Originally Posted by
JHM2K
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the replacement unit built for market claims has a line (or five) of code that doesn't jive with the OEM airbag control unit, and it's popping the code. With the ever-increasing complexity of systems in cars these days, it's a very common problem if the past-point-of-fit (PPOF) component is going into a 10+ year-old car.
A major supplier for lane-departure warning systems for Nissan struggles with this issue a LOT. I'm one of the guys that approves the Parts Submission Warrants for these SW changes, and ten times out of nine there are issues detected downstream when the factories overseas have to do PPOF replacements.
TL,DR version -- he needs to borrow Star-DAS to fix it. But it's fixable.
I'm just going to say I think the dealership(s) is/are incompetent. I believe them hooking up the wrong test equipment MAY BE causing this problem for all the members. On The Job (OJT) training in the service bay is partly causing this problem, poorly written step-by-step instructions complete the problematic replacements. They give the box to a tech and let him/her go at it using the included instructions. IF the SRS system was not activated, the SRS 'test' step through their OBD computers, is not necessary. The people with SRS experience know the module just needs swapping correctly. If they leave that last step out (the SRS test) and simply swap it after leaving the NEG cable off for @ 2-3 minutes, then the system will work again when they reconnect the NEG cable (providing they did not 'pinch' a wire or break anything, which experienced techs do not usually do). If the replacement went bad because of any damage or breakage during removal/replacement, the system self-test will fail anyway. Hooking up the diagnostics will only point to a possible location in the process. So by whether the diagnostics point to a failure, or the SRS light shows an error, the problem happened after the service dept checked in the car. We know the air bag can be safely removed and installed without those OBD systems hooked into the car (way too many members have done it). When you bring your car in, video the SRS lamp during startup (showing the successful SELF-TEST), and make the tech document there is no SRS light lit by pointing out the SRS self test works correctly. That should put them on notice that they should have someone with experience do the work.
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