Can I Clean An Airbag Impact Sensor

We've all been there. You're driving downwardly the route and suddenly a little red light pops upwards on the dash.

Automobile Repairs Are EXPENSIVE

Earlier you lot've had a hazard to even figure out which calorie-free it is, your middle has jumped upwards into your pharynx and y'all're thinking "what's this going to toll me?".

It's a pretty scary scenario, and whether your car'due south airbag light is a little yellow human being with a seatbelt on, or a bright red SRS symbol, it could well exist pointing to a serious issue. SRS stands for Supplemental Restraint System, as is the official term for your vehicle'southward airbag system.

Though it is usually okay to bulldoze with this lite on, it isn't recommended. If you get into an blow you could find yourself without a working airbag. The best affair to do is to get your car checked and diagnosed as quickly as possible, every bit it could be one of several issues.

Why Is My Airbag Lite On?

There are a number of reasons your airbag sensor calorie-free may exist illuminated.

Your Airbag Backup Battery Is Depleted

Airbags need power to activate, and to make sure that in the issue of an blow they actually practise, they are hooked up to a backup battery.

If your car's main battery has drained recently, it may well have depleted the airbag backup battery besides. Information technology may self-correct once the battery is fully charged again, if non, you lot may take to perform a sensor reset.

You Airbag Module Got Moisture

If yous've recently driven through floodwaters, or accidently left the window open in the rain, chances are the airbag module that sits under the driver's or rider's seat got wet.

When this happens, it's mutual for information technology to short out or corrode, causing the SRS calorie-free to come up on.

Your Airbag Clock Jump Is Damaged Or Faulty

The airbag clock spring sits inside your steering cycle and basically keeps the electric wiring betwixt the car and the commuter-side airbag from being damaged as the wheel is turned.

Over fourth dimension, the airbag clock spring tin become worn and damaged as a outcome of consistent turning of the wheel, which can trigger your airbag light.

One Of Your Airbag Sensors Is Faulty

Faulty airbag sensors are probably the most mutual cause of airbag lights coming on.

Your vehicle has a number of different sensors which are designed to activate the airbag arrangement in the event of an accident. Naturally, these can go faulty, which would crusade the airbag light to illuminate.

Unlike Kinds Of Airbag Alert Lights

The two most common kinds of airbag warning lights are the letters 'SRS', or an image of a man with a seatbelt on and a deployed airbag in front end of him.

Typically, these are either yellowish or scarlet, and stay illuminated.

However, some vehicles operate the light in dissimilar means to communicate specific information back to y'all. For example, the calorie-free may be flashing, or information technology might alternate between blinking and beingness continuously on.

It'southward a expert idea to refer to your vehicle's user manual, every bit sequences such as these may exist relaying info most a specific issue that you can nourish to easily.

What Is An Airbag Sensor?

Your car has a number of airbag sensors, which can basically tell when the vehicle has been involved in an accident by sensing rapid deceleration. It can distinguish dangerous from non-dangerous collisions, and communicate with the airbag organization to tell it whether or not to activate the airbags.

In that location are two master types of airbag sensors in modern vehicles.

Mass Sensor

Mass sensor systems are typically located in the front of the vehicle and measure impact. Usually there will be one sensor inside the engine and some other somewhere in the rider seating expanse.

Roller Sensor

Roller sensors accept an internal scroll spring component, which in the event of an accident experiences tension. This tension measures intensity of affect, communicating this back to the ECU to make up one's mind whether the airbags need to be deployed or not.

What's All The Fuss Well-nigh Airbags?

Airbags have been around since the late 1980s, and became standard equipment in all vehicles in 1998. Since their introduction, they take saved over 50,000 lives .

The location of your airbags ultimately depends on your vehicle, merely these are typically located inside the steering cycle, and in the dashboard on the passenger side. Most modernistic vehicles as well have rear passenger airbags, besides as seated-mounted and side-pall airbags.

Short of wearing a seatbelt, airbags are one of the biggest contributors to safety during an accident, lowering accident death rates by effectually 30% .

Where Is My Airbag Sensor Located?

The location of airbag sensors differs from motorcar to car. The most common location is inside the front bumper or fender, yet many modernistic vehicles have several airbag sensors.

They can also be found inside the engine bay, in the passenger seat expanse, or even in the rear or sides of the vehicle.

How To Reset Your Airbag Sensor

Ofttimes, all it takes to get rid of that pesky warning light is to reset your airbag sensor. This is a fantastic first stride in diagnosing the outcome if you don't have a diagnostics tool. If the low-cal comes back on after existence reset, information technology'due south a good indicator that your vehicle needs further attention.

The groovy thing about this pace is that you don't really have to find the airbag sensor itself. If you lot have an OBD2 scanner handy, this is ideal, otherwise you tin reset the airbag sensor by disconnecting and reconnecting the vehicle's battery.

To do this, locate the battery under the hood (it might be in the torso depending on your vehicle), and unscrew the nut on the negative terminal. The negative concluding is the one with the (-) next to it, (+) is positive.

Remove the terminal clamp and go out it disconnected for 5-10 seconds to allow the airbag sensor to reset. And then reconnect the battery final and turn the vehicle on. With a fleck of luck, the low-cal volition stay off. If information technology comes back on then the best thing to practice is to take your car in for a diagnostics scan.

How To Supersede An Airbag Sensor

Y'all shouldn't go replacing airbag sensors willy nilly, so make sure yous are 100% certain that a sensor is at fault before you buy a replacement part. Otherwise you could exist pouring coin down the bleed.

The best way to be certain that the outcome is an airbag sensor and not something else (similar airbag clock springs or a wet airbag module), is to connect a diagnostics tool to your car'southward OBD2 port and run a full browse.

In one case you've adamant the issue is indeed an airbag sensor (and you know which one needs replacing), then you can get to piece of work.

With the new part in hand, grab your manufacturer's service manual and determine the location of the faulty sensor.

The specific steps will differ depending on your vehicle, and you should consult the service manual for any specific information regarding your make and model. Here's a basic overview of the process:

1 – Go along The Engine Off

Yous don't need the engine on for this job, and you lot certainly don't want to become your easily or pilus caught in annihilation. Go out the engine off.

2 – Disconnect The Battery

This one's a super important pace. If yous fail to do this, you could inadvertently activate the airbag system, causing them to deploy inside your car.

That's a surefire way to turn a simple and cheap repair chore into a nightmare. Once the battery is disconnected, requite it a few minutes earlier you begin.

iii – Grab All Your Tools

Having everything you lot need handy makes the procedure a lot easier. There'due south nothing worse than having to climb out from nether the vehicle because you grabbed a 10mm socket but not a 12mm.

Read through all the steps here and in your manual, and keep everything yous need nearby.

4 – Test The Sensor If Needed

If you still aren't 100% sure if the airbag sensor is at fault, you might similar to test it with a digital multimeter. The electric current output should be less than 10mA, though you should consult your vehicle's manual for model specific info.

5 – Get That Sucker Out Of Hither

Carefully disconnect any electric connections from the module and move them aside. For front impact sensors, disconnect the 4P connectors from the driver and rider side sensors.

You may demand to unbolt the module depending on how information technology's mounted. Now carefully remove the sensor and open up up the new one.

6 – Supersede With The New Sensor

Grab the new airbag sensor and advisedly put it dorsum in identify. Reconnect all connections and mountings and you lot're done!

seven – Wrap It Upwardly

Reconnect the battery terminals and turn your vehicle on to come across a beautiful, warning light-less dashboard! If the low-cal doesn't come off automatically, you might need to reset it with a scanner tool.

Airbag Sensor Replacement Cost

The price of replacing your airbag sensor largely depends on the difficulty of the task itself. The parts are typically pretty cheap, yet these are sensitive components, meaning the replacement procedure is pretty sensitive too.

It can easily accept a couple of hours for even a professional mechanic to diagnose, remove and replace a faulty airbag sensor. Specialty and luxury vehicles tin can exist even more than complicated, pushing the labor cost up even further.

Airbag sensor replacements typically cost around $250-$350, and it's generally recommended to have an adept mechanic complete the chore, given how important and sensitive the repair is.

If yous're confident and comfortable with at-home repairs though, you lot tin can salvage a huge office of the replacement toll past non paying for labor. Depending on your vehicle's model, an airbag sensor could be as piddling equally $50, upward to around $200 for most vehicles.

What You Should Practise If Your Airbag Calorie-free Is On Now

First of all, don't panic. It's more than probable a simple repair such equally an airbag sensor replacement.

You can nevertheless bulldoze the vehicle, only yous should bear in mind that there could be an issue with your airbag organisation. This could mean that in the event of an accident your airbags may not deploy.

So, information technology is something you should tend to fairly urgently. Most garages have a diagnostics tool and getting a scan is fairly expensive (and sometimes free of accuse), and then we'd recommend heading to your nearest workshop and getting the vehicle checked out.