paultyler_82

iTrader: (1)

Anyone know what would cause my Air Bag light to start flashing steadily all of a sudden? Car is a 98 I30 with 152miles on it, has never been in a collision, the bags have never deployed. When I got to work last night, all was fine, but upon leaving work and starting the car, my airbag light was flashing steadily, it still is doing so whenever the car is running. My car couldn't have been struck, we have exterior cameras and a pretty closed lot, so I would have noticed if it was. I have heard something about the 98 i30s having a Tech Service Bulletin about the airbag light, but have been unable to find where I can read this TSB at... Does anyone know what to do about this problem? Do our vehicles have a scannable/resetable SRS system? Can the Nissan dealership scan it, seeing as I don't have a local Infiniti dealer?

oldngivout

iTrader: (8)

More than likely the side airbag in the seat is causing the lamp to flash. Yes, there is a TSB on this issue. The Nissan dealer can scan this for you, but you can fix it temporarily by finding the connector for the seat airbag and doing a disconnect/reconnect. Disconnect the battery, do both seats, and reconnect the battery. Nissan will replace the bags per this TSB if the car is still under warranty, but the 98-99's are rapidly falling out of that category due to age.

paultyler_82

iTrader: (1)

just quickly, is it actually the side airbags or the side impact sensor that causes this, and what exactly does the TSB have to say about it?

oldngivout

iTrader: (8)

The 98-99 seat airbags had a sub-harness that connected them to the main wiring harness under each seat. There is a connection in the seatback, behind the removable panel. The TSB called for replacing the original bags with new bags that had a harness long enough to reach under the seat without using a sub-harness. TSB's are famous for recommending new parts without ever actually stating what the problem is.

In layman's terms, it looks as though the "extension cords" were the problem.
TSB would allow for free replacement under the warranty period, after that you are on your own.

I have found that disconnecting and reconnecting the airbag connectors, wherever they may be in the system, usually fixes the problem. Disconnect the battery beforehand, and reconnect it when you are finished troubleshooting.