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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Simonmitchell
Newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2021 2:04 pm

Re: Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by Simonmitchell »

What a brilliant forum.

Just bought a 406 Coupe and the Air Bag light started flashing and then stayed on.

No manual with the car so Googled and found you guys.

One suggestion was the wiring under the passenger seat so I did some amateur sleuthing and found a couple of wires which I wiggled in the hope it would do something significant...

it did, the light problem is gone and I am one happy bunny.

Thanks Team.

ps I think mine is quite rare, it's automatic, 2.0 litre and only 52,000 miles on the clock.

What a motor, I am so impressed with it. Do any of you have one? Do you like it?
GingerMagic
3.0 24v
Posts: 3569
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2012 9:02 pm
Location: Bournemouth

Re: Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by GingerMagic »

I've had diesel estates for many years, but I was offered a V6 manual Coupe a few years back.
I really liked it, but I've just sold it on as I don't use it enough and it's not practical enough for what I need, so I've bought another diesel estate instead :cheesy:
2003 2.2hdi estate - mine
1998 Volvo 940 auto estate - also mine
2019 Citroen C3 something - the wife's
PP2000 user, can help with faults / diagnostics in the Bournemouth area.
kandrew
Newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2021 1:08 am

Re: Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by kandrew »

Hi,

I’m a new member, from Australia.

In my first 406, not long after I had purchased it, the airbag warning light came on and stayed on. In my state, NSW, annual inspections are required on vehicles aged 5 years and over, and as that inspection was fast approaching, I had to get it fixed quickly.

Stupidly, I went to the local dealership. They diagnosed the problem as a faulty driver’s seat belt stalk - and as I had to have it replaced for the annual inspection, I gave them the approval to go ahead. Some $500. That fixed the problem. For about a week.

I took the car back and told them that they needed to fix it under warranty. But no, this time they diagnosed the problem with the passenger side seat belt stalk! Curiously, this stalk was about $75 cheaper than the driver’s side one, but it was still expensive!

Problem sorted. So I thought.

Two weeks later, the problem reappeared. I took the car back and they diagnosed the driver’s side stalk again. They couldn’t understand what was going on.

I went searching for a real mechanic. I told him the story and he began searching for answers.

Very quickly he found many people reporting that the problem was with the orange connector under the driver’s seat and that they had fixed the problem by removing the original connector and soldering a new one in place.

That was in 2008. I have never seen the airbag light come on, other than at the time of the ignition switch being turned on since then.

$900 plus for the dealership to fail to rectify the problem.
Less than $100 for a real mechanic to properly fix it.

Cheers,
Andrew
Currently:
’03 406 HDi; ’99 406 HDi; ’07 307 XSE SW HDi; ’02 306 2.0 16V Cabriolet; ’83 505 SR Familial

Previously:
’65 404; ’72 Renault 16TS; ’70 1.8 504; ’78 2.0 (Australian spec) 504 GL; ’76 2.0 LTI (Australian spec) 504 ’84 SR 505 Familial; ’82 604 V6SL (converted to 2.3 XD2S); ’99 306 16V Cabriolet
frog
2.0 Turbo
Posts: 378
Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2014 12:18 pm
Location: Netherlands

Re: Air Bag Warning Light!

Post by frog »

By chance, the same happened to me yesterday. After a short stop, the air bag light went on and there was a message on the MFD. Found this topic on the forum, so dived under the front seats to find that the yellow-orange plug of the passenger seat was unplugged.

Put it back in and after a few engine starts, the air bag light did not come on again.

Under the front passenger seat I have a 12V --> 220V converter (so that the kids can charge their ipads; who wants to look outside the windows these days :cheesy: ) Probably took out plug by accident while reaching down to switch the converter off.
Current "fleet":
2003 406 Estate 2.0HDi 110 - 7 seater - just hit 690.000 kms :cheesy:
2001 Citroen Saxo 1.6i 8v 100

Previously owned:
2000 406 Sedan 2.0 HDi 90
2000 406 Coupé 2.0i 16v 138 - Riviera Blue

PP2000 user, can help with faults / diagnostics in the Netherlands.
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