The airbag light in my Renault Megane has recently illuminated and now fails to extinguish (nothing has happened to the car). Any ideas as to how I can rectify the problem?
Thanks.
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Additional info regarding airbag light.
Does anyone know whether or not I could have caused this problem by hoovering under the drivers seat. I'm told that the airbag can be connected, via a wiring loom, to the underside of the drivers seat.
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Emma,
The airbag function is a serious safety issue so I would get this checked out. However on the Peugeot 306 there is a common problem with the under seat wiring faulting and causing the warning lamp to stay on. On these cars the seat needs removing to repair the connections.
If the Megane has a similar setup you could just have caught a connector that can be easily pushed back.
But do bear in mind any work on the airbag circuits needs undertaking with all the correct Renault procedures following to avoid accidental activation.
David
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Talking about "ACCIDENTAL ACTIVATION" Everyone should beware of FORMULE 1 "hotels in France. I went to one once and the loo ia a one piece plastic moulding. The whole room. Even the bog itself. (there is no separate seat)
There is a sign on the inside of the door which warns you to make sure it is locked, as this will prevent the "declachement accidentel" of the flushing mechanism which flushes the whole blooming room!!!!!!
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the warning light means the system has switched off and in the event of a collision the air bag will not operate. it may be because of a power supply problem - check relevant fuses using vehicle handbook. or it could mean a component of the system has become disconnected or it could mean module failure your local renault dealer should be able to diagnose .
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Don't talk to me about airbags! Not strictly a Renault reply, but our family have 3 Citroens, 1 Xsara and 2 Saxos (one a recent replacement for a previous Saxo). All have had repeated problems with airbag lights. Yes, hoovering under a seat can set off the light. So can moving the seat (tricky not to, if it's a VTR and you're 5'1" and married to a bloke of 6'2"), putting things under it, or just looking at it funny. My Xsara VTR has been in 10 times for side and front airbag lights alone (I won't even mention the 9 times the car has cut out and its other little problems) and I haven't hoovered under the seat once. I've had looms, pretensioners, rewirings, solderings, slip rings and the lot. Mind you, it's over 5 weeks since it last went back and I haven't had anything flashing since, which is something of a record......
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Did I mention I'd had to have a new ECU too? All my repairs of course mean that aside from moving the seats, airbag lights are tricky blighters which sometimes just go wrong without you having done anything in particular. Interestingly enough, the garage always assured me that the light being on did not mean that the airbag would not inflate in the event of an accident, contrary to what Trevor says - though I was never sure about that and always booked it in as soon as possible (luckily, it was still under warranty) and anyway, who wants to be driving a car that's flashing like Blackpool Illuminations? Sometimes being on the diagnostic machine did not always pinpoint a fault: on those occasions they shortened wires and resoldered connections (eventually one of the wires was so short it made the airbag light come on.....) I would advise getting it checked out at the garage although I was tempted more than once to fiddle with the connectors and push them back together!
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I,m pretty sure if the airbag light is illuminated then it means the system has shut down and will not operate in the event of a collision . What does H.J. say?
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This fault could well have been caused by inadvertantly knocking the connectors apart under the seat whilst hoovering. We seem to get a lot of this trouble. Rotary couplers (the bit which connects the airbag to the steering column) seem to give a lot of trouble too. Due to the safety implications, I would book the car into a Renault dealer asap and get them to diagnose the fault. Let us know what happens Emma.
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Thanks all!
Fault was diagnosed as a dislodged connector on the seatbelt pre-tensioners. I have no idea how it happened but it would appear that adjusting the seat can easily cause it.
Regards
Emma
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