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So I screwed up.
Whilst swivelling the swivel seat in the van I've twisted and consequently snapped the cables that are responsible for the airbag sensor thingy in the seat.
Cables have snapped from the plug that connects the chair to the van. Can't get the old cables out of the plug.
Airbag warning comes on when the ignition is one. Can I bodge the cables? Can I drive?
Get a new plug with a tail of cables on it from a breaker and join it to the old one.
Are you sure it's the sensor not the pretensioner though? I'd feel less comfortable soldering up the pretensioners
You can drive, don't crash.
It's a standard connector/plug on most cars.
Probably best spending some time finding the right one and making a long, sensibly routed and clipped patch cable of some sort.
It's probably only the pressure/proximity sensor in the seat cushion that's gone. So the car can't tell if you are there or not, so airbag will *probably* default to some sort of nominal deployment strategy in the event of an accident (because it can assume you are there if the car is moving).
Are the pretensioners even connected to the seat on a swivel chair?
No idea what pretensioners are.
It's the cables that run from the pressure pad (I assume).
Will switching off the airbag solve it?
Once the connections have all been remade don't be surprised if the warning light doesn't go off. The warning will probably need to be reset via software reset.
You'll most likely need a proper ODBC reader to reset the airbag once you've fixed it. Most can't do it as it's a safety system. Be aware, some other systems may not work properly, and it's a MOT fail.
Will switching off the airbag solve it?
No.
Fix the cable.
You'll have to properly repair the cable/connector, in Volvo parlance the SRS system will be looking for a certain resistance. Be careful if you are any way wanting to 'bell it out' / check continuity.
As above dealer level reset.
I'll go just to the nearest Fiat garage and see what happens.
How do you say "fix this" in French?
How do you say “fix this” in French?
Ma voiture est une Austin-Rover
Once the cable/connector is fixed, disconnect the battery and sit with foot on the brake for 5 minutes. Re-connect the battety, turn ignition on and airbag light will hopefully be off (worked in my trafic)
Some cars have 'built in' diagnostics to reset the airbag once fixed (my car does) but other's don't - I have an Autel ODBC reader that can do airbag and ABS faults.
Pretensioners are on the seat belt, they tension the seat belt up and remove any slack in the event of an accident so they lock faster and you move less before being restrained.
As for the airbag, get it repaired properly, they are dangerous things if the malfunction. I had one go off in the passenger seat when no one was sitting in the seat and I clipped a kerb at slow speed, it shouldn't have gone off but did and destroyed the seat. I couldn't see as the cabin filled with powder, luckily I was going slowly, knew the road well and there was a turn off a few yards further on which I pulled into blind.
No idea what pretensioners are.
Aren't they the parts which will turn you into Phineas Gage if you bugger about with them?
As for the airbag, get it repaired properly, they are dangerous things if the malfunction.
Airbags are surprisingly violent things, I had no idea. A young lad once stuffed a hot hatch into a wall next to where I was waiting for him to get his wheels back on the ground after a hump-backed bridge. It sounded like a bomb had gone off, my ears were ringing and I was in a different car.
Very firmly on my list of "take it to a garage," airbag systems.
If the seat isn't reporting you as there the Srs doesn't know your there the pretensioner is unlikely to fire.
Fix it -
Working on airbag systems isn't rocket science. Just remove the battery and let it rest for a while before going in. Its worked well for me over the years -largely because it's what a garage does.
But did I mention fixing the cable ? Unless of course you hate the passenger and want to make the death look like an accident
No idea about Fiat's specifically, but usably there's multiple looms.
Seatbelt sensor, pressure sensor and pretensioner (think... shotgun cartriage, in a gas ram, attached to the other end of the cable on the seatbelt buckle. A fraction of a second before the airbag ruins your day it goes off to make sure you're pulled back into the seat properly.
The idea is you hit the inflated airbag, then it's cushioning/deflation slows you down. Hitting one in the inflating phase would really hurt.
On the car's I've worked on it's been a 3-pin loom for the sensors and a separate 2-pin for the pretensioner. You shouldn't have an issue just extending the wires, but do make sure the battery has been disconnected for a decent while first, and keep your fingers well away from the pre-tensioner just in case.
358€ at a Fiat garage.
Might be more a bodge job.... Get an old cable from a breakers with a plug and splice it onto the snapped cable.
Van still drives, just gives a warning that the airbag needs looking at.
Never wanted a van with passenger airbag.... Could have used the space where the airbag is to grow some thyme and basil AND could swivel the seat any which way I pleased.
Unless of course you hate the passenger and want to make the death look like an accident
It's the GF.... Hate is perhaps a strong word, but it comes in waves.... Like you say, it only needs to look like an accident.... 😉