Airbag light-anyway to self fix?

[smitk008]

Merry Christmas all

 

our forester 53 plate is due for an mot in the new year and

the airbag light is now permanently on. Anyone got anything

i can try to find the fault, please?

I have had a look at sensor wires and attachments under

the front seats, but nothing is disconnected there. That

pretty much exhausts my knowledge on the subject!

cheers

Kev

[demondriverdave]

If you can't find a fault you could just remove the bulb from the dashboard!

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[Mr B]

^ A good MOT man would fail that, you need the proper check sequence of light on then off .

I would check & clean connectors under seats with elec contact spray as they prone to issues of being knocked or dirty.

Ribbon spring in steering column is possible too but not so common.

 

Being a safety feature which could also maim you severely when faulty & also invalidate insurance in some circumstances it best done right ...

[Greenmamba]

A couple of thoughts, one of them a bit random. If the hooter and/or cruise control still work fine, it's likely not failure due to break in clock spring (aka roll connector) - the spring-like ribbon cable built into the steering column below the steering wheel (also manages the s/wheel airbag). But it still could be, there are around 8 wires, doing different jobs in the cable.

The random one - some Outbacks circa 2004/5/6 - airbag light can come on due to faulty solder joint in the circuit board built into the overhead map light cluster. If your car has overhead map lights - yes, I know its a Forester, not an OB - (near the inside rearview mirror), maybe, just maybe it could similarly be a dry solder joint there. I said it was random!

[Magnuskk]

If the light is on the airbag will not work. The system is disabled if the light is on and i think it would not be wise to ignore it.

My bet is that you have the very common issue of the seat connectors. All i do when it comes up every couple of months is to unplug the connectors under the seat, spray them with some contact cleaner and re-plug and they work fine for another couple of months! 10 minute job at the most!!!! It is a common issue on subarus.

Here are the connectors: