Flashing Airbag light

[stev306]

Hello!

I'm new here, having recently acquired an R reg 1.4 306 in need of a few jobs. I thought they were all fairly straight forward but I am coming to you all with my first conundrum....

As per the subject title, My airbag light has started flashing. The thing is, it started doing it on completing a power steering rack replacement :-s. I have read about pre tensioner wiring and can see no issues there. I wonder two things...

Is it possible I have damaged the connection (a coiled ribbon connector I believe?) to the airbag that allows the steering wheel to spin, possibly while disconnecting the column from the rack if the column moved upward at all?

OR according to the Haynes manual the airbag module has a battery for remembering it's coding to the car or something, when the main battery is disconnected(?) I had the battery disconnected for a while as I was also sorting out the starter motor wiring. Is it possible the airbag backup power in a 17ish year old 306 is dead, and so now the car doesn't recognise the airbag?

Any thoughts and suggestions would be much appreciated!

Cheers,

Steve

[stev306]

Hello again,

I've double checked the wiring under the front seats, tightened up the female side of the connectors, and can see no other problems in this area. It does seem it has come about as a result of my changing the steering rack. That or it's a sickening coincidence :-s.

Can anyone please tell me if it is at all likely the rotary coupling (as I have discovered it is called) could be damaged the the 2/3mm play there was upward on the steering column as I disconnected it from the rack?

I also have noticed that after a few minutes of flashing airbag light it goes solid and just stays on. Does this tell me anything?

again, any thoughts or pointers much appreciated :-)

Thanks,

Steve

[cully]

you may have broken the "clock spring" or it may have become disconnected on the steering columb now the airbag ecu is showing a fault as the steering wheel bag is disconnected

maybe!

[cully]

where are you as there maybe someone local with peugeot planet diagnostic tools that will tell you whats faulty

[Eeyore]

Yeh get peugeot planet on it.

Cutting and soldering the wires for the pretensioners solved that problem for me back in the day but if you have been messing around with the steering then it could well be the steering air bag thats causing the problem. I think Ive had that problem too but it fixed itself one day!

As for the battery in for the air bag ecu? Ive left the battery out of my car for ages and it hasnt been a problem.

[stev306]

Cheers guys, I think it is the "clock spring" and I was planning on disconnecting it at both ends and testing it but I have found someone with a diagnostic tool so will wait until the weekend, when I can get to them.

I think I am also right in finding that if the module has logged a fault the light will remain until the code is cleared, even if the fault is fixed. We shall see....

I'll let you know

[cully]

peugeot airback ecu's only need reseting on activation
if it logs a disconection, when the fault is cleared on next ignition cycle the fault will clear without needing the reset

[stev306]

Finally got a chance to return!

Got a code reader on the car and discovered the fault was "drivers airbag squib". So a friend and I removed the airbag and the rotary coupler (and detached the two from each other) and then tested continuity through both sides of the coupler (Both sides of the coupler individually, end to end. NOT from one end with the airbag still attached). Nothing! :-s

I figured as it was broken I had nothing to lose, so we started to take it apart. We unclipped the connector that attaches the short cable, that plugs the airbag itself on to the rotary coupler, and slid it out of the side of the coupler. At this point the problem was obvious as we could see where the two "clock springs" should have been attached to this cable but had snapped off (I can only really guess that i somehow, at some point during the rack replacement, managed to over rotate the steering column but I am a little surprised, I can't think why or when :-s Also at each "lock" the coupler seems to have a stop point that is still effective so could it have been forced?).

With a small flat head screw driver and a fair bit of fiddling about we managed to find the two ends in the coupler and pull them out enough to re-solder to the cable, coil them back into the housing and clip the cable back on. We checked the continuity again, having spun the coupler lock to lock and back to central, and Bingo!

Re-installed and the light is gone!

In retrospect, taking photos as I went would have been handy but I didn't really set out dismantling it expecting to be able to fix it, so it didn't cross my mind

Still, anyone else out there with airbag light issues, might be one to check!

I know I mention this earlier in the post but just to re-iterate, as always seems to be mentioned on such topics, DON'T go near the airbag (or pre-tensioners) with a multimeter! I didn't check the continuity of the coupler across the airbag. I disconnected it from the system at both ends and then checked continuity of each side of the coupler individually. Just being sure, It wouldn't make me popular if my first thread on here resulted in someone setting off their airbag at my advice would it :-p

Steve

[toseland]

probably not.. but would be funny if they stuck the multimeter on and it inflated with its usual bang haha

nasty things explosives

[pug306driver]

probably not.. but would be funny if they stuck the multimeter on and it inflated with its usual bang haha

nasty things explosives

thanks for the heads up and the "clock springs "advise.........doing tracking today on home made tracking gauge ( just a really big capiler gauge really )m after replacing TRE's, when the missus gets back.....at least the sun is shining here!

when done will remove speedo and fit some new tell tale lights ( replace the missing ones, did you hear that you rat who sold me this car!! ) from scrappy.......hope airbag light fixes its self..........when we first looked at this car the dash lit up like a xmas tree and the battery was good......but when it was paid for and delivered all the problems started.........the rat had changed the battery and fiddled with the dash...........I've seen his missus drive a similar 306.....I believe I karma......... etc

[Bunhead5565]

I've had te same problem with the warning like coming on every so often. I spoke to my local garage and low and behold he owns a 306 gti and said to me to disconnect the ones under the seats clean em then re attach them. Once re attached lock em in place using silicon