airbag fault, any ideas?

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Grindheim98
480 Newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2020 4:55 am

airbag fault, any ideas?

Post by Grindheim98 » Sat Feb 15, 2020 3:02 pm

hello, i have a volvo 480 with the srs light on. the fault code i read was 2-1-2...

Steering wheel module: open circuit in wiring was what i could find this code was for.

checked the resistance in the steering wheel airbag but could not get any messurements? anyone knows how to test this better or a way to repair? :D

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jamescarruthers
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 2501
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2003 3:19 pm
Location: Cambridge

Re: airbag fault, any ideas?

Post by jamescarruthers » Sat Feb 15, 2020 4:41 pm

Clockspring?
1987 Volvo 480 ES, 507274, 217 - Red (Ness)
2006 Citroen C6 Exclusive 3.0 petrol/LPG
2008 Mini Cooper convertible (Mau)

Previous 480's:
J123 CFU -- ES
J449 MNL -- ES auto
D864 CPV -- ES
L691 JFC -- Turbo
F70 MNR -- ES
H858 FGV -- Turbo auto
E981 KHM -- ES (509849)

Grindheim98
480 Newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2020 4:55 am

Re: airbag fault, any ideas?

Post by Grindheim98 » Sat Feb 15, 2020 4:52 pm

i think so to... because of it beeing defective i might not be able to messure the resistance?

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jamescarruthers
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 2501
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2003 3:19 pm
Location: Cambridge

Re: airbag fault, any ideas?

Post by jamescarruthers » Sat Feb 15, 2020 6:22 pm

I guess it depends where you are measuring from? If you've took the airbag off the steering wheel then you'll be measuring the airbag directly, without the clockspring. I don't know what resistance the airbag is supposed to have; hopefully someone else can help with that.

On many cars, once the SRS light is activated, even if you fix the problem, then the light stays on until reset by a computer. Again, not 100% with the 480 as I've mainly had the older ones. 

I think Rachel had a new clock spring from somewhere and Will (Jaster) has disabled his SRS light with a resistor to fool the system into thinking the airbag is installed when it isn't. I think Arthuy was breaking a later car with SRS so he might have a replacement clockspring for sale. 

Good luck. ‎
1987 Volvo 480 ES, 507274, 217 - Red (Ness)
2006 Citroen C6 Exclusive 3.0 petrol/LPG
2008 Mini Cooper convertible (Mau)

Previous 480's:
J123 CFU -- ES
J449 MNL -- ES auto
D864 CPV -- ES
L691 JFC -- Turbo
F70 MNR -- ES
H858 FGV -- Turbo auto
E981 KHM -- ES (509849)

Alan 480
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 1489
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:03 am
Location: Aberdeen

Re: airbag fault, any ideas?

Post by Alan 480 » Sat Feb 15, 2020 9:30 pm

as we'd say this neck of woods

Ca vanny, or be careful how you do tests as it might trigger the ruddy thing!!!!

I can't remember how much voltage it takes to detonate, and what voltage your multimeter uses to check resisitance. . . . . .

NB you don't need to use a resistor to keep the light out, just pull the bulb :wink:

obviously this defeats the point in having an air-bag :crazy:
Alan

480 ES 2litre 'Celebration' ? , C30 1.8ES, SS1

arthuy
Advanced 480 rookie
Posts: 562
Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2016 8:02 pm

Re: airbag fault, any ideas?

Post by arthuy » Sun Feb 16, 2020 11:24 pm

I had the this problem after changing the steering rack.

You can see if the spring is broken, remove the wheel cover. Insert the clamp screw as per the instruction on the ribbon.

If you turn the wheel too much when disconnected from the rack it breaks like an old childs toy, which is what I did.

If you are working on or near air bags you need leave the battery off to avoid accidental detonation.

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brinkie
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Re: airbag fault, any ideas?

Post by brinkie » Mon Feb 17, 2020 8:25 am

If you don't mind to have a non-working airbag, pull the SRS bulb. Not having an SRS warning light is no MOT failure. Read this:

https://mattersoftesting.blog.gov.uk/co ... t-testers/
2. Supplementary Restraint Systems (SRS) lamps
When testing SRS MIL (Malfunction Indicator Light) lamps we are only looking to see if the lamp indicates if there is a fault with the system. If no lamp is present or it doesn’t illuminate then it can’t indicate a system fault, so it can’t be failed. Some vehicles may also incorporate warning messages on dash board displays; these are in addition to any MIL lamps and should not be used as a reason for rejection.

Where passenger air bags are present it is also often possible to disarm them, or they may automatically disarm where there is little or no weight on the passenger seat. This may be accompanied by a lamp permanently on to highlight the airbag has been disarmed, this is not considered a SRS MIL, and therefore isn’t a reason for rejection.
Robert.

Present cars: 1994 Volvo 480 GT 2.0i, 1999 Volvo S70 2.5 Europa, 2010 Volvo V70 2.0F Momentum

Alan 480
480 Is my middle name
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Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:03 am
Location: Aberdeen

Re: airbag fault, any ideas?

Post by Alan 480 » Mon Feb 17, 2020 5:51 pm

brinkie wrote:
Mon Feb 17, 2020 8:25 am
If you don't mind to have a non-working airbag, pull the SRS bulb. Not having an SRS warning light is not an MOT failure.
I didn't want to be quite so blunt . . . .. . . . :wink:
Alan

480 ES 2litre 'Celebration' ? , C30 1.8ES, SS1

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jamescarruthers
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 2501
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2003 3:19 pm
Location: Cambridge

Re: airbag fault, any ideas?

Post by jamescarruthers » Mon Feb 17, 2020 6:32 pm

1987 Volvo 480 ES, 507274, 217 - Red (Ness)
2006 Citroen C6 Exclusive 3.0 petrol/LPG
2008 Mini Cooper convertible (Mau)

Previous 480's:
J123 CFU -- ES
J449 MNL -- ES auto
D864 CPV -- ES
L691 JFC -- Turbo
F70 MNR -- ES
H858 FGV -- Turbo auto
E981 KHM -- ES (509849)

jifflemon
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 2464
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2016 11:03 am

Re: airbag fault, any ideas?

Post by jifflemon » Mon Feb 17, 2020 6:52 pm


User avatar
jamescarruthers
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 2501
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2003 3:19 pm
Location: Cambridge

Re: airbag fault, any ideas?

Post by jamescarruthers » Mon Feb 17, 2020 6:55 pm

I know, I know...........!
1987 Volvo 480 ES, 507274, 217 - Red (Ness)
2006 Citroen C6 Exclusive 3.0 petrol/LPG
2008 Mini Cooper convertible (Mau)

Previous 480's:
J123 CFU -- ES
J449 MNL -- ES auto
D864 CPV -- ES
L691 JFC -- Turbo
F70 MNR -- ES
H858 FGV -- Turbo auto
E981 KHM -- ES (509849)

Alan 480
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 1489
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:03 am
Location: Aberdeen

Re: airbag fault, any ideas?

Post by Alan 480 » Mon Feb 17, 2020 7:56 pm

jifflemon wrote:
Mon Feb 17, 2020 6:52 pm
:shock:
but this is ONLY for the spring?

it could be a whole range of reasons, my (and Brinkie's) don't really fix the problem, they just hide it . . .. . ;)

but as a former three wheeler (and existing SS1) driver I'm used to taking calculatedrisks, . . .. .
airbags, seat-belt pretensioners, side impact bars, roll-over protection . . . .you name it the SS1 doesn't have them :hopping:
Alan

480 ES 2litre 'Celebration' ? , C30 1.8ES, SS1

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jamescarruthers
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 2501
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2003 3:19 pm
Location: Cambridge

Re: airbag fault, any ideas?

Post by jamescarruthers » Mon Feb 17, 2020 8:01 pm

Obviously he should be sure of the clockspring being the issue before sticking £100 down the drain! I'm just pointing out that a rarely available part is available new. ‎
1987 Volvo 480 ES, 507274, 217 - Red (Ness)
2006 Citroen C6 Exclusive 3.0 petrol/LPG
2008 Mini Cooper convertible (Mau)

Previous 480's:
J123 CFU -- ES
J449 MNL -- ES auto
D864 CPV -- ES
L691 JFC -- Turbo
F70 MNR -- ES
H858 FGV -- Turbo auto
E981 KHM -- ES (509849)

User avatar
brinkie
480 Connoisseur
Posts: 857
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:20 am
Location: The Netherlands
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Re: airbag fault, any ideas?

Post by brinkie » Tue Feb 18, 2020 2:57 pm

Alan 480 wrote:
Mon Feb 17, 2020 5:51 pm
brinkie wrote:
Mon Feb 17, 2020 8:25 am
If you don't mind to have a non-working airbag, pull the SRS bulb. Not having an SRS warning light is not an MOT failure.
I didn't want to be quite so blunt . . . .. . . . :wink:
Obviously, it is by far the cheapest option. :lol:
Robert.

Present cars: 1994 Volvo 480 GT 2.0i, 1999 Volvo S70 2.5 Europa, 2010 Volvo V70 2.0F Momentum

GCooper
Started learning about 480
Posts: 98
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2020 7:54 pm

Re: airbag fault, any ideas?

Post by GCooper » Tue Aug 24, 2021 12:14 pm

jamescarruthers wrote:
Sat Feb 15, 2020 4:41 pm
Clockspring?
You might have just saved me because my diagnostics box is broken and my SRS light is on
'94 Volvo 480 GT (project)
'98 BMW Z3 (daily)

JohnO
480 Newbie
Posts: 46
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2004 12:59 pm
Location: Lanarkshire, Scotland
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Re: airbag fault, any ideas?

Post by JohnO » Sun Aug 29, 2021 1:18 pm

I had the same fault after disconnecting the steering wheel airbag. I'd driven about with it disconnected until I got to the bottom of an intermittent wiper problem.

After connecting the wheel back up using the green plug, I erased the error using the procedure here http://www.am.torun.pl/~ja/volvo/diagno ... stem.shtml


It took a few goes right enough

John
JohnO
Central Scotland
M ybw Celebration 51/480 just adopted from fellow member
F ggg Black 480 es 1989 - garaged for 20 years, rotten arches

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