Resetting an airbag warning light (Audi A3)

[Tim+]

I removed my wife's glovebox on her 06 reg diesel A3 the other day to sort
an air con fan problem. In the process I had to disconnect the passenger
airbag switch.

Now, the airbag warning light is staying on although we can switch the
passenger airbag on and off. It seems I've made a common mistake by not
turning the airbag off before disconnecting the switch and this latches the
warning light on.

What's the easiest/cheapest way of resetting this? I don't have any fancy
code readers or other VAGCOM tools.

Tim

[Chris Whelan]

Decent independent, if you can find one, or a mobile auto electrician if
there is one in your area.

BTW, usual advice for this sort of thing is to disconnect the battery
before starting.

Chris

--
Remove prejudice to reply.

[Tim+]

Not sure that would have helped. The essential thing *not* to do
apparently is to turn on the ignition whilst the passenger side airbag
switch is unplugged unless you've turned it off first. As I was trying to
get the climatronic fan working, I had to have the battery connected for
testing whilst I had things in pieces.

I'll try our local independent chap if I can't reset it otherwise but I was
wondering if there were any "tricks of the trade" involving bent paper
clips poked in somewhere. I'm sure I've read about tricks like this for
some cars.

Tim

[Chris Bartram]

Cheaper would be go to www.audi-sport.net, www.briskoda.net, uk-mkivs,
www.seatcupra.net, or one of the other many VAG forums and find someone
with VCDS who will reset it for either nothing, or a beer. There's
usually a list of owners who will.

Hell, if you're anywhere near the West Mids, I'll do it :-)

[Chris Bartram]

On 19/01/13 17:12, Tim+ wrote:
> Chris Whelan <cawh...@prejudicentlworld.com> wrote:
>> On Sat, 19 Jan 2013 16:37:45 +0000, Tim+ wrote:
>>
>>> I removed my wife's glovebox on her 06 reg diesel A3 the other day to
>>> sort an air con fan problem. In the process I had to disconnect the
>>> passenger airbag switch.
>>>
>>> Now, the airbag warning light is staying on although we can switch the
>>> passenger airbag on and off. It seems I've made a common mistake by not
>>> turning the airbag off before disconnecting the switch and this latches
>>> the warning light on.
>>>
>>> What's the easiest/cheapest way of resetting this? I don't have any
>>> fancy code readers or other VAGCOM tools.
>>>
>>> Tim
>>
>> Decent independent, if you can find one, or a mobile auto electrician if
>> there is one in your area.
>>
>> BTW, usual advice for this sort of thing is to disconnect the battery

>> before starting.it's

>>
>> Chris
>
>
> Not sure that would have helped. The essential thing *not* to do
> apparently is to turn on the ignition whilst the passenger side airbag
> switch is unplugged unless you've turned it off first. As I was trying to
> get the climatronic fan working, I had to have the battery connected for
> testing whilst I had things in pieces.
>
> I'll try our local independent chap if I can't reset it otherwise but I was
> wondering if there were any "tricks of the trade" involving bent paper
> clips poked in somewhere. I'm sure I've read about tricks like this for
> some cars.
>
> Tim
>

The climatronic fan? If it's like my Leon, it just drops out form below,
no need to get the glovebox out. It's the same fan unit, I think, and a
common failure. Mine failed last year, on an 06 car, so yours is due :-)

You can squeeze a bit of life out of them by lubricating the bearings,
usually.

http://www.piglet-net.net/pigblog/?p=2171

[Chris Whelan]

On Sat, 19 Jan 2013 17:12:05 +0000, Tim+ wrote:

[...]

> was wondering if there were any "tricks of the trade" involving bent
> paper clips poked in somewhere. I'm sure I've read about tricks like
> this for some cars.

Not on anything from this century!

;-)

[Tim+]

Thanks but SW Scotland alas.

Tim

[Chris Bartram]

Someone will be near you. Briskoda is usually friendly.

[richardc...@googlemail.com]

Hi chris, im having the same problem 9 my 99 a3. It won't pass it's mot with it on and audi want silly money to sort it. I know this thread is really old but I love in the west miss and would certainly give you more than a pint if you can fix it. Rich

[Mrcheerful]

On 29/05/2014 18:25, richardc...@googlemail.com wrote:
> Hi chris, im having the same problem 9 my 99 a3. It won't pass it's mot with it on and audi want silly money to sort it. I know this thread is really old but I love in the west miss and would certainly give you more than a pint if you can fix it. Rich
>

Take the bulb out, it will then pass the MoT (daft as that is)

[Bodgeitscarperandrun]

No, to pass the MOT it has to follow the correct ignition on sequence. No light
is as much a fail as a permanently lit light. Of course you can always wire the
lamp to a suitable circuit that emulates the correct sequence.


--

[Mrcheerful]

I had a car pass as I described earlier this year, unless the regs have
changed of course that will still be the case.

[Bodgeitscarperandrun]

On Fri, 30 May 2014 15:51:18 +0100, itali...@gmail.com (SteveH) wrote:

>Bodgeitscarperandrun <Bodgeitsca...@Bodgeitscarperandrun.com>
>wrote:

>
>> >Take the bulb out, it will then pass the MoT (daft as that is)
>>
>> No, to pass the MOT it has to follow the correct ignition on sequence. No
>> light is as much a fail as a permanently lit light. Of course you can
>> always wire the lamp to a suitable circuit that emulates the correct
>> sequence.
>

>Incorrect.
>
>No airbag light is, at worst, an advisory. Although it wasn't even that
>at my local MOT centre.

OK I was possibly wrong, but it was certainly going to be part of the test and
may even have been for a short while prior to 20th March 2013, then it got
removed. The notice announcing this (SN 01/2013) is amongst a few that are
missing from the VOSA site and the gov.uk site that replaced it.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mot-special-notices

and also

http://mottesters.co.uk/index.php/vosa-information

Fortunately someone took a backup.

http://www.academia.edu/3337563/VOSA_MOT_Special_Notice_1_-_2013_SN_01_2013_V1.0

Additional Test Changes From 20 March 2013

Section 5.4,RFR 2 SRS warning lamp inoperative has been deleted.

--

[Scott M]

Having read some of the convoluted rules & regs that have appeared in
the last few years, I do wonder if there's an MoT man alive who can
remember them all /and/ apply them all correctly.

--
Scott

Where are we going and why am I in this handbasket?

[Mrcheerful]

The mot blokes I use really do make the effort to get it correct and try
to keep me up to date on the most relevant stuff, a very recent for
instance: one that amused everyone, cracks in windscreens are no longer
a failure IF they are not directly in the drivers view, consideration
should be given to the height of the person presenting the vehicle !!!!!
So you could get a really short bloke take in a vehicle for someone
else who is 6 foot 6 and it might pass despite the crack being in front
of the regular driver and of course you could get a failure if the crack
was at the lower bit of screen yet didn't effect the usual driver. Some
rules are plain potty.

[Duncan Wood]

On Thu, 29 May 2014 18:25:41 +0100, <richardc...@googlemail.com>
wrote:

What does VCDS say is wrong with it?

[andyyinte...@gmail.com]

Hi Chris, Can you do mine :) (andyyinte...@gmail.com)

[keith....@googlemail.com]

I know this is an old post, but I had exactly this problem.

Ben Cross Motor in Carlisle reset it for 20 quid. May be useful to someone else who is in the cold north!

[cso...@gmail.com]

> Cheaper would be go to www.audi-sport.net, www.briskoda.net, uk-mkivs,
> www.seatcupra.net, or one of the other many VAG forums and find someone
> with VCDS who will reset it for either nothing, or a beer. There's
> usually a list of owners who will.
>
> Hell, if you're anywhere near the West Mids, I'll do it :-)

Hi Chris, it's been long time since you wrote that but I having a similar problem and was wondering if you would be able to help me. I have Audi A3 8P in my house in Coventry which isn't insured currently so I am unable to drive, however it has the airbag and engine management light on and I am really looking for individual help with VCDS to remove the signs as the garage gave me stupid quote to fix it.

Regards

[robert.ma...@gmail.com]

The blowers on my air con stopped working on Audi a3 2007 so took it to a garage who said the heater control unit had failed and quoted me and said they could order it
In the meantime they put it all back together and mysteriously the blowers are working but the airbag light has come on
They said it was nothing they did even though the paasenger airbag is near where the heater compartment is
Any ideas pleaae

[Tim+]

Happened to me in an Audi A3 when I removed he glovebox to mend a broken
support strut. I unplugged the passenger side airbag switch without
turning it off first. This resulted in an airbag warning light even when
reconnected properly.

At a guess, they've done the same. Their fault, they should fix it.

Tim



--
Please don't feed the trolls

[Graham J]

I did much the same on a Skoda Octavia. I left it several months and
just before its MOT asked for the warning light to be cleared. But the
chap at the garage could not clear it - his kit told him the driver's
side airbag sensor had failed. How unplugging the passenger side
airbag switch had caused this fault I don't understand. Perhaps it
really was coincidence! But in due course I paid to have a new airbag
sensor fitted in the driver's door - expensive, and not an easy job.

--
Graham J

[Chris Bartram]

If they really won't do it, go to one of the VW/Audi forums, and find
someone with VCDS to reset it.