questions about airbag light?

[hemicanucksfan]

i had the airbag light come on today in the gauge cluster and stay on everytime i was in the car. i checked the fuses in the back and they seemed okay. i searched on here and found that there is a common problem with the clocksprings in '05s so i went out to the car to move the wheel position around to confirm or shoot down that theory. after moving the steering column all over, i found a spot where the light went out. i drove down the street and then moved the column back to the position i normally use and the light stayed off. if i'm correct, i assume this confirms a clockspring problem in the column.

now for my questions. after reading many of the threads dealing with this, i wasn't able to find any info as to whether or not this is a safety issue. if the airbag light is on, will the airbags operate properly or will they not? is it possible that the light is just an annoyance and the airbag system will operate as designed?

secondly, now that the light is off, is there a way to get it to come back on again before i take it to the dealer? if the light's not on, i can picture them telling me that they can't find a problem. i put the column back to the same position as when the light was on before, but it has not come back on yet.

thanks. cheers.

[typicalmarine]

so i went out to the car to move the wheel position around to confirm or shoot down that theory. after moving the steering column all over, i found a spot where the light went out. i drove down the street and then moved the column back to the position i normally use and the light stayed off

Please tell me how you did this. I have the same problem and its driving me nuts! Mine started when I took the seats out. Hasnt gone away since...............................

Thanks

[Smoove06CSRT]

there are 2 issues here..

in the first post... you could have a clock sprong issue, but more than likely it is a connector issue for the harness in the collumn that connects to the clock spring. there was a tsb for this i think. it just gives you a strain relief on the harness to keep it connected.. check out that connection first before replacing a clock spring. (you can wiggle the harness from under the dash to see if the light comes on)

2nd post..
if your car is an 05 or a very early 06 build, it could have a OCS weight sensor uncalibrated. these are ONLY ON THE PASSENGER side seat. the way to tell if you have this feature, is to see if you have a light on the dash above teh radio that says passenger aribag off. it you have one of these lights (and it works) you have the weight based system. if you remove the passenger seat and replace it or use the same one, your seat "ZERO" has been compromised and you need to take the car to the dealer to have it recalibrated. they use a tool we refer to as the "ASS-O-Meter"


Hope this helps....

don't forget to spread the beans around too!!

[hemicanucksfan]

helps a little. either of those issues will require a visit to the dealer. i'll give it a wiggle (the harness) and see if i can get the light to illuminate again.
unfortunately, it still leaves me wondering about the availability of the system. will the airbags deploy if the light is on?

[HemiHearse]

The steering column was replaced twice before I bought it and the light still comes on. I didn't know what a clock spring was until now. What position did you move it to for it to go off. Up? Down? In? Out?

[typicalmarine]

Thanks for the info..... Im going to have to get this checked out.

[hemicanucksfan]

The steering column was replaced twice before I bought it and the light still comes on. I didn't know what a clock spring was until now. What position did you move it to for it to go off. Up? Down? In? Out?

all over. i think it went out when i set it at the bottom and fully in.

[hemicanucksfan]

bump for more help on whether the bags will deploy.

[fnkychkn]

wether or not the airbags will deploy depends on the fault causing the warning lamp to illuminate. if the fault is a loss of communication with the driver airbag because of a clockspring issue, then the driver airbag will likely not deploy.

the only way to know for sure is to get it scanned.

[bandaid]

Thanks for the info..... Im going to have to get this checked out.

Dealer or somebody with Starscan can reinitialize the passenger side airbag. Should have been a warning sticker on the floor in front of the passenger seat.

[hemicanucksfan]

wether or not the airbags will deploy depends on the fault causing the warning lamp to illuminate. if the fault is a loss of communication with the driver airbag because of a clockspring issue, then the driver airbag will likely not deploy.

the only way to know for sure is to get it scanned.

thank you sir! i need to get this thing in soon. so if the light is off, they should deploy properly? thanks pete.