Beep! Airbag Fault.

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Gibbo2286
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Beep! Airbag Fault.

Post by Gibbo2286 »

That's the message I'm getting up on my 2002 C5 HDI screen when I start out. Any pointers to where to look first or any 'nine times out of ten it's......' info?
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Post by addo »

Has it gone off? :shock:

More seriously, what about the pretensioners?
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Re: Beep! Airbag Fault.

Post by Gibbo2286 »

Nothing amiss apart from the message on the screen, I get the seatbelt reminder, connect the seatbelt and that goes off then there's the beep and the 'airbag fault' message pops up and goes off as I drive away returning the screen to the normal clock and temperature message.

I guess it's a connection problem somewhere, just wondered where to look first.
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Post by addo »

I'd still rate the underseat connectors first (ever notice the Xantia ones had a Renault emblem on their yellow plugs?). If the C5 has passenger detector in the front nearside seat base, there's another connector to unpolug, Servisol and reconnect. Haven't heard of any clockspring issues in C5s.
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Re: Beep! Airbag Fault.

Post by myglaren »

My estate used to do that - increasingly over the last year until it would pop up on the first start every day and then if the car was left unused through the day but started in the evening.
Would not reappear if the engine was run for five minutes or more.
I ascribed it to low voltage due to a current drain.

Current C5 often pops up a "Coolant Temperature Too High"! warning with attendant bleeps and lights on the dash including the "STOP" one.
As it is just as the engine starts after being stood overnight or longer it clearly is not overtemp, that's just silly.
It disappears after driving for a few hundred yards and the temperature gauge resumes it's usual position of in the blue 'clamp' then gradually rises as does the engine temperature which can be tracked by the increasing heat coming through the vents.

I have also observed that although the 'Auto' green light is on, it also puts the 'Eco' light on - presumably disabling the aircon to prevent the temperature increasing any more, until it realises it's mistake.
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Re: Beep! Airbag Fault.

Post by wheeler »

addo wrote:I'd still rate the underseat connectors first (ever notice the Xantia ones had a Renault emblem on their yellow plugs?). If the C5 has passenger detector in the front nearside seat base, there's another connector to unpolug, Servisol and reconnect. Haven't heard of any clockspring issues in C5s.
The C5's pre-tensioners are in the inertia reel not in the seat stalks so they dont suffer from the usual under seat connection faults. The clockspring on the C5 is integral to the Com2000, not a common problem for this part of it to fail but certainly not unheard of.
Have a look at this thread which may help > http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... s+footwell" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Beep! Airbag Fault.

Post by Gibbo2286 »

Re my original post, I've just been told that it's not actually a fault and that because this model has no airbag warning light on the instrument panel this beep and message is just telling me that the system's working and shows for six seconds before going out the same as a warning light would. Can anyone confirm that, the handbook says nothing.
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Re: Beep! Airbag Fault.

Post by Clogzz »

Mine of the same vintage normally doesn’t do that.
I did have that warning a very few times, then it went away, and may be back.
They don’t say ‘fault’ to say that there isn’t one.
It seems to occur only in summer when the dashboard is hot from the sun.
It’s probably only an indication fault, and I mightily ignore it.
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Re: Beep! Airbag Fault.

Post by CitroJim »

Gibbo2286 wrote:Re my original post, I've just been told that it's not actually a fault and that because this model has no airbag warning light on the instrument panel this beep and message is just telling me that the system's working and shows for six seconds before going out the same as a warning light would. Can anyone confirm that, the handbook says nothing.
Sounds very plausible I must say. Otherwise the MOT testers would have no way of proving the integrity of the system. Have you had a Lexia on it any of you?
Clogzz wrote: It seems to occur only in summer when the dashboard is hot from the sun. It’s probably only an indication fault, and I mightily ignore it.
Heat and electronics really aren't easy bedfellows. You need a cooling fan under the dash for those occasions Clogzz :)
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Re: Beep! Airbag Fault.

Post by Clogzz »

Thanks, Jim. :)

That would be easy, the ends of the C5 dashboard have removable covers that would let a CPU fan in at each end. :lol:
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Re: Beep! Airbag Fault.

Post by wheeler »

Gibbo2286 wrote:Re my original post, I've just been told that it's not actually a fault and that because this model has no airbag warning light on the instrument panel this beep and message is just telling me that the system's working and shows for six seconds before going out the same as a warning light would. Can anyone confirm that, the handbook says nothing.
No it should definitely not say airbag fault on initial startup even though there is no warning light on the slightly higher spec models, If it's saying the message then its telling you that there is a fault.
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Re: Beep! Airbag Fault.

Post by Gibbo2286 »

Well I checked all the underseat connectors and they're as brand new, no high resistances and the fault remained, so today I've had the steering wheel off and a close look at the driver's air bag and the clockspring mechanism on the column switch module, couldn't see anything obviously amiss except there's a little plastic item that runs in a groove around the clockspring case, doesn't seem to have any purpose but the pip that runs in the groove had gone, I cobbled it up with a snip off a paper clip and put the lot back together, it now works ok, no fault message. :)

Whether that was the fault or maybe just disconnecting and reconnecting the airbag wires was all it needed we'll never know.
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Re: Beep! Airbag Fault.

Post by corsehf »

I have the same message and have done so now for the last 10 months.
I have checked the plugs under the passenger footwell and they were all ok, have yet to check the underseat plugs? - are there many??

Gibbo, can you give us some further details on how to remove the steering wheel without disturbing the airbag please and more on what you found and did??
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Re: Beep! Airbag Fault.

Post by corsehf »

Bump!
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Gibbo2286
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Re: Beep! Airbag Fault.

Post by Gibbo2286 »

Sorry I thought you had resolved your problem after this thread
http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... hilit=+COM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My problem returned and I still haven't got round to fixing it, keep putting it off.
I've had a Lexia on it and it's definitely the switch/stalk pack below the steering wheel (as in the other thread) has an open circuit.

You can't get the wheel off without disturbing the airbag the airbag has to come off first.
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