Air Bag Light

pastorscott · April 19, 2007

On my 04 burb, the air bag light came on for a long time ( a few days). as to be expected when I took it to the dealer it went off. When I took it home it came back on. question ?

the dealer told me they cant check it out unless the light is on ( is that true)

also is it unsafe with the light on ( will the air bag not work ) ??

thanks guys

Scott

GDSQDCR · April 19, 2007

Scott

I dont think your airbag will work if the light is on. That is my understanding of the warning light. Something is wrong with the syste causing the system not to work; hence the light.

Does the main computer stores codes for the airbag? Or doesn't OnStar have the ability to run a diagnostic on the truck as you are driving down the road? I peronally don't have the OnStar turned on; but, you might.

My 1/2 cent worth of info.

Thanks!

Anthony

Trouttrooper · April 19, 2007

Put a piece of electrical tape over the light....kidding. I was told pretty much the same thing on my Impala air bag light. It doesn't throw a code for them to look at later so unless it's on they can't diagnosis it. My Impala's light was on for about a month, now it's been off for about a month so I haven't done anything more with it.

With the light on it's about as unsafe as any pre-airbag vehicle, nothing more nothing less.

First thing to check is the connections at the sensors to make sure they aren't corroded. I was told that's usually what causes an intermittant air bag light.

tflessner · April 19, 2007

First thing to check is the connections at the sensors to make sure they aren't corroded. I was told that's usually what causes an intermittant air bag light.

I would suggest checking all the connections also. My airbag light came on also, I checked under the passenger seat (sensor under there senses the weight of the passenger) and the connection under the seat was loose. I plugged it back in, and the dash light went off!

I hope your issue was as simple as mine. Good luck.

Draenor · April 19, 2007

First thing to check is the connections at the sensors to make sure they aren't corroded. I was told that's usually what causes an intermittant air bag light.

I would suggest checking all the connections also. My airbag light came on also, I checked under the passenger seat (sensor under there senses the weight of the passenger) and the connection under the seat was loose. I plugged it back in, and the dash light went off!

I hope your issue was as simple as mine. Good luck.

If you are going to check connections and what not. Please discharge the system. Unplug the battery wait 30minutes, that way you dont set the system off.

Song · April 19, 2007

I had an 02 Silverado that did the light deal. I took the bulb out of the cluster and put the steering wheel from an 87 Silverado on it. I'm not a airbag fan to begin with. I'm not a fan of amy of the liberal goverment devices forced upon me.

bryanhunt · April 19, 2007

Okay here's the low down on airbags and airbag controllers (I've worked on and with them in ford, gm, toyota, honda, and chrysler for 5 years from the upfitter and also manufacturing side).

First off if the airbag light is on you should definately get it checked.

Second an airbag light that is on doesn't mean the airbag won't deploy (the chance of you ever getting into a situation of an airbag not deploying when it should is close to never, just remember they're designed to not deploy if they don't have to). While the light means that the controller can't guarentee that the system will work the way it is supposed to, what that means in real life is that since the default behavior is to deploy the airbag, there may be an increased chance of it deploying when it isn't supposed to (although you could have as severe a problem as the controller not being connected to the airbags, you just don't know if you don't check on it).

Third the autocompanies have pushed for airbags in an effort to out compete each other in safety ratings, its only after they've almost become standard has the government mandated them (a similar thing is happening with stability controls). The alternative is four and six point harnesses... which if you have definately remove the airbags they'll do more harm in that situation.

Fourth. Your dealership may not be able to check the fault if its not active... but the DTCs are stored and can be checked.

Fifth. Airbags can be set off with a AA battery or a static spark from your hand. They are nothing you want to mess around with. I have seen footage (internal security camera at the upfitter I worked for) of a guy getting kicked end over end from the driver's airbag out the back of the hatch in a minivan (seats removed). Think about it this way, an airbag is designed to deploy faster than you are flung forward (the same speed you're going of course) when your car hits a solid wall.

Sixth. Sensors you can check the connections on... but I wouldn't recommend digging into the dash or into a seat with side impact airbags. Common sensor problems are a) seat track (senses how far you are from the dash/wheel) which is located under the seat with the connector there or in the carpet, b) the ODS system (under the passenger seat or by the kick pannel c) seat belt switches (also located under the seat or in the carpet where the harness comes out). Just a word of caution some vehicles have explosive seat belt pretensioners that act the same way the airbags do. So if for some reason your hand happens to be around where the belt is it could hurt you if you set it off, though if you keep away from the belt all it will do is make you deaf for half the day.

Seventh. If ever you are around an airbag that has gone off don't breath the dust and make sure to wash your eyes out immediately if you get anything in them.

Rolandd · April 20, 2007

I had an 02 Silverado that did the light deal. I took the bulb out of the cluster and put the steering wheel from an 87 Silverado on it. I'm not a airbag fan to begin with. I'm not a fan of amy of the liberal goverment devices forced upon me.

Nothing is perfect, but the airbags do save lives and substantially reduce injuries. That's not the government, that's just statistics (most of my family is in health care, not insurance or gov't.). To each their own, though. I certainly do my share of things that others would judge as not safe.

Spot · May 17, 2007

My airbag light came on after I hit the dashboard. It was raining pretty hard here (GTA) on Tuesday evening. My wipers just stopped working, and I hit the top of the dashbaord and the airbag light came on. My wipers are working again, but the light is still on. Yes, I have hit the dashboard again hoping it would go off

firefighteremt3100 · May 18, 2007

I realize my experience may be somewhat rare, but I will toss it in here for a possible solution anyway. I had this problem and I posted about it. Not sure where exactly but if you do a search for Airbag light, you should see my post. My light kept coming on and going off, but only when I was going through carwashes or in heavy rains. Turns out the grommet in my drivers door had a hole in it and was letting water follow into my cab, on the floor and corroded the wiring near the kick panel. I gutted my truck to dry it out, and had the wiring all fixed up. I havent had that problem anymore.