MOT fail airbag warning lamp

25th April 2013, 13:24

Hi there,

JustMOTs failed me on the dashboard airbag warning lamp the other day, which surprised me since it's been turned on for years. So then I came (like every year) to Saxperience to check out the situation and it turns out the airbag warning was made an automatic fail this year.

The fail code was: 001 (airbag) Supplementary Restraint System warning lamp indicates a fault [5.4.2]

I have been searching through the posts through a few hours and there isn't really one useful post on this, despite a few people suggesting 'let me google this for you' as an option.

I thought I'd collect a few of the more useful posts here, because surely this will become a much-asked question as more people get MOT-failed on it.

Here we go:

How Do you Make VTS AirBag Light Go Away?
http://www.saxperience.com/forum/sho...ght=airbag+mot

Slightly different case but with pix that might help:
Airbag underseat wiring...Help...(pic inside)
http://www.saxperience.com/forum/sho...ght=airbag+mot

Which resistor to use
http://www.saxperience.com/forum/sho...ght=airbag+mot

Seems like to diagnose the problem requires a special tool which costs £80 just to get the fault code - I'm not really sure what I'll do since the MOT runs out tomorrow and I wanted to use the car Saturday. I've checked the wires under the seats but they all seem fine - bypassing the fault seems like a good bodge so I'll probably try that, but then the airbag won't work (then again maybe it doesn't already!)

25th April 2013, 13:32

Take the light out. Problem solved, well for the mot anyway

25th April 2013, 13:38

Mine has a momo and passed with the light on just fine. Fit a momo and use that as an excuse should it fail because of it.

25th April 2013, 13:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by D4NNY-801

Take the light out. Problem solved, well for the mot anyway

That won't work if your tester is doing it correctly.

It needs to light up when ignition is turned on, then go out a few seconds later.

25th April 2013, 13:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon

That won't work if your tester is doing it correctly.

It needs to light up when ignition is turned on, then go out a few seconds later.

indeed this seems to be the case - its a new MOT requirement, came in this year

25th April 2013, 13:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by delves

indeed this seems to be the case - its a new MOT requirement, came in this year

My airbag light was only a advisory

25th April 2013, 13:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by m4tt274

Mine has a momo and passed with the light on just fine. Fit a momo and use that as an excuse should it fail because of it.

sorry what's a momo in this context? i'm googling it and they seem to make parts. if you're talking about a momo steering wheel i ain't doing that

25th April 2013, 13:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTuff

My airbag light was only a advisory

yeah there does seem to be some wiggle room here - i got an advisory for fuel filter loose, which was what they (same place) failed it on last yeat - leading to me having to faff around with the bloody blue plastic strap which no doubt has come loose again

25th April 2013, 13:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by delves

sorry what's a momo in this context? i'm googling it and they seem to make parts. if you're talking about a momo steering wheel i ain't doing that

He means his was passed with an aftermarket wheel, with no airbag.

It's all down to how picky the tester is.

25th April 2013, 14:15

i took clocks apart and put some black electrical tap over the airbag sign put back together job done takes 2 mins and is very nearly free

25th April 2013, 14:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by delves

yeah there does seem to be some wiggle room here - i got an advisory for fuel filter loose, which was what they (same place) failed it on last yeat - leading to me having to faff around with the bloody blue plastic strap which no doubt has come loose again

Those blue strap are an arse I used two cable ties job done

In regards to the light I have buckets seats with one harness and a sports steering wheel however my resistor packed up hence the light came on I will be replacing these for my retest

25th April 2013, 14:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by delves

sorry what's a momo in this context? i'm googling it and they seem to make parts. if you're talking about a momo steering wheel i ain't doing that

As in after market steering wheel.
OMP shown.

With a resistor under the seats and/or on the airbag connector the light usually goes out.

25th April 2013, 15:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom_vts16v

i took clocks apart and put some black electrical tap over the airbag sign put back together job done takes 2 mins and is very nearly free

The light has to come on then go off,for the car to pass its mot.Unless of course you remove all the airbag wiring ecu & then put an aftermarket steering wheel on.

25th April 2013, 18:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon

That won't work if your tester is doing it correctly.

It needs to light up when ignition is turned on, then go out a few seconds later.

Just passed my MOT test and it says nothing in the manual about the light having to be there, its only reason for rejection if its on. The light that is supposed to go on then off with the ignition is the abs light

25th April 2013, 18:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevo67

The light has to come on then go off,for the car to pass its mot.Unless of course you remove all the airbag wiring ecu & then put an aftermarket steering wheel on.

This is only now a pass if the car is a race car. If the vehicle is supposed to have a airbag then it needs to be there. In theory racing steering wheels will now fail since the end of march as its removing a factory fitted airbag

1st June 2013, 12:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by D4NNY-801

Just passed my MOT test and it says nothing in the manual about the light having to be there, its only reason for rejection if its on. The light that is supposed to go on then off with the ignition is the abs light

No i think Simon's right, it's new this year but the light has to come on and go off again...

Until now, for example, those with airbag lights that remain on while driving have passed because it's an issue that hasn't formed part of the safety inspection. Now drivers will no longer be able to simply remove the bulb, as it will have to be shown working when you turn on the ignition, and go out once it is started. It is a similar story for non-working speedometers and other electronic features such as stability control systems.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012...gher-mot-rules

1st June 2013, 12:57

I actually forgot to give an update on my MOT!

So i gave everything under the seats a good jiggle but the light remained on. I then checked what i needed for the bodge and went back to the car to go to Maplins. Lo and behold the light was off. My neighbour said "Take it down for the retest quick before it comes back on again!" That's what i did and it passed.

Hehe

Now a few months on, it seems to come on randomly - i guess it's connected to me moving the driver sat about. Anyway, I'm glad it's not a true fault but just a wiring issue.

Thanks as ever to Saxperience for getting me through the MOT!

2nd June 2013, 09:21

Airbag ecu under centre console.
Put resistors in each of the connections coming out.
Saves arsing about under seats and the like.

7th June 2013, 12:45

Hasnt anyone even thought about changing the pretensioner? If you havnt got an SRS scan tool to find the faulty part, you can use a resistor to find which side it is. Then fix it properly

7th June 2013, 13:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnyg_vts

Airbag ecu under centre console.
Put resistors in each of the connections coming out.
Saves arsing about under seats and the like.

Unplug the bloody thing.... Sorts it out

7th June 2013, 13:18

Some people havnt grasped the new MOT rules yet

...

If your car is designed to have an SRS system (i.e it has airbags or seat belt pretensioners) or ABS/ESC (i.e an ABS pump / wheel sensors)...

The warning lamp MUST come on with ignition and GO OFF to show the system is working without a known fault.

You CAN NOT cover the warning light or unplug the ECU cos the fact the light doesn't come on to show the system is active is an MOT failure anyway. (3.4.1 for ABS and 5.4.2 for SRS)

Obviously if you take it to an MOT centre and they don't notice and pass it, then youve got lucky... but you can say that for any fault they miss.

7th June 2013, 14:04

Isn't there an exemption for specialist cars such as race/rally cars etc?