PANDICULATOR

o7' 350 Z Airbag light just came on at 30K
Driver and passenger side. Took to independent mechanic. He could not pull up a code at all. He could not reset lights becuse the scope said unable to reset with no code present. He suggested driving it for 200 miles and hopefully it would reset. Any better ideas or advice?
Thank you!

karlt

Does your air bag light come on for 7 seconds and then start to flash, or is it on continuously?

PANDICULATOR

Karl, The light does come on for 7 seconds and then flashes continuously. TY for reply

zakmartin

Pandiculator - There was a factory recall done for the seat sensor failing on the 07s and 08s that would trigger a SRS warning light. Call Nissan with your VIN# to see if the recall work was done on your car. If not, it could be what's triggering the light and you'll need to bring the car in for a new seat sensor.

The seat sensor was put in to disengage the airbag if someone (a child) who weighs under a certain amount was seated in the passenger seat.

EDIT:
There's a sticky link to this recall in the Maintenance forum.
https://my350z.com/forum/maintenance...ag-sensor.html

PANDICULATOR

Karl, I saw that recall prior to posting this. I called Nissan and gave them the vin#. They said there was no open recall for this vehicle. They said all I can do is take it to a nissan dealer. Since I went to an independent mechanic, I suppose I will have to take it to Nissan. I would be surprised if they could pull up a code since my mechanic was unable to. I wonder if there is a way to clear it and see if it comes up again.. I'm reticent going to my Nissan dealer again since upon my first visit there for an oil change they wanted to sell me a cabin filter for $57.00, as You know the 350Z roadster does not have a cabin filter.
Thanks for your input, any other thoughts?
David

PANDICULATOR

Sorry, Fred. Thank you. I am new to this site and will figure it out quickly.

Atreyu'z 350

karlt

The air bag light can flash with no code present if an intermittent fault was present. The air bag system keeps three fault records: current, past, and historical. A fault stored in the current or past record will trigger the air bag light. The current record is what your mechanic looked at, and no fault was present at that time. The past record keeps track of all faults until erased. The historical record cannot be erased.

To clear your air bag light you need to erase the past record. Here's the procedure.

1. Turn the ignition switch from OFF to ON.
2. The air bag light comes on for 7 seconds, then goes off (blinking starts). Turn the ignition OFF within 1 second after the lamp first turns off.
3. With the ignition switch OFF, wait for more than 3 seconds.
4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 twice (perform 3 times total).
5. Turn the ignition switch ON.

You're now in the Diagnosis Mode. If no faults are present, the air nag light will come on for 7 seconds, then begin a 2 seconds off, 3 seconds on flashing pattern. Once the ignition is turned OFF once more the past record will be erased and the air bag light should function normally.

You can find much more detailed information in the srs.pdf section of the Service Manual. In fact, I recommend EVERYONE download a copy and look through the appropriate sections before posting problems.

tmdz

Did you at least start laughing and point out that the 350 Z's never came with cabin filters?

I'd seriously be tempted to pay for the work to be done then bring the receipt down to the local investigative journalist and give them the evidence.

zakmartin

Fred. HAHAAHAHA! Made my day!

No, that's not me in the pic. She's an Australian aboriginal artist named Pantjiti Mary McLean. Her hat says FREO (short for Fremantle). She's a huge Aussie Rules Football fan. She's also a lot prettier than I am.

zakmartin

BTW: You're not going to clear that SRS light if it's a bad seat sensor. The thing is designed to activate the light if it detects a small person in the seat and doesn't register it as a fault code. Call Nissan again and tell them you want to talk with a supervisor. Then tell them you want the recall history on your vehicle by its VIN and to check if the VIN falls under NHTSA Campaign ID Number 08V521000 and is subject to the airbag sensor recall. If they hassle you, keep escalating the ticket until someone addresses your question.

EDIT: Since the effective date of the recall is November 4, 2008, you are still within the 10 year service window. Don't let Nissan give you any crap over this.

Recall Details
This recall affects certain vehicles equipped Occupant Classification System (OCS) control units manufactured by Continental Automotive Systems. A varistor in the OCS control unit may have been manufactured out of specification. Under certain conditions, this could interupt the signal between the OCS and the air bag control unit (ACU), causing the passenger air bag to be suppressed in an accident. If the air bag does not deploy when needed in a crash, the risk of injury is increased. Dealers will test the signal between the OCS and ACU with a special tool to verify proper function. The seat cushion containing the OCS hardware will be replaced as necessary. The recall began November 4, 2008.

PANDICULATOR

Thanks Karl, Great explanation. I will get out in the garage tonight (Brrrr) and run the sequence. Hopefully that will be the fix since it is not current. That post disputes Zakmartins suggestion that it will not work, it seems it WOULD have to be current to be a bad sensor. I will get back to you. Thank you for the run down procedure.
David

dboyzalter

iTrader: (3)

If you let someone else drive your car recently they might have reached down and pulled on your seat air bag wire while attempting to adjust your power seats.

Might need to just make sure the wires are connected and then reset the system. That worked for me last time I let my brother drive the car.

zakmartin

OP: I'm not disputing anything Karlt says. I'm saying that the seat sensor will trigger the SRS light without logging a fault code because the light comes on if a child, dog, little person or Alf sits in the chair. Everything Karl says is equally true but covers a different set off parameters.

This isn't a competition about who's right. We're all taking stabs at what your problem could be, because without one of us sitting there in your garage with a car computer and/or scope hooked into your system, that's all you're going to get from anyone on this board.

BTW: Go introduce yourself in the New Members forum.

PANDICULATOR

Update, Well Karl the reset did not work with the light but was certainly worth a shot , and followed up with another shot.
Zakmartin, didn't mean to imply it was a competition. Your info and suggestion is solid right on . Like you said there is no right or wrong unless in the garage..I appreciate the info and campaign #. I will call in again to Nissan and see if I can't get some satisfaction from them. (I'll tell them Fred referred me!)...
dboyzalter, I'll ck. out the plugs, unlikely but def worth a look.

karlt

Pandiculator,

What flash pattern did you get after you put the system into the Diagnosis Mode?

PANDICULATOR

Karlt, I retried the ignition sequence you recommended again this morning. It warmed up to about 20 degrees. Lo and behold the light went out. The last pattern in diagnostic mode was an even 2 and 2 second flash. Relieved and thanks again for your taking the time . Hopefully it holds. Time will tell. All the best! David

karlt

Glad it worked. It's 3 degrees F here. I'd kill for 20.

dboyzalter

iTrader: (3)

Yeah its a bit chilly here also.