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Air Bag Service Indicator Light

7 messages,  Last post on Mar 21, 2013 at 3:57 AM

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What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Equinox, SUV

Messages Page 2 of 2

#4 of 7 Re: Air Bag Service Indicator Light [ray80] by runox

Jan 04, 2013 (3:42 pm)

Replying to: ray80 (Jan 04, 2013 6:30 am)
I definitely do not intend to mess with anything other than wiring connections away from the sensor or deployment capsules and even then I wouldn't disconnect, just jiggle and compress em a bit. I find the intermittent signal curious. Typically sensor indicators won't go away when there is a true problem.

#5 of 7 Re: Air Bag Service Indicator Light [runox] by runox

Jan 12, 2013 (7:34 am)

Replying to: runox (Jan 04, 2013 5:57 am)
I think I've uncovered something. Not quite sure what the issue is but.....
I had a long drive up to Mass and noticed the air bag service light is triggered when I turn the heater temp up to 80 or higher. I was checking under the seats since that is where a few have said there is an airbag sensor. While I didn't see anything that I would consider an airbag sensor, I noticed the heat duct for the rear located under the front seats is positioned to blow directly on yellow electrical connectors that appear to feed power to the seat hydraulics.
 
Leaving early in the AM on both days I cranked up the heat to 80+ to get things warmed up quickly. Within 20 minutes, the airbag sensor indicator started going on and off. It doesn't stay on, just lights up for a second then goes off. It was doing it about every minute for 3-4 minutes before I turned the temp down to 78. The indicator went off and stayed off.
 
About an hour later I cranked the heat up again. Sure enough, within 15 minutes the airbag service indicator started coming on and off. This time I changed the fan to dash only, no floor heat. The light went off and stayed off, even at +80 temp. I turned the heat down to 78 and switched back to floor only heat and the service light never came on.
 
An hour later I tried it again, heat up to 82 directed at the floor only. Bingo, the airbag service light went on for second, then off, repeating every minute of so. I let it come on for 5-6 minutes, the switched back to dash vent only.....it stopped going on. I repeated the settings every 30 minutes and sure enough, every time it was set over 80 the service light came on. The final hour and a half I drove set at 78 on the floor and the light never came on again.
 
So, I toyed with the heat settings on off over 2 - 4 hour drives. Every time I cranked the heat up to +80 and directed it to floor only, within 15 minutes the airbag service light blinked on and off every minute.
 
I know the new EQs have highly sensitive electronics, but I would not expect a connector under the seat to have any control over an airbag sensor.
 
Possibly, there is some form of airbag wiring or sensor that is near the duct work and when that area gets warm it is causing something to expand trigger the indicator light.
 
This could to be a time consuming service check at Chevy trying to replicate the conditions and I'm not so sure they are going to have an immediate solution unless this one is in their service directives already. Because the airbag system parts and labor are so costly I don't want them to be testing replacement parts at my expense. Maybe this is just a programming issue, but I doubt it.
 
So, if you happen to read this, I'd appreciate it if you can try to replicate this condition on your 2010-2013 EQ. Set the heat to 82 or more and direct it to the floor only while on a 30-45 minute drive. Yea, it seems like you'll be baking for a while, but I can assure you it doesn't get that hot in the cab.
 
If there is a known solution, please let me know. For now, I'm just keeping the air temp set to a max of 78 when needing it. Over the 8 hours of driving the indicator light never came on when the set temp was under 80 so I'm not concerned there is a safety issue.
 
For now, I'm going to try placing something to extend the floor duct past that yellow connector to prevent it from heating up and see if the results change and that connector can be ruled out. It would indicate the source to be the electronics behind the dash.
 
Comments from GMCustSvc welcome. If a regional tech rep would like to observe, I'm open to it.

#6 of 7 Re: Air Bag Service Indicator Light [runox] by gmcustsvc

Jan 14, 2013 (11:13 am)

Replying to: runox (Jan 12, 2013 7:34 am)
runox,
 
Good research! I wish I had some technical information to send your way, but as a customer service representative, I don't have access to that. We'd be happy to get you set up to have this checked into by your dealership for starters - let us know! Our email is socialmediagm.com (include your name and contact information, the information you discovered in your post, and the last 8 digits of your VIN).
 
Sarah, GM Customer Service

#7 of 7 Re: Air Bag Service Indicator Light [gmcustsvc] by runox

Mar 21, 2013 (3:57 am)

Replying to: gmcustsvc (Jan 14, 2013 11:13 am)
I should have posted my solution sooner. Soon after experiencing the air bag service light on my Nox, my son experienced same on his Honda Civic. It seems to be a common problem for Hondas. He found a technical video for a fix on Youtube...dismantling the cover off the seat belt fastener and cleaning it ! What the heck, if it worked for his Honda. I blew it down with compressed air and reassembled.....Son of gun....no more air bag service light. I never would have guessed in a million years that seat belt sensors would trigger an airbag light.

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