JGoodson

I just received my Durametric Diagnostic kit and I'm trying to figure out how to clear the Airbag alert code. Does anyone have experience with the tool and specifically how to clear this code? Car is a 02 996 TT. Thanks.

frisbee91

Click the Airbag menu item on the list on the left. Then click "clear fault codes" from the drop-down list. Use the dialog that pops up to clear the fault codes.

JGoodson

Thanks, I'll do that this morning. Will that permanently clear the code or will it be reoccurring?

DBJoe996

As long as the airbag sensors have not detected something wrong with the airbag system then the reset will clear the airbag code and that is it. It should not come back on as long as the airbag system is okay. If it comes on again then something is wrong with the airbag system. You did not say why it came on in the first place?

crashclint

My airbag light was coming on due to a bad seat belt buckle in my 1998 Boxster.

There is a thread about this hear as well. https://rennlist.com/forums/boxster-...hread-faq.html

JGoodson

This is helpful, thanks. I can't pinpoint what happened. I parked the car in my garage and everything was fine. The next morning I turned on the ignition and the airbag indictor came on.

frisbee91

My airbag light comes on about every 12-24 months. The code is always for the seat belt buckle switch. I clean the buckle receptacle with electronics contact cleaner spray (obtained from an auto parts store), clear the code with the durmametric, and I'm good to go.

If you have a different code, you may have a different, and perhaps more critical, problem.

JGoodson

The code was for the seat belt buckle switch which has been reset. We'll see how long it stays off. Next step would be to perform the clean and lube of the bucket per your suggestion.

frisbee91

Clean with a no-residue electronics cleaner. No lube.

crashclint

Unfortunately for me, the cleaning of the buckle didn't work, it was just worn out. I had a friend who is a mechanic for Porsche try to reset it and it immediately came back on. Leith Porsche had the cheapest prices I could find for new buckles and since my car had the upgraded ground wiring I didn't need the extra harnesses.

I used DeoxIT when I cleaned mine.

garrett376

It's probably cheaper to just recode the airbag module to not check the buckles at all. Anyone with a PIWIS1 or 2 can do it.

crashclint

Interesting, I didn't realize that could be done as I would have went that route. Would have saved me time, headaches and a scratch on the door.

frisbee91

Hmmm. It was my understanding that the reason for the seat belt buckle switch in the Airbag system was to allow the system to alter the deployment speed of the airbag depending on whether the seat belt was buckled or not. For both the driver and passenger.

For safety.

Seems like disabling it would create a potentially unsafe condition. Not sure what the default behavior of the system would be in a crash, but I wouldn't modify the airbag system based on advice from the internet. Just sayin'.

alpine003

This is the first I heard of this. Do you have any proof?

I've had my seatbelt check programmed to be off for a few years now But mainly so I can swap to race seats without issues.

frisbee91

I read this in one of the forums here, but I can't find it. I'm not certain it's true for the 996, but I would find out for sure if I were modifying my airbag system.

Two-stage airbags are certainly in use.

A quick google search found this at Edmunds.com:
"Advanced Airbags:
...By the early 2000s, some automakers introduced these new airbags, calling them "advanced," "smart," "dual-stage" or "multi-stage."

These airbags were created primarily to reduce the risk of airbag-related injury or death to children and small adults by either deploying with less force or not at all, depending on the situation. Sensors, usually located in the seat and seatbelts, sent signals to the vehicle's computer providing information such as the weight and seating position of the occupant and if he or she was wearing a seatbelt. In the event of a collision, the computer then made a split-second decision on whether to deploy the airbag at full force, reduced force or not at all."