What should I do if the airbag light comes on?

A modern car consists of many complex systems. Passive safety system SRS Airbag is almost the most important in the car, because of the quality of its work in an emergency situation depends on the health and lives of people. If it fails, a corresponding light on the dashboard lights up. This bulb usually causes panic among drivers, because it indicates that the airbags in the event of an accident may not work. Today we will get acquainted with the SRS system in detail, learn what to do if the light bulb of the airbag lights up, and consider a few concrete examples from the life of car owners.

SRS system

In all modern cars in the salon you can find the marking SRS. What does this mean? The given abbreviation stands for the Supplementary Restrain System, which in Russian means "Deployed security system". Often the phrase Air bag is added to it, which translates as "airbag". It is pillows that are the main attribute of the system. But apart from them, SRS also includes:

1. Seat belts.
2. The tensioning devices.
3. Impact sensors.
4. Pyropatrons.
5. Electronic control system.

Like any other car node, the security system can fail if one small part fails or a reliable relationship between the elements is lost.

Principle of operation

When the sensor detects a shock, it transmits an alarm to the system, and the cushions open. From the moment of impact to the disclosure of the pillows passes 30-35 milliseconds. In modern cars there are special batteries that put the system into operation even when the main battery is damaged.

Why does the Airbag indicator light up?

If the bulb of the airbag lights up on the dashboard of your car, then there is a problem in the system. The indicator can be lit or blinking at regular intervals, informing the driver of the error code.

If everything is good in the security system, when the ignition is switched on, the light flashes about six times. Thus, the system gives the driver to understand that everything is in order. After that, the indicator self-tapers and reminds of itself only the next time the engine is started. But if any problems or errors are found, the lamp continues to burn. Once the electronics has noticed the error, it automatically starts the cause search and sends the fault code to the memory.

After a certain period of time after the first test, the system checks all the elements again. If the fault identification was erroneous or the signs indicating a fault have disappeared, the diagnostic module erases the error code sent to the memory earlier. In this case, the lamp goes out and the machine continues to operate normally. When the system recog- nizes the malfunction, the lamp continues to flash.

Common Malfunctions

As you already knew, if your car's light bulb lights up airbag, then a fault in the system is always present. Modern car manufacturers are approaching the safety management system with special responsibility. Therefore, the devices involved in this unit are considered to be the most reliable and reliable in the entire car. So if the light bulb of the airbag malfunction is lit, there's no point in complaining about the unreliability of the system itself. Remember that the diagnostic organs of the SRS Airbag are very rarely mistaken!

If the Airbag indicator lights up in your car, this could be the result of such problems:

1. Violation of the integrity of one of the elements of the system. It does not matter whether it's small or big, important or not.
2. Violation of the signal between the elements of the system.
3. Problems with contacts located in the door. Most often this happens after repair or replacement of contacts. If you forget to connect one of the connectors, the light will begin to light.
4. Damage to shock sensors.
5. Closing or any kind of damage to the wiring in the circuit of the system.
6. Fuse blown. A simple problem, which many people remember in the last place, having already dismantled half of the machine.
7. Software or mechanical damage to the SRS Airbag control unit.
8. Violation of the integrity and consistency of the circuit elements, due to the replacement or repair of the alarm.
9. Inaccuracy when replacing seats or cleaning in the cabin. Under the seats is wiring, damaging which you can disable the whole chain of devices.
10. Restoring cushions after an accident, without resetting the memory in the control unit.
11. Overestimated resistance on one of the pillows.
12. The vehicle's voltage is too low. If the airbag light comes on for this reason, when the battery is replaced, everything will fall into place.
13. Excess of the life of the pyro-cartridges or the pillows themselves. As a rule, this period is about 10 years.
14. Unprofessional tuning, which often leads to a violation of the integrity of the electrical circuit or sensors.
15. Wet sensors during car washing.
16. Incorrect battery replacement.
17. Inaccurate replacement of the steering wheel.

Troubleshooting

Now we know why the bulb of the airbag lights up. It remains only to find out how to solve this problem. Troubleshooting consists of the following stages:

1. To begin with, the system checks its performance at the time the ignition is switched on. If errors are detected, it records their code on the central control unit.
2. The wizard reads the code and determines the cause of the problem.
3. Special diagnostic equipment checks the system.
4. The master performs repair operations.
5. It remains only to update the memory of the control unit, and the problem is solved.

Trying at home to repair the SRS Airbag system is strongly discouraged! First, the elements of the system are not so easy to get. Secondly, to eliminate the breakdown, it needs to be identified. And without special equipment this is impossible. Thirdly, this system can save your life, so better entrust its repair to professionals. Riding, ignoring the indicator, is also dangerous. If an accident occurs, the pillows may not open. But they can easily hit you for no reason.

Now we will consider some examples of the decision of the given question by drivers of different marks of cars.

The bulb of a safety pillow on "Chevrolet-Lachetti" has lighted up

Once the driver of this car noticed that during the engine start the SRS lamp does not blink, but burns for five seconds, then goes out. So it was repeated every time when building a motor. The reason was the following - removing the seat, the driver disengaged the pillow and turned on the ignition to gain access to the cigarette lighter. The system considered an error, and the light bulb of the airbag on the Lacetti hit it. Then, when the chair and contacts were returned to the place, the car continued to remind the problem.

"Renault Logan"

The owner of this car has a more significant problem. It all began with the fact that one day the SRS indicator light up. Since the driver had some experience in this matter, he decided to figure it out on his own. Removing the driver's front cushion, the man disconnected the wires from it (having previously disabled the "mass"), removed the steering wheel and the plastic cover. By the way, he had to take off the steering wheel with a friend, since he was tightly pressed. This happens not only on cars Renault-Logan. The light bulb of the airbag lights up, as it turned out, after the lid was removed, due to the fact that the pillow of the pillow was torn off, and from both sides. Having removed the pod switch box , the man took out the damaged item and replaced it.

Nissan-Nout

After cleaning in the car, the owner noticed that the SRS indicator is on. Apparently, the reason was that the man touched the connection under the seat with a vacuum cleaner. First he tried to simply remove the battery terminal. On some machines, this helps if the airbag light comes on. "Nissan" is arranged so that information about the error is immediately preserved. Fortunately this is not the only feature of Nissan cars. It turns out that in cars of this brand to clean the system of errors you need to perform the following sequence of actions:

1. Press out the brake pedal. It should not be released until the end of the procedure.
2. Turn the key to ON.
3. Wait until the SRS indicator flashes.
4. Quickly move the key to the "OFF" position.
5. Items from the second to the fourth need to be repeated 3-5 times.

If it does not help, then there is a serious problem, and you need to contact the masters.

Toyota Camry

One motorist caught a light on the airbag on the "Camry-40" for a very interesting reason. As already mentioned, not only pillows but also belts are connected to the security system. So, one day in an emergency situation, the owner of the Toyota Camry, as they say, "shot a belt." Shot-it means it was pulled off so fast that the stopper worked and the belt jammed. The pillows did not open, but the situation was recognized by the system as emergency and was saved in the control unit, resulting in a light bulb.

Conclusion

Summarizing the above, it is worth noting that the SRS indicator can catch fire for various reasons. In any case, do not expect that he will go out. If the light is on, and you do not have an idea of the cause of its failure, contact the masters to protect themselves and their passengers.