airbag light

[chevyman76]

when my 06 aveo hit 100,000 the air bag light came on. my obd wont erase it ? anyone else have this problem ?

[Scanman]

About 2000 miles after an engine swap (2005 to 2007), my airbag light came on. After much research, I discovered that the airbag, or Supplimental Restraint System is very hard to diagnose. You will need to find a code reader with the high end software in it, like the Chevy dealers have in thiers. FYI: If that light is on your airbags won't deploy in a crash, and (depending on Nevada law), might not pass your next inspection. That light can illuminate for many reasons, including low battery voltage, the wiring to the seat sensors (yours should only have one to the driver seat. I think they put the passenger seat sensor in for the 2007 model.), and the clockspring in the steering column (which also cancels the turn signals). I found a clockspring on e-bay, bought it, installed it & still had an airbag light on! I was told, locally, that if you get the problem fixed, the light will turn itself off. The SRS system checks itself every ten seconds! In the end, I pulled the driver info center from the center of the dash, just to check the connections. After cleaning up the dust accumulated from 188,000 miles, I re-assembled everything & the STUPID airbag light went off! I would suggest checking the easy stuff first. Charge the battery, unplug & replug the wires to the driver seat, check to see if you have wires to the passenger seat & check those if they exist, then ( if you still have a light) check the connections to the DIC or SIC (where the check engine light is), and the connector to the airbag computer located under the center console & handbrake. If none of this works, I'd recommend the dealer, because you probably need a crash sensor or something expensive like that, & at this point you don't want to buy any unnessesary parts that won't fix the problem. I hope this helps. I love my Aveo & this forum. Please do all Aveo owners a BIG favor & post the solution to your problem.

[gtdawg]

I had to replace my battery yesterday due to low voltage (car wouldn't start, the starter just clicked and the instrument lights flickered with each click).

The Airbag light has been on ever since AAA jumped the car, even after the battery has been replaced. It's been through about 3 start cycles so far. I would have though disconnecting the battery when replacing it would be enough to reset everything. I'll report back if it turns off on it's own or needs a dealer visit.

[06T200]

I thought I would chime in since I had this same issue in an 06 - and learned a bit fixing it. Since I was bringing it back from the dead (salvage title) I had to have it inspected by the (Calif) CHP, and was told "they will check the airbag light" - whatever that meant. So to humor that statement, and my own curiosity I wanted to correct the problem.

It does seem to require some 'special' enhanced code to read the body control module, since I was unable to find any info on the 'special' code, I wound up finding a local shop that had a tool that can read the BCM. So they found a code for the passenger side "excess resistance" in the circuit (code was rather vague), but I had inspected all the connectors and yellow wires under the seats, and found no bad wires or connections, the tech did not find anything either, so we just cleared it, to see if it popped back on. Funny thing to note, sending the clear command would not clear the code in the BCM, it would ONLY clear when someone was sitting in the passenger seat, so keep this in mind. It needs to get a signal from the 'passenger sensor' to run the full circuit check. It stumbled a few techs, and we had to try three times before it finally was happy. Has not been on since this. This car has 140K on the oddo. So for most cars, it may just need the code cleared, but it seems common to have problems on the passenger side circuit. The circuit goes to the bags, to the seat belt sensors, and then back to the BCM located between the seats under the hand brake. This is also an easy way to disable the SIR system is to break the circuit, it will trigger the light, and go into 'fail mode=enable'. So be careful around the yellow connectors under the seats. I have yet to find any software or 'tool' (under ten grand) that will read/reset the BCM. The tool used on this car was an OTC with 'enhanced' code for BCM's, something I have yet to find, but I have in the past accessed the BCM using 'AT' commands to the ELM327 direct, but I do not know anything about the BCM register addresses or how to manipulate it's PIDs on this car. I need to read up more before I can master it. I hope this helps others that might be troubleshooting the BCM/SIR light.

[pablomchghatchback06]

I know this is an old thread, but I have a similar problem with my 06. My light is on, but all bags are okay, however, I noticed the turn signals do not cancel on their own anymore; I should mention I didn't think of it as I've gotten used to cancelling them myself. Could that be an indicator that the clock Spring is bad? The horn works, but the air bag light is on.

thanks

[700 Aveo]

I have a 2005. Horn doesn't work and Airbag indicator light are on for the last 2 years. Ready to take it to the dealer, my OBD wont pull the code on this one. Thinking the two issues are related as the schematic seems to indicate they share some points together. Can't figure out how to get to the steering wheel airbag... Checked the passive restraint wires to the seat belt tensioners for continuity, all good there. Maybe I'll flash the airbag control module, its cheaper than a dealer diagnostic.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[EAD15]

I have a 2005. Horn doesn't work and Airbag indicator light are on for the last 2 years. Ready to take it to the dealer, my OBD wont pull the code on this one. Thinking the two issues are related as the schematic seems to indicate they share some points together. Can't figure out how to get to the steering wheel airbag... Checked the passive restraint wires to the seat belt tensioners for continuity, all good there. Maybe I'll flash the airbag control module, its cheaper than a dealer diagnostic.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

If the horn doesn't work AND the airbag light is on, that points to the clockspring (spiral cable) inside the steering column. That allows you to turn the wheel without twisting wires. It's a very common failure point.

[700 Aveo]

If the horn doesn't work AND the airbag light is on, that points to the clockspring (spiral cable) inside the steering column. That allows you to turn the wheel without twisting wires. It's a very common failure point.

Yep. Thought that myself. Tore the column apart and it's intermittent after playing with contact cleaner. It might be time to get a Sonic. Thank you so much for responding. Your a good guy.

[petrified.rabbit]

Clock spring is cheaper than one payment on a new car. I guess it just depends on your overall impression of the rest of the car.

[103HorsepowerDragRacer]

I'm having a similar issue on my 07 thats been kicking my butt for about a month. I believe I've isolated to a short in the wiring going from the dash to the clock where it indicates passenger airbag on/off. How did you manage to disassemble your dash? I'm having trouble finding enough info that leaves me confident enough to start ripping it apart.