The airbag light stays on. Scan tool shows “B0058 - Right Front/Passenger Pretensioner Deployment Loop Open”. I checked all the connections under both seats. I found a broken connector under the drivers seat (see attached). It was broken off right at the connector, so I couldn’t tell which wires to reconnect. Coming out of the floor there’s one all BK and one BK/WHT. The other side both wires are BK. This probably doesn’t have anything to do with it since the code is passenger side, but I’m not sure. Things I’ve tried: Checked the airbag fuse; moved the passenger seat up and back several times; fully extended the passenger seat belt restraint 3 times. Any ideas?
There is typically a bundle of wires that goes along the bottom of the doors under the plastic. The plastic covering the B pillar comes off too and that exposes the seat belt mechanism with the pretensioner. So there is going to be a broken wire or bad connection somewhere between there and the airbag modules.
I’m going to try to bypass mine in my Toyota with a resistor so I can get rid of the seat belt load limiter and pretensioner without making the airbag light come on. Unfortunately load limiters were added at the same time as pretensioners so I can’t get one with just a pretensioner.
If nothing else, a body shop should (don’t know if they will or not) be able to fix it as they HAVE to repair air bag and seat belt related stuff all the time from wrecks… Worth giving a few a call, might have better luck with smaller independent body (collision) shops…
I agree with Texases, don’t play around with your safety…
Thanks for the replies. I did have those plastic covers off a while ago when I ran some wires for my amp. I’ll pull them off tomorrow and see if there’s any broken wires, What exactly is that connector under the drivers seat (shown in the pic)?
Just guessing, no airbag experience. Does that wire go to the seat? If so, that wire might be used by a computer to sense whether or not somebody is sitting in the seat. Even for an experienced diy’er, this is probably the sort of problem to take to an experienced mechanic rather than attempt a diy’er repair.
Here’s a novel idea. Just buy a 2002 or older car, and you will not have to worry about load limiters, pretensioners, or occupant classification/seat occupancy sensors. A 1990’s car will offer excellent safety and reliability without all the BS, and you won’t have to worry about an insurance company refusing to cover your injuries if an accident occurs, because you tampered with your car.
They can also refuse to cover my injuries because I am dead due to load limiters and depowered airbags. They win either way. But that’s BS anyway because if it’s someone else’s fault it’s the other car’s insurance that has to cover my injuries and there is no legal requirement that my car be maintained in a certain way for them to cover me. I know someone who probably wouldn’t be here today if they hadn’t been sitting behind what I think was would have been a first generation airbag. The accident happened in a Geo Metro around 2010. They are permanently crippled below the waist. It would probably be much cheaper for the insurance industry if they had died. In the 1997 Geo Metro NHTSA oblique test, the crash test dummy actually got a broken leg!
It may need to be pre 1998 not pre 2002. A lot of load limiters were introduced in 1998 along with the removal of the high powered airbag requirement. The current airbag requirement is to protect an unbelted occupant who weighs up to 110 pounds at a speed up to 25 MPH.
Many of the cars from the the mid 90s and earlier are relatively weak in frontal collisions. Although it may sufficiently protect the driver in a 40 MPH moderate overlap crash, this test simulates a crash in to a similar vehicle. If it were 1998 today a car from the mid 90s would be all right. The problem is the newer cars from today are stronger in front, so the older car becomes the crumple zone for the newer car in an accident. So if the mid 90s car could handle an 80 MPH combined speed crash into another 90s car, the speed would have to be reduced to 60 - 70 MPH to have the same level of protection in a mid 90s car when crashing in to late model car from today.
Newer cars also have significantly better side impact protection. A helmet could be worn in place of a side curtain airbag. But the side structure is weak and nothing short of something like a roll cage could fix that.
The effect of increased strength is exponential when a stronger car hits a weaker car. When the new models came out, part of the reason for the significantly reduced fatalities in the newer cars was due to the fact that most of the other cars on the road were older and weaker and became the crumple zone for the newer cars in an accident.
Before I solder those wires together under the drivers seat, does anyone have a diagram? I need to know whether the BK/WHT wire coming out of the floor goes to A or B at the connector. I found a diagram, but it’s not specific to my vehicle.
The wires they are connected to are both black. This, to me, indicates there is no polarity. That means it does not matter which wire goes where, just that both are present. The black with a white wire indicates where it goes or came from in the harness.
What about my truck with the 9 inch lift kit and aftermarket bumpers that are sloped which allow under ride, and the “Prius catchers” (the bumper grabber thing mounted to the bottom of the frame on tall vehicles) that I removed?
Funny thing is, the rear bumper of my RR is higher then the front bumper of my 93 Chevy truck… lol
But the front bumper of my RR is low due to me lowering it 1.5" measured at the lower control arm bushing… The truck is stock height…
