should not cost much at all. I would be surprised if the sensors are knacked if they weren't water-damaged?

Alex

 

[Mewcenary]

I have cleared the faults previously. The 2 x impact sensors come back immediately. The Airbag 65535 error clears but seems to come back in a day or so when I re-check the codes.

The dealer says they have inspected the wiring etc and not found any issues.

A lot of water did get in under the seats, enough for all the lights on the center console to go into full-on Christmas tree mode at the time.

 

[Mewcenary]

On this note, any particular Internet-type sites I should be using to track down the parts? I have the part numbers now. Have looked on eBay. I think getting the side impact sensors replaced first makes the most sense as they DEFINITELY got wet.

 

[Azza_]

i would have thought airbag ecu first as this is on the floor where water gets to most, if its busted then itll say the sensors are busted too as it hasnt really got a clue what day it is

 

[akchappers]

Just be carefull on sensors they aren't all the same!
Mine the blue one and the black one I got off someone off here. Totally different connection
Ak

 

[akchappers]

Ak

 

[Mewcenary]

Just be carefull on sensors they aren't all the same!
Mine the blue one and the black one I got off someone off here. Totally different connection
Ak

Thanks for that. I presume if the part numbers match, they will be the same one i.e. colour though?

 

[Mewcenary]

i would have thought airbag ecu first as this is on the floor where water gets to most, if its busted then itll say the sensors are busted too as it hasnt really got a clue what day it is

Is this right? I haven't looked myself but I thought the airbag ECU was somewhere behind the center console, ahead of the gear lever?

 

[ko_racer]

Yes airbag ecu is attached to tunnel behind the centre console, pretty much next to the bulkhead.

If the airbag ecu is a 6q0 909 605 A, I've got one you can have for free if you cover the postage cost. Took it out of my car when I built it as a race car and it's been sat in a box with a ton of other bits for ages. I can't be arsed with ebay, too much hassle.

 

[Mewcenary]

Yes airbag ecu is attached to tunnel behind the centre console, pretty much next to the bulkhead.

If the airbag ecu is a 6q0 909 605 A, I've got one you can have for free if you cover the postage cost. Took it out of my car when I built it as a race car and it's been sat in a box with a ton of other bits for ages. I can't be arsed with ebay, too much hassle.

Looks like it might be a match. The dealer estimate has the code: S1C0909605A01L on there. I'll plug it into VCDS later as I presume that will spit out the code too?

I presume I would need to recode your ECU though? Can I do that with VCDS and the standard dongle? Their article mentions it has to be a the 'professional grade' one...

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/cars/airbag-coding.html

 

[Azza_]

i always thought the airbag ecu was under the seat thats why it causes hell when it gets wet, never mind ill get back under my rock! haha

 

[aymen_a22]

Right I can shed some light here.

I have had the same issue as you.

The car flooded and then the AB light came on.

I tried scanning the car with an old version of VCDS and I bricked the ECU (65535 error code) as it was not supported by that verson of VCDS.

These were the codes I got:

Control Module Part Number: 1C0 909 605 A
Component and/or Version: 1L AIRBAG VW51 0A 0004
Software Coding: 12620
Work Shop Code: WSC 06441

2 Faults Found:
65535 - Internal Control Module Memory Error
00-00 - -
01222 - Crash Sensor Side Airbag; Passenger Side (G180)
37-00 – Faulty


Basically the only way to remove the 65535 error is to either get a new ECU or do what I did which was to send the ECU off to a specialist to clear the error.

I also had to get a new crash sensor.

The part number on the side was 6Q0 909 605 A but there is a hidden "index" that you cannot see. If the dealer told you that YOUR part number was S1C0909605A01 then your index is "01" (the bit after the A)

There is a second way to find it.

My part number as 6Q0 909 605 A 0A. If you look above at my ECU information it says:

"Component and/or Version: 1L AIRBAG VW51 0A 0004"

The 0A after VW51 is MY index.


If you replace it with a different index you will get a different error code which will still leave the airbag light on.

The hardest thing is getting a cheap used part that has the index because most have been taken off cars and the owner has no idea what the index is.


This might be confusing but its the best I can do. Hope it helps.

 

[jake]

If an air bag light illuminates and goes out it's an mot pass
If it illuminates and stays on its a fail
If it never illuminates in the first place it's a pass.

Just saying

 

[akchappers]

Guess it's a no brainer... If you can't fix it before the mot then remove the bulb....
Ak

 

[jake]

Let's face it. The cars on 200 thousand.

The other thing would be to use resistors in there. But with the age and Mike's spending that much money on it is silly.

 

[Mewcenary]

Let's face it. The cars on 200 thousand.

The other thing would be to use resistors in there. But with the age and Mike's spending that much money on it is silly.

It's certainly looking that way.

For those that replied regarding taking the bulb out, you can't do that, as the absence of the self-check light coming on in the first place is also an MOT fail.

 

[jake]

turst me, if the bulb never comes on, they can advise on it but its not a fail !!!