JampotJamie Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 I was driving along, hit a bit lip in the road (was only doing about 15mph) and the airbags went off.Now my question:Do I have to replace the whole top dash board? Or is it possible not to do so? (i am pretty sure you do have to replace, but I've asked here for a little help and guidance as this has never happened to me before) I have a 'how to' on removing the dash & steering wheel, I just need to know if I definitely need to, and what parts I'll need Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electricracer Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 you will need new dash with air bag and steering wheel airbag, you will also need your control unit reset or easier option new (second hand) airbag control and a recode, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JampotJamie Posted July 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 you will need new dash with air bag and steering wheel airbag, you will also need your control unit reset or easier option new (second hand) airbag control and a recode,well ive managed to source a dash with the 2 airbags, but what/where is the control unit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blister Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 thats insane! are they that easier to set off then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defcon5 Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 , but what/where is the control unit?The airbags have a seperate ECU, that is a single use affair. I beleive its buried inthe dash somewhere.What about your pretensioners? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JampotJamie Posted July 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Hmm I'm not 100% on all of this. I've getting the dash which Im guessing is already pretensioned. As for the steering wheel I'll ask if that is in the sale as well. What other parts will I need? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defcon5 Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 I've getting the dash which Im guessing is already pretensioned. No no no.Seatbet pretensioners - in an accident they fire a charge in the seatbelt reel to tighten it and pull you back into the seat.If they have fired you will need 2 new seatbelt reels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JampotJamie Posted July 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 No no no.Seatbet pretensioners - in an accident they fire a charge in the seatbelt reel to tighten it and pull you back into the seat.If they have fired you will need 2 new seatbelt reels.i have just picked up the dash and wheel airbag. he said that i will need new belts - he's offered the ones he has for £30 or £50 for the four. Black ones. i also need my ecu reset / get a new one. are these expensive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defcon5 Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Not sure to be honest, electricals arent my thing!That price seems good - not sure if you will need all four or just the fronts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeoffD Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 the airbag ecu is usually behind the purple eobd test socket, you will need to take out the supporting bracket to get to it. its normally mounted on the transmision tunnel, the carpet makes it a bit of a bugger to get at though. happy hunting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JampotJamie Posted July 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 @Sophied to be honest, a lot of what you just put makes no sense to me lolBut... I text the same lad, and he will give me the ecu and front belts for 45 tomorrow, so all should be good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electricracer Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 if your seatbelt tensioners have gone off the seat belts will be locked solid, the tensioners pull the belts tight to stop you hitting the windscreen, not sure if lupos actually have them anyway. if the belts still work you dont need to replace, if car had been in an accident i would replace as they would have streched, like i said you just need dash with airbag in and a steering wheel airbag and ecu, if using second hand one it will probably need coding before it will work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JampotJamie Posted July 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 I wasn't going to, but both front belts are really slack, and drivers side won't go back. So I've got replace them aswell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooper_GTI Posted August 2, 2012 Report Share Posted August 2, 2012 Foget the airbags. Just put a new steering wheel cover on and take the warning bulb out of the dash.2 new seatbelts with 'non deployed' pre-tensioners should work fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JampotJamie Posted August 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2012 Will it matter if I change the airbag ecu from another car? will it still work? I've been told it will and that it won't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lupogtiboy Posted August 3, 2012 Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 Foget the airbags. Just put a new steering wheel cover on and take the warning bulb out of the dash.2 new seatbelts with 'non deployed' pre-tensioners should work fine.Erm... this is ok until MOT time when it will fail as the airbag light won't come on and then go off. If the car had a steering wheel airbag fitted, then it has to have one to pass the MOT as of Feb this year. Lights that stay on that shouldn't means a fail, and lights that don't come on at all that should and then go off is a fail too. Airbag ecu's are a one-time use only, and they are coded to each car individually. They cannot be re-coded or re-used so a new one is the only safe way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JampotJamie Posted August 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 They can be recoded because ive just had mine done by airbagsforsale.co.uk and its garunteed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lupogtiboy Posted August 3, 2012 Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 tbh, I'm just going by what I've been told here at work in a main VW dealership, but then I guess they would say that as they want you to spend £400 on a new control unit!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooper_GTI Posted August 3, 2012 Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 If it bothers you that much, wire the bulb to come on with another warning light (ABS for example). Still a hell of a lot less work than all this rigmorole and free to do!Plenty of people run decats/stretched tyres/excessively low which are all a lot more blatent than an airbag light.I really can't see an MOT tester failing you for it. It'd be pathetic, especially when you consider that 90% of airbags don't work after 10 years anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truCido Posted August 3, 2012 Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 Have you investigated why they actually went off? Airbags shouldn't really deploy at 15mph hitting a bump, expect something else is wrong as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lupogtiboy Posted August 3, 2012 Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 If it bothers you that much, wire the bulb to come on with another warning light (ABS for example). Still a hell of a lot less work than all this rigmorole and free to do!Plenty of people run decats/stretched tyres/excessively low which are all a lot more blatent than an airbag light.I really can't see an MOT tester failing you for it. It'd be pathetic, especially when you consider that 90% of airbags don't work after 10 years anyway!Have you not seen the new MOT regulations then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooper_GTI Posted August 3, 2012 Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 Have you not seen the new MOT regulations then?Yes i have, but is it not current regulations that you have to meet emissions? There are hundreds of people with decats, lowered, engine conversions, chassis notches, HID's, momo steering wheels etc etc who still pass MOT's ona daily basis.They simply cannot enforce the new regs to the point where they fail every car for the most petty of things, such as an air bag light.The trick i often use is for a failed decat is, "Can you please cut my centre pipe, weld in the cat, pass the emissions test, then remove it again and re-fit the decat please". The normally tell you to f**k off and write you out a certificate there and then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeA Posted August 3, 2012 Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 The trick i often use is for a failed decat is, "Can you please cut my centre pipe, weld in the cat, pass the emissions test, then remove it again and re-fit the decat please". The normally tell you to f**k off and write you out a certificate there and then!If i was a tester and someone asked me to do that, you're right, id tell them to **** off but would i **** write them a certificate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lupogtiboy Posted August 3, 2012 Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 No, current regs also require lights for ABS and Airbags to come on and go off in there allotted time, ie 5 secs for airbag, 3 secs for ABS. Any of these lights that fail to illuminate or if they stay illuminated is a fail. Thats why we have a huge poster on the wall by the MOT bay that shows all the illumination times for all brands for these lamps. Race cats are technically an mot fail too as they aren't strictly road legal (hence the RACE part in their name!), but that is harder to enforce as they only need to be hot enough to work properly. The laws have all changed to be stricter, some things are sensible, some stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JampotJamie Posted August 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 Have you investigated why they actually went off? Airbags shouldn't really deploy at 15mph hitting a bump, expect something else is wrong as wellWell I was going on the theory that I hit a lip in the road, and my front end/front of the engine hit the floor hard, meaning the airbag sensor reacted to this as being an accident/impact hence deploying the bags. It was a very hard bang, and I did have about 2-3 inches ground clearance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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