Air Bag Warning Light!

Talk about the 406's electrical system, what wires do what, how to add extra functionality, etc.

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Steveo
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Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by Steveo »

Hi Gents

I own a 1998 2.1TD Exec.

This afternoon, out of the blue, my airbag dash warning light came on for the first time ever (since I've had car - about 5 months). It happened on starting the car, rather than mid-journey.

First the light was flashing for about 5/10 minutes, and then came on continuously. Next time I drove car again it happened again.

Does anyone know how to address this most simply/cheaply please? I don't care if light is simply turned off permanently, but if this is possible, will it also disable the bags functionality?

Reading the Peugeot handbook it seems to say that the airbags are guaranteed to last 10 years, but after that they may be a liability, and should be replaced!!!

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks

Steve
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plod
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Re: Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by plod »

You can't disable the light as far as the MOT is concerned, so HAS to be fixed

Sometimes it's as simple as a bad connection under the seats, and a bit of a wiggle has been known to fix it
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lozz
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Re: Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by lozz »

Ive noticed afew people still getting through mot with air bag light missing
jasper5
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Re: Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by jasper5 »

lozz wrote:Ive noticed afew people still getting through mot with air bag light missing

Some of the new regs have been delayed, not sure if airbag warning is one, but It might be.
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Gary406
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Re: Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by Gary406 »

go under the seats. usually theres an orange plug that goes from the airbag system to the seatbelt pre tensioners.
unplug this plug and keep plugging it on and off . i bet the problem lies here.

i get it all the time in my 1.9td ... after i reconnect them there fine. i bent the 2 pins slightly insode so it makes a tighter contact.

give it a try . but i definately wouldnt be turning it off the wrong way. its on for a reason and its best to find out why and fix it . because if that light is on the airbags will not deploy if you have accident .
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peugeot406v6
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Re: Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by peugeot406v6 »

I had exactly the same symptoms on mine; checked the plugs under the seats but they had already been removed and the connections soldered. I took it to my local garage who have a clued-in code reader operator at sensible rates. He diagnosed: 'seatbelt pretensioner no.2 faulty'. Assuming (correctly) that this meant the passenger seat, I sourced one from Ebay for £10.
Asthe seat had to come out anyway to have the 'bum warmer' replaced, it was easy to get at the pretensioner after removing the plastic trim. (one Torx screw) although you could do it easily by unbolting the seat and leaning it rather than removing it completely. As the soldered connectors had been parted on removing the seat, I decided to check the continuity of the orange lead that goes from the plug and socket on the pretensioner. This checked out OK, so I plugged and unplugged the connection a few times, re-did the soldered joints, reconnected the battery and switched on. Bingo!! Airbag light comes at at startup, then goes off as it should! - so my spare pretensioner wasn't needed.
I should say that it's good sense to disconnect the battery and wait at least 30 mins before playing with airbag connections - just in case; and make sure you have the radio code first!
Seems to me that more and more we are dependent on the code readers for 'warning light' faults like these; not that long ago I had an ABS fault which was correctly diagnosed as the ABS ECU - I wouldn't have found that with my test meter!!
Steveo
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Air Bag Warning Light - Bingo!! (and broken seat warmer)

Post by Steveo »

Many thanks for your advice Gents - sure enough had a wiggle with the orange connector block under the passenger seat and Bingo, sorted!! That put a huge smile on my face on wet miserable Monday morning!

Oh, and as mention was made of the bum warmers, the one on the driver's side doesn't work.... Any idea where to start looking to try and fix it?

Are the (leather) seats virtually impossible to get in to - and put back together in one piece too? As well as broken bum warmer on my side, the passenger seat has an annoying rattle (possibly a spring) inside it, which stops if you apply pressure to the top of it with your hand, so if there's a known 'way in' to these seats, that would be great to know about.

Many thanks again.

Cheers

Steve
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DaiRees
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Re: Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by DaiRees »

I know NeilDavies replaced the heating element in the drivers seat of his coupe, completely different seats of course but the same principle so it must be possible... :?
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Playtime_Fontayne wrote:"Dai Rees Supplier of Fine Automobilia. Established 2007"
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midsmike
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Re: Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by midsmike »

Where do u get new 1s from
1998 peugeot 406 2.1 td executive saloon silver,d9 mods 18" dare v2 alloys In Phase XTC 6.5″ 240W Component Speakers up front and Vibe Slick 6x9 Three Way Speakers - Slick 693 in the rear runing off a Alpine MRV-F307 V12 Series amp and a vibe cbr 12 twin evo sub in the boot. 1998 peugeot 406 2.1 td lx saloon red
Steveo
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Seat heaters

Post by Steveo »

Thanks Dai

Can you tell me what's Neil Davies' handle/username to send a PM please?

Cheers

Steve
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DaiRees
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Re: Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by DaiRees »

Yes, its "neildavies" :wink: Here he is: memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=43

He's gone over to the dark side some time ago but he'll still be happy to help... :lol: :lol:
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Playtime_Fontayne wrote:"Dai Rees Supplier of Fine Automobilia. Established 2007"
Steveo
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Re: Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by Steveo »

Thanks Dai ;-)

Steve
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plod
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Re: Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by plod »

I believe there are step by step guides over on the coupe club reference heating elements
1999 D8.5 HDi GLX - Sold :(

2007 Mondingo Zetec - I seek forgiveness :( Bring back my 406
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Re: Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by peugeot406v6 »

Regarding 'bum warmers', there is actually a back warmer and a bum warmer in each seat. As they are wired in series if one goes, neither works.
IIRC, the connectors are brown, so first thing to test is if you have power arriving at the seat.
NB!!!! - it's no use just turning the ignition on and pressing the seat heater switch - the engine MUST be running before the power is supplied; I suppose it must be to prevent a flat battery?
The connector from the bum pad to the back pad can be felt under the bottom of the seat at the back - possible with mirror but easier with seat loose. If you disconnect you can then meter the back heater separately. Each element has a resistance in single figures of ohms, so you need an accurate meter. If you get an open circuit though , the element is kaputt.
I'm not sure if new pads are still available from Peugeot; they are still shown on the parts site and are very expensive, I think over £100 each! There are universal kits available on Ebay for about £70 - that's for two seats, bum and back, plus switches and wiring, I think. You'd need to check about the resistance if you were only swopping one, and you might need to rewire the connectors to match the Pug ones, plus you'd have a lot left, but maybe two people could share a set?
I was lucky to get four pads (two seats-worth) of gen. Pug. coupe ones for daft money on Ebay several years ago. They are not quite the same shape as the saloon ones but they fit and the wiring is the same.
I didn't fancy tackling a leather seat, so I took seat and pad to 'Terry the Trim', who had it done by the next day; it cost £60 for fitting, but I reckon it was worth it as he also repaired a loose rear panel.
He's located near Wigan in N.W. England - if you want his contact details, please ask!
Steveo
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Re: Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by Steveo »

Peugeot406v6

Many thanks for that expansive reply.... much appreciated!!

Cheers

Steve
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