peugeot 406 airbag light and ecu

Hi all,
How do you tell if the airbags on a 406 have been discharged?
The dash light indicates they have, but I'm not sure 100% as i have
been told disconnecting wires can cause this. The girl i bought it off
had a child seat in the front and assured me(hmmm...) that this is
what is causing the aitbag light to flash. Whilst i can't see any
loose connections, i'm no expert! Also, on another forum a member said
that you can tell a discharged airbag by the ecu near the belt pre-
tensioners (under the centre console). Apparently something will stick
out!?!!? Unfortunately he didn't elaborate!!
thanks in advance
rik

 

You wouldn't be able to miss a blown airbag. If you don't see white
powder all over the place and a huge fabric sack sticking out of the
steering wheel or dash, they aren't blown. It's not a matter of the
components being discharged (that's obvious if it's happened), but
whether the control module, squib(s) or related wiring is failing.

Please understand that if you don't know this basic of information,
then you are seriously underequipped to diagnose the airbag system
fault(s). Therefore I suggest that you take the car to a Peugeot
specialist with the proper scanner and experience to tell you what is
wrong. I've never even worked on *one* Peugeot product. They stopped
selling in the US when I was in middle school, and even then they were
rare.

A competent and properly equipped mechanic will tell you what is
wrong, how much to fix it, and be able to do it safely so the system
works properly in the case of an accident.

Toyota MDT in MO

 

By the fact the car's badly bent and there's a couple of limp bedsheets
hanging out the steering wheel and dash...

The light doesn't tell you they've gone off. It tells you there's a fault.

If those wires are related to the airbags or pretensioners, yep.

Crap. Unless the passenger airbag was disconnected. If it wasn't, the
dead child would be a clue as to any previous airbag deployment.

The airbag light is almost certainly down to damaged wiring under the
seats for the seatbelt pretensioners, unless she did have somebody
disconnect a passenger side bag.

 

FWIW, on my 206 the airbag lights occasionally come on complete with warning
message. Jiggling the multi-plugs in the area under the steering wheel near
the fuses makes it go away for several more months.

 

You wouldn't be able to miss a blown airbag. If you don't see white
powder all over the place and a huge fabric sack sticking out of the
steering wheel or dash, they aren't blown. It's not a matter of the
components being discharged (that's obvious if it's happened), but
whether the control module, squib(s) or related wiring is failing.

Please understand that if you don't know this basic of information,
then you are seriously underequipped to diagnose the airbag system
fault(s). Therefore I suggest that you take the car to a Peugeot
specialist with the proper scanner and experience to tell you what is
wrong. I've never even worked on *one* Peugeot product. They stopped
selling in the US when I was in middle school, and even then they were
rare.

A competent and properly equipped mechanic will tell you what is
wrong, how much to fix it, and be able to do it safely so the system
works properly in the case of an accident.

I quite agree, airbags are not things to be messing about with if you do not
*specifically* know what you are doing.

Tim..

 

Nah - they're easy. Disconnect the battery, then put the kettle on. By
the time you've sat down and had your cuppa and a natter, the bags are
safe.

Even better, you can charge the customer for your tea-break.

 

My 307 is having a similar problem. Its turns out it is the COM2000
box which is the switch box that sits behind the airbag on the
steering wheel which houses all the switches from the indicators to
wipers, to stereo controls and even headlight controls. The box is
damaged through wear and tear and the connections that power the
airbag runs through the COM2000 box. When I turn the wheel for the
first time after starting the engin, there is a slight disconnection
of tje power which causes the airbag light to turn on. This might be
the case folr you also. Could be a wiring issue. As soon as it
senses a slight power failure (even the slightest such as a
millisecond of power disconnection) the warning will appear. It might
well be some wiring under your seat also.
I hope it is as simple as that for you.
Dan.

 

This is a very common occurrence on the 406. Under each front seat there
is a connection to the seat belt pretensioners. Both mine have gone at
different times and, on each occasion, the Pug agent removed the naff
connectors and remade the joint with a soldering iron. Been right as
ninepence ever since. If someone has tried disabling the airbag system by
disconnecting the wires under the front seat then that would certainly cause
the warning light. I think you are going to have to get on your hands and
knees ;o)

 

Thanks all. Don't you love holier than thou yanks? US and UK-DIVIDED
BY A COMMON LANGUAGE

 

Well he was more help than you.

 

I think the clue is the girl had a baby seat on the passenger seat.
Therefore she disconnected the passenger airbag using the switch in
the centre console provided for this purpose. This puts the light on
as a reminder that the airbag is switched off. All you need do is use
the ignition key to switch the airbag back on.

 

Holier than thou yank... what? Correct me if I'm wrong, but you asked
how to tell if an airbag has been discharged, no? That's one of those
questions that leaves no doubt of your lack of SRS expertise - to put
it mildly. That said, just what kind of reply did you think *was*
going to be helpful?

I wouldn't think of posting to a television repair group asking "how
can I tell if my picture tube has imploded?" Besides much expected
derision, I would be lucky to receive a reply that explained what an
imploded picture tube entailed, and why I was out of my league in
regards to its repair i.e. seek professional help for an estimate and/
or a proper repair. Of course airbags are merely crash safety items;
perhaps they should be played with willy nilly, as no dire
consequenses could ever come from the ignorant butchering of said
equipment.

Toyota MDT in MO

 

As far as i'm aware, there's no switch in the centre console for the
airbag. Nothing is mentioned in the supplied handbook, but it is a 97
model

 

D'oh , obviously i wasn't talking about an airbag discharge that had
just occured. Surely that's obvious?! Yes i'm sure i do have of SRS
expertise (whatever that is). Why do you think i'm posting on this
newsgroup? Pretentiousness and superior know-it-all we can do without
thanks

 

IT'S MY POST BURK!!

 

In that case, it definitely sounds like the very common under seat wiring
problem (see my reply on 10/01/07)

 

Thanks Keith. Will have a look but seem to remember that there was no
loose wires, must look closer!!
cheers rich

 

you keep things that far back Keith?

 

You say this now to save face, but the original post stands in infamy
thanks to Usenet. For example, which idiot typed this: "How do you
tell if the airbags on a 406 have been discharged?
The dash light indicates they have, but I'm not sure 100% as i have
been told disconnecting wires can cause this." Tell me at least two
stupid things about your quote and I'll give you some credit. You've
had three days to think about it already.

You don't know what SRS stands for, yet from the best I can parse of
your childish type, it appears that you think you have the ability to
diagnose your airbag problem with a little internet help. Hmm. How's
it going so far? What's your time worth? Surely you possess some
expertise that makes you enough money to justify paying an expert to
FIX your car safely. Do it for the children, m'am!

You're welcome, though I was neither pretentious or "know-it-all-y".
Too bad so sad, but I know more about car repair than you likely ever
could even if you exerted a 100% effort towards the craft from now
until the day you died. Instead of believing an expert, it's obvious
you would rather belittle me for offering sage advice than fess up to
your own ignorance. Me so sorry I didn't point you to the exact
failure point in the system (having not looked at the car or received
accurate symptoms and preliminary test results). Here you go: the
driver's squib circuit is open. Run around in circles with that bit
of bullshit advice if it puts your stupid mind more at ease.

Here's a tip: check the resistance reading across your airbag and
pretensioner terminals with an analog ohmmeter.

Toyota MDT in MO

 

Jesus, your cage has been well and truly rattled hasn't it? Well i'm
sure you do know more about cars than i ever will. So what, does that
make you a superior being? Thanks for the advice, but you really must
get out more often