Killed my car- airbag module (long)
12-10-2003, 02:48 PM
#1
Killed my car- airbag module (long)
I was starting to feel a bit better two days ago and I decided to put my sub amp in under the driver's seat. Install was a piece of cake since all of the wires were already run. It was pretty much plug and play.
So I go to screw down the distribution block under the seat and as the screw drives through the carpet, I hear a crackle and a large explosion, followed by a horrible electrical smell.
I peeled the carpet back and realized that the tip of the screw shredded through the seat belt wires causing a couple of them to splice together. This caused the seat belt to think it was in an accident and explode, freezing the seatbelt altogether.
I ordered a new seat belt from DaveB for $200 and installed it today. Install was a piece of cake- 3 bolts and 10 minutes. The problem is that the airbag light is still flashing on the dashboard. The seatbelt works fine, but DaveB thinks I might have fried my airbag module ($700) in the process.
I disconnected my negative battery terminal in hopes that the flashing light is left over from the old seatbelt, but I have the distinct feeling that I am going to need a new module. This would require me to completely dismantle the car and bring it back to stock so I can bring it to the dealer for warranty work. There is no way in hell I am paying $700 for that part.
Anyhow, the moral of the story is not to work on your car when you are getting over pneumonia and to always check for wires underneath carpet before drilling. The part that sucks is that the screw I used was super short, but it hit the wiring just enough to cause the wires to fray and connect.
I haven't felt this much panic since I ruined my brand new set of 18" Maxxim wheels a few years back. Live and learn I guess. Good news is that the stereo sounds good.
So I go to screw down the distribution block under the seat and as the screw drives through the carpet, I hear a crackle and a large explosion, followed by a horrible electrical smell.
I peeled the carpet back and realized that the tip of the screw shredded through the seat belt wires causing a couple of them to splice together. This caused the seat belt to think it was in an accident and explode, freezing the seatbelt altogether.
I ordered a new seat belt from DaveB for $200 and installed it today. Install was a piece of cake- 3 bolts and 10 minutes. The problem is that the airbag light is still flashing on the dashboard. The seatbelt works fine, but DaveB thinks I might have fried my airbag module ($700) in the process.
I disconnected my negative battery terminal in hopes that the flashing light is left over from the old seatbelt, but I have the distinct feeling that I am going to need a new module. This would require me to completely dismantle the car and bring it back to stock so I can bring it to the dealer for warranty work. There is no way in hell I am paying $700 for that part.
Anyhow, the moral of the story is not to work on your car when you are getting over pneumonia and to always check for wires underneath carpet before drilling. The part that sucks is that the screw I used was super short, but it hit the wiring just enough to cause the wires to fray and connect.
I haven't felt this much panic since I ruined my brand new set of 18" Maxxim wheels a few years back. Live and learn I guess. Good news is that the stereo sounds good.
12-10-2003, 03:22 PM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 2,836
Originally Posted by asu174
I was starting to feel a bit better two days ago and I decided to put my sub amp in under the driver's seat. Install was a piece of cake since all of the wires were already run. It was pretty much plug and play.
So I go to screw down the distribution block under the seat and as the screw drives through the carpet, I hear a crackle and a large explosion, followed by a horrible electrical smell.
I peeled the carpet back and realized that the tip of the screw shredded through the seat belt wires causing a couple of them to splice together. This caused the seat belt to think it was in an accident and explode, freezing the seatbelt altogether.
I ordered a new seat belt from DaveB for $200 and installed it today. Install was a piece of cake- 3 bolts and 10 minutes. The problem is that the airbag light is still flashing on the dashboard. The seatbelt works fine, but DaveB thinks I might have fried my airbag module ($700) in the process.
I disconnected my negative battery terminal in hopes that the flashing light is left over from the old seatbelt, but I have the distinct feeling that I am going to need a new module. This would require me to completely dismantle the car and bring it back to stock so I can bring it to the dealer for warranty work. There is no way in hell I am paying $700 for that part.
Anyhow, the moral of the story is not to work on your car when you are getting over pneumonia and to always check for wires underneath carpet before drilling. The part that sucks is that the screw I used was super short, but it hit the wiring just enough to cause the wires to fray and connect.
I haven't felt this much panic since I ruined my brand new set of 18" Maxxim wheels a few years back. Live and learn I guess. Good news is that the stereo sounds good.
So I go to screw down the distribution block under the seat and as the screw drives through the carpet, I hear a crackle and a large explosion, followed by a horrible electrical smell.
I peeled the carpet back and realized that the tip of the screw shredded through the seat belt wires causing a couple of them to splice together. This caused the seat belt to think it was in an accident and explode, freezing the seatbelt altogether.
I ordered a new seat belt from DaveB for $200 and installed it today. Install was a piece of cake- 3 bolts and 10 minutes. The problem is that the airbag light is still flashing on the dashboard. The seatbelt works fine, but DaveB thinks I might have fried my airbag module ($700) in the process.
I disconnected my negative battery terminal in hopes that the flashing light is left over from the old seatbelt, but I have the distinct feeling that I am going to need a new module. This would require me to completely dismantle the car and bring it back to stock so I can bring it to the dealer for warranty work. There is no way in hell I am paying $700 for that part.
Anyhow, the moral of the story is not to work on your car when you are getting over pneumonia and to always check for wires underneath carpet before drilling. The part that sucks is that the screw I used was super short, but it hit the wiring just enough to cause the wires to fray and connect.
I haven't felt this much panic since I ruined my brand new set of 18" Maxxim wheels a few years back. Live and learn I guess. Good news is that the stereo sounds good.
12-10-2003, 04:37 PM
#5
I took my Max to body shop to have it repaired after a side impact collision. After it was repaired and just before I was to pick it up, they discovered that the air bag light was on. Air bag never deployed. They sent it to the dealer to have it reset since they couldn't do it themselves. Might just be a simple reset. Worth a shot and less than $700. Just my .02
12-10-2003, 04:45 PM
#6
OMFG this worked. It still lights up for 5 seconds when I turn the car on, but that's normal, right?
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....20#post2545720
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....20#post2545720
12-10-2003, 04:50 PM
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 207
Originally Posted by asu174
OMFG this worked. It still lights up for 5 seconds when I turn the car on, but that's normal, right?
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....20#post2545720
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....20#post2545720
12-10-2003, 05:00 PM
#9
as i was reading down, i was hoping that it all worked out, and i'm glad it did =)
but i was also going to suggest is simply this.......ignore it.....after 25 or 50 restarts (not sure)...the ecu does a few maintenance tests. one of them is hte airbag lamp. since the warning hasn't duplicated itself, the airbag light shuts off on it's own. i'ts in the FSM somewhere. and i also disconnected my airbag sensor once and the light turned on. after about a month it shut off. hasn't turned on since.
this is ALSO the case if you turn on your car while the gauge cluster is disconnected. SES light turns on. again, 25 or 50 restarts, and the light shuts off since the error did not duplicate itself.
but i was also going to suggest is simply this.......ignore it.....after 25 or 50 restarts (not sure)...the ecu does a few maintenance tests. one of them is hte airbag lamp. since the warning hasn't duplicated itself, the airbag light shuts off on it's own. i'ts in the FSM somewhere. and i also disconnected my airbag sensor once and the light turned on. after about a month it shut off. hasn't turned on since.
this is ALSO the case if you turn on your car while the gauge cluster is disconnected. SES light turns on. again, 25 or 50 restarts, and the light shuts off since the error did not duplicate itself.
12-10-2003, 11:27 PM
#10
Originally Posted by PoLo
as i was reading down, i was hoping that it all worked out, and i'm glad it did =)
but i was also going to suggest is simply this.......ignore it.....after 25 or 50 restarts (not sure)...the ecu does a few maintenance tests. one of them is hte airbag lamp. since the warning hasn't duplicated itself, the airbag light shuts off on it's own. i'ts in the FSM somewhere. and i also disconnected my airbag sensor once and the light turned on. after about a month it shut off. hasn't turned on since.
this is ALSO the case if you turn on your car while the gauge cluster is disconnected. SES light turns on. again, 25 or 50 restarts, and the light shuts off since the error did not duplicate itself.
but i was also going to suggest is simply this.......ignore it.....after 25 or 50 restarts (not sure)...the ecu does a few maintenance tests. one of them is hte airbag lamp. since the warning hasn't duplicated itself, the airbag light shuts off on it's own. i'ts in the FSM somewhere. and i also disconnected my airbag sensor once and the light turned on. after about a month it shut off. hasn't turned on since.
this is ALSO the case if you turn on your car while the gauge cluster is disconnected. SES light turns on. again, 25 or 50 restarts, and the light shuts off since the error did not duplicate itself.
First off your mistake was not looking under the carpet in the first place. What you should of done was put a 1/8 think piece of wood under it to mount to. That's what I did under my passenger seat. Glad that what you did worked and hope you don't have any other problems.
12-11-2003, 12:24 AM
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: NM
Posts: 2,146
I don't know, disconnecting the air bag sensor, that's a pretty bad idea. You never know one of those days, you get in an accident and the air bag doesn't deploy because you disconnected it. Insurance can deny your claim because the air bags were tampered. It happened to my friend, he was screwed and 18k bucks in the hole he owe on the car. Well, it's your car and your funneral, if you get killed without an airbag.
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