HSV GTS UK VT2 Airbag light
Discussion
If it's coming back on it's a legit fault in the SRS system.
VT2 I'd imagine is only driver / passenger airbag and seat belt pretensioners.
You need to get the codes read, this will tell you which part of the system is causing the light to illuminate, and why (typically either short circuit, open circuit or resistance / capacitance outside of expected range). I'm unsure which readers will actually do the airbag codes, a standard OBD2 ebay type jobby won't do it.
If the garage could clear it, they may be able to read it too. Even if it's just the code IDs, there's workshop manuals around with what the codes mean.
If you've changed the seats (and removed the pretensioners or left them unplugged) or changed the steering wheel then you'll need to put a dummy load in there to convince it there is an airbag connected, and then get the codes cleared again. There's info on the bits needed for this on the forum, can dig the values up if that's what's happened.
VT2 I'd imagine is only driver / passenger airbag and seat belt pretensioners.
You need to get the codes read, this will tell you which part of the system is causing the light to illuminate, and why (typically either short circuit, open circuit or resistance / capacitance outside of expected range). I'm unsure which readers will actually do the airbag codes, a standard OBD2 ebay type jobby won't do it.
If the garage could clear it, they may be able to read it too. Even if it's just the code IDs, there's workshop manuals around with what the codes mean.
If you've changed the seats (and removed the pretensioners or left them unplugged) or changed the steering wheel then you'll need to put a dummy load in there to convince it there is an airbag connected, and then get the codes cleared again. There's info on the bits needed for this on the forum, can dig the values up if that's what's happened.
The light can be on, if you have turned off the passenger airbag, for MOT ;-)
from the testers manual....
'The SRS MIL (Malfunction Indicator Lamp) should only be failed if it is indicating a system malfunction. A lamp illuminated to indicate the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect.
Warning messages on dashboard displays are not a defect in their own right, but may assist the tester in determining that the warning lamp is illuminated because a malfunction exists.'
from the testers manual....
'The SRS MIL (Malfunction Indicator Lamp) should only be failed if it is indicating a system malfunction. A lamp illuminated to indicate the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect.
Warning messages on dashboard displays are not a defect in their own right, but may assist the tester in determining that the warning lamp is illuminated because a malfunction exists.'
PeteTheFree said:
I did, though, read about issues with the airbag backup battery draining when the main battery goes flat. Is this a thing?
Not that I have heard of, and when I replaced my wheel and seats I did do a fair bit of reading about the SRS system to find the relevant info regarding resistors / capacitors needed.. There isn't an SRS code for it so it wouldn't trigger the warning light anyway, as far as I can recall (this was about 8 years ago, maybe more!). Are you at all comfortable with computers and a very simple bit of soldering? You can make up a cable to read / clear the codes and reset the light, and there's some software the yanks made to do it, relatively simple process, although I think getting hold of a compatible USB to serial converter can be difficult since FTDI updated their drivers some years ago. I should say, this was made for the American's version of the Monaro, so might not 'just work', although the airbag system was the same from VT through to VZ so there's a chance...
PeteTheFree said:
I can solder and also know an electronics engineer so got that covered! Any info gratefully received on what the exact process is as otherwise I've got a very fast hunk of junk.
OK good stuff. So the original thread is here, although it's a bit of a long one...! Details about the cable are in the initial posts, and there'll be various links and things.https://www.ls1gto.com/threads/vzclustermod-public...
There's a post in the FAQs with various details, quoted below for convenience, you may have a faff finding a USB to TTL cable that works properly, or possibly just that the drivers have been updated and it's stopped the cheap copies working I think...
SturdyHSV said:
Thought I post these in here, as the thread title they were originally in isn't very relevant!
Monaro airbag resistor / capacitor values etc. steering wheel, seat airbags, the lot.
Conditions for the SRS/airbag DTC codes are as below.
Values are the same for the LHS / RHS seat side air bags and also the driver's / passenger's airbags, except for the driver's airbag, the lower resistance limit is 1 Ohm for some reason.
DTC83 LHS AB Cap Too High
> 550nF
DTC84 LHS AB Cap Too Low
< 390nF
DTC85 LHS AB Res Too High
> 10ohms
DTC86 LHS AB Res Too Low
< 0.6Ohm
If any of these conditions are detected for more than 3-5 seconds, the DTC is set.
The airbag system still functions if any of these codes are set, unless naturally the fault causing the code is enough to actually stop it from working.
It won't stop the rest of the airbags from working however.
For the driver's wheel, the yellow connector already has a capacitor in it, so you just need to put the resistor across.
There is a free tool to reset the airbag light:
http://1337vending.com/vzclustermod/wiki/VZAirbag
Here's the website by the bloke who did the software, all very simple to do, promise! This includes cluster mods like HSV logos etc. and also resetting the airbag light (as in my previous post). He has instructions on there for how to do it all.
http://1337vending.com/vzclustermod/
I only included that link as well because the airbag tool is just something he's done as a separate tool that only includes the airbag related stuff. Since you're making the cable, I thought you might want to try the cluster stuff too.
Depending on which car you use the cluster stuff on, it may well not like it as it could have some different options in there that the software may not recognise (originally the software didn't like our 'Vauxhall' logo option, but that's been fixed now.
The airbag system has been the same since the VT days though, they've just added the odd extra bag over the years, so all seems to be pretty compatible.
Some details on the cable needed to talk to the car at this level:
USB To Serial Adapter (as listings expire etc, you may have to search ebay if the link below is dead.)
It was listed as "FT232 Brush USB To TTL Serial Cable Line Electric Adapter FTDI Chipset Computer" and sold by 3997nicola
(The TTL bit is important, as that means it's 3.3V, which is what you need, and the FTDI chipset is a reliable USB to Serial converter chipset.)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191549528240
Then you just wire 2 of the wires in to one of these:
Listed as "Universal OBD2 II 16 Pin Male Connector Diagnostic Adapter" and sold by qqlx_uk
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221461368260
They're both UK sellers, you can find them cheaper from China of course, but who wants to wait that long?!
Here's a very thorough post on how to make the cable. It involves soldering 2 wires to 2 pins. It's very simple.
http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5798...
Hope that helps anyone in future
I have a Windows tablet with the software on and a cable made up at home, I haven't tried it for a while though, but will give it a shot some time soon. If it all works fine and you end up struggling, I could probably post you something with it set-up and working on.Monaro airbag resistor / capacitor values etc. steering wheel, seat airbags, the lot.
Conditions for the SRS/airbag DTC codes are as below.
Values are the same for the LHS / RHS seat side air bags and also the driver's / passenger's airbags, except for the driver's airbag, the lower resistance limit is 1 Ohm for some reason.
DTC83 LHS AB Cap Too High
> 550nF
DTC84 LHS AB Cap Too Low
< 390nF
DTC85 LHS AB Res Too High
> 10ohms
DTC86 LHS AB Res Too Low
< 0.6Ohm
If any of these conditions are detected for more than 3-5 seconds, the DTC is set.
The airbag system still functions if any of these codes are set, unless naturally the fault causing the code is enough to actually stop it from working.
It won't stop the rest of the airbags from working however.
For the driver's wheel, the yellow connector already has a capacitor in it, so you just need to put the resistor across.
There is a free tool to reset the airbag light:
http://1337vending.com/vzclustermod/wiki/VZAirbag
Here's the website by the bloke who did the software, all very simple to do, promise! This includes cluster mods like HSV logos etc. and also resetting the airbag light (as in my previous post). He has instructions on there for how to do it all.
http://1337vending.com/vzclustermod/
I only included that link as well because the airbag tool is just something he's done as a separate tool that only includes the airbag related stuff. Since you're making the cable, I thought you might want to try the cluster stuff too.
Depending on which car you use the cluster stuff on, it may well not like it as it could have some different options in there that the software may not recognise (originally the software didn't like our 'Vauxhall' logo option, but that's been fixed now.
The airbag system has been the same since the VT days though, they've just added the odd extra bag over the years, so all seems to be pretty compatible.
Some details on the cable needed to talk to the car at this level:
USB To Serial Adapter (as listings expire etc, you may have to search ebay if the link below is dead.)
It was listed as "FT232 Brush USB To TTL Serial Cable Line Electric Adapter FTDI Chipset Computer" and sold by 3997nicola
(The TTL bit is important, as that means it's 3.3V, which is what you need, and the FTDI chipset is a reliable USB to Serial converter chipset.)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191549528240
Then you just wire 2 of the wires in to one of these:
Listed as "Universal OBD2 II 16 Pin Male Connector Diagnostic Adapter" and sold by qqlx_uk
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221461368260
They're both UK sellers, you can find them cheaper from China of course, but who wants to wait that long?!
Here's a very thorough post on how to make the cable. It involves soldering 2 wires to 2 pins. It's very simple.
http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5798...
Hope that helps anyone in future
The guy was also making a tool to do the ABS related stuff, read codes and run the bleed procedure etc. From looking at the code it looks to basically be implemented, he just didn't release a version of the software with it available, I'm probably going to give it a go compiling the ABS version of it as I'm going to need it for my car quite likely, so will likely be revisiting this stuff at some point in the near(ish) future.
Edited by SturdyHSV on Wednesday 30th March 11:19
PeteTheFree said:
Amazing info, thank you.
I've messed about a fair bit with the Monaro over the years and tend to read a lot before doing it (as I hadn't even seen a spark plug when I got the car
) so happy to help wherever I can.The LS1GTO forums also have a lot of good info on them, the odd bit isn't applicable because of LHD, but even with the VT, a lot will be relevant or at least very similar, and they tend to be pretty hands on with what they'll get stuck into themselves and then post about.
PeteTheFree said:
A lot of the internals of the VT2 is Carlton based. Do we know if that is true of the airbag system? For instance I fixed the windows with Carlton bits.
I can confirm omega glass fits the front windows, and even has the same tint. . Some dick broke into my car a few years ago, and was found by police sitting in it !! Gassing Station | HSV & Monaro | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff