MrLexse

Is there a way of resetting an air bag fault warning which appeared when I turned on the ignition with the airbag removed, while trying to troubleshoot an intermittant short ?

Jim M.

Yup with the Bosch Hammer or the JDS spanner.

Jim Mayzurk
93 GTS

MrLexse

John Speake told me I would need the hammer. He's working on the software to allow for an air bag fault reset with his spanner, but he isn't there yet. Where does one buy/rent a hammer?

Ed Scherer

What a coincidence. Look at the thread "Fixing a nuisance air bag system fault 3129/3229" that I just updated moments ago.

IIRC, though, the air bag reset function for the JDS Spanner might not be available for your '87. It was one of the main reasons that I got the JDS Spanner for my '90, and the air bag reset feature worked perfectly (and it also diagnosed the air bag problem correctly).

MrLexse

Ed,
John Speake told me his spanner wouldn't be able to clear the fault. He said I had to get a hammer. At present, the only air bag fault the spanner is capable of clearing is the USA MY 90 (yours).

John Speake

Lex is correct. The Spanner only clears airbag codes on uS MY90 at present, and it is the GTS that Lex wants to reset.

Lex - I may be able to loan you a Hammer...

MrLexse

John,

I will Email you.
Lex

Randy V

Argh! I pulled my instrument cluster yesterday to repair the balky voltmeter, per Schocki's instructions. Upon reinstallation, the voltmeter is working now, but I've got the Airbag fault warning.

John Speake

Hi Randy,
I think you need a Hammer to do this.....

ROG100

Randy,
I get my local Porsche shop to do it for me.
They dont charge me - maybe you could give it a try.
If you don't ask you don't get.
Roger

Herman K

Randy,

I have a friend/neighbor that is traveling to S-Diego this Tuesday [for a family affair] and returning to Houston Thursday morning. If you like I can have him take my hammer for you to use and bring it back to Houston. Send me a PM or e-mail with your phone number and we can talk about details.

HK 94 GTS

JPTL

I've been dealing with the Airbag Warning light coming on for a couple of years now ('91 GT). What I get is the text "Airbag Warning" after about 15 seconds; as well as the airbag idiot light. The text warning can be cleared with the stalk, but the idiot light stays on. I want to say that there's a seatbelt light that stays on as well.
After about 45 minutes of driving, the airbag text warning comes on again, and again it can be cleared with the stalk. The airbag idiot light stays on at all times.
I'd sensed hesitancy on the part of one Porsche service dept. when I asked them about troubleshooting an airbag system on a 13 year old car. The guy didn't seem too eager to get into it.
Can the hammer quickly diagnose the problem?
Is it possible that I might get lucky by clearing the code/resetting the pcm(?) and not having this appear again, or is the warning reappearing an indication of a recurring problem (sensor, etc.)
Ed, by your posts it sounds like getting to that sensor is no party.
If the local Porsche dealer wants me to leave the car & charge me up the yang for a diagnosis, should I try another in hopes to get lucky like Roger? (Maybe drive to TX...)

Herman K

I'm working on getting this sorted out. Looks like we may get a Texas airbag checkout party very soon. I'm visiting with Mark Bennett in Houston tomorrow to check out my hammer on his car. [I have had no read outs on mine] After this I intend to set up a time with Doc Mirror and Roger in Dallas. Further I'm seperating out the airbag from the FMW diagrams. So stay tuned we will get there together.

HK 94 GTS

Randy V

Thanks for the generous offer, Herman!

I have to go back into the cluster to resolve some other issues (gear selector indicators not illuminating), so I'll hold off on doing a Hammer reset until all is fixed.

Thanks again.

Ed Scherer

J.P., the Hammer will read out the fault code that is causing the warning. In my case, it (well, a JDS Porsche Spanner, actually) was revealing a crash sensor 1 problem (3129 or 3229, which means "crash 1 sensor lead resistance high", 3129=condition present now, 3229=condition intermittent).

After having done the left side one, I'm sure I could do it again in half an hour to an hour. Like everything else, the first time is the hardest, as you explore how everything comes apart. Right side might not be much more difficult, as it's just different stuff that's in the way (LH control unit, EZK control unit, etc.) Armed with the photos I provided in the thread Fixing a nuisance air bag system fault 3129/3229, you'd at least know what to look for.

So, ... I'd say this is well within the capabilities of the average DIYer, but it sure would be good to read out the fault code, and you'll need a Hammer (or Spanner) to reset the fault code when you're done. And last I heard, the JDS Porsche Spanner would only reset the airbag faults on the '90 cars (I got lucky!), so you might have to dig up a real Hammer or see if at least your service guys will at least do the fault reset for you (5 minute job)!

Just remember to disconnect that ground strap on your battery and let everything discharge for half an hour. You definitely don't want to mess with this stuff when the circuit is powered up!

BTW, I did my crash sensor 1 contact cleaning / DeoxIT application two months ago, and the problem hasn't returned.