OBD2 Scanners to rest airbag fault warning

[Folkranger]

I've trawled through so many posts on airbag faults, some mentioning scanners but almost all saying send to Crashdata so I'm asking specifically about members experiences with Scanners to reset airbag warnings.

My 2014 Rapido on Fiat 2.3 developed a fault last year. I assume this might be because I had not connected to mains (which I usually do) thinking the solar panel would keep it charged.

It seems I have 3 main options:
1. £600 ish Get the main dealer to repair/replace (but probably out of stock)
2. £90 ish including postage - Send to Crashdata and hope mine is one of the 70% they can fix
3. £110 ish Buy a scanner/reset tool, hope I know what I'm doing.

Any thoughts?

 

[SandraL]

I have just replaced airbag ecu onour 2013 fiat.
Read codes with "multiecuscan" software on a windows pc.
This enabled me to read airbag codes, reset airbag codes, and proxy align the new ecu so it was recognised.
Edit, Cannot reset a hard fault, ie one still present.
You can try the software for free, there is a simulation mode to practice with on the pc with no connection to the car.
To use in earnest you will need a one off registration, 50 euro, a modified obd lead, £16, and an adapter lead for airbag ecu, £10.
Or goto Gendan for a kit and they will provide tel support.
I was lucky that Deneb and Phill D had posted info and helped me.

Once you have read the codes ring crashdata and they will confirm if they can reset it.

Multiecuscan - Diagnostics software for Italian cars

 

[chaser]

I presume you have tried all the connections under the seats.
Mine does it about every 1000 miles but a back heel kick to the panel under my seat sorts it.

 

[brynric]

I had the airbag warning on my 2016 Fiat Ducati. I traced it to the wiring under the seats which appeared to have been caught up and frayed by the seat movement. I tidied up the wires but air bag warning remained.
I bought an Autel AP200 Bluetooth OBD2 Scanner on Amazon at about £75, not cheap but better than some alternatives. This connected fairly easily and the warning was cleared. I’m not the most technical so the process was relatively straight forward. And the scanner lives in the glove box in case (until) it’s needed again.

 

[Folkranger]

I had the airbag warning on my 2016 Fiat Ducati. I traced it to the wiring under the seats which appeared to have been caught up and frayed by the seat movement. I tidied up the wires but air bag warning remained.
I bought an Autel AP200 Bluetooth OBD2 Scanner on Amazon at about £75, not cheap but better than some alternatives. This connected fairly easily and the warning was cleared. I’m not the most technical so the process was relatively straight forward. And the scanner lives in the glove box in case (until) it’s needed again.

Good to hear. I'm hoping that a good scanner can tell me what has triggered the fault as well as resetting the warning.

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[Gellyneck]

I think "user based scanners" can only clear "software" faults however a number of the issues with the airbag ecu are actually the unit's firmware which needs to be rewritten which these type of units can't do.

 

[Folkranger]

I had the airbag warning on my 2016 Fiat Ducati. I traced it to the wiring under the seats which appeared to have been caught up and frayed by the seat movement. I tidied up the wires but air bag warning remained.
I bought an Autel AP200 Bluetooth OBD2 Scanner on Amazon at about £75, not cheap but better than some alternatives. This connected fairly easily and the warning was cleared. I’m not the most technical so the process was relatively straight forward. And the scanner lives in the glove box in case (until) it’s needed again.

Would this scanner have pinpointed the cause, like low battery or seatbelt etc?

 

[Folkranger]

I think "user based scanners" can only clear "software" faults however a number of the issues with the airbag ecu are actually the unit's firmware which needs to be rewritten which these type of units can't do.

Aaaaaaah! Is that the difference between real faults that the ecu is reporting and faults in the ecu itself? Anybody?.......

 

[Folkranger]

I presume you have tried all the connections under the seats.
Mine does it about every 1000 miles but a back heel kick to the panel under my seat sorts it.

Wouldn't you still have to clear the warning? Doesn't it latch? Sorry if these seem dumb questions but I'm at the bottom of a learning curve.

 

[jako999]

You will need to research the reader you are looking at as a lot won’t reset the air bags as they are on a different system and only a dealer can reset them due to it being a serious hazard has occurred even though it probably hasn’t and they just like making lots of cash out of us.

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[brynric]

Would this scanner have pinpointed the cause, like low battery or seatbelt etc?

It’s a while since this happened and I honestly don’t remember. As others have said different scanners will do different tasks. The one I went with was a compromise between economy and convenience but well reviewed. And it did the job in my case. It wouldn’t have helped if the ecu was faulty.

 

[Gellyneck]

Aaaaaaah! Is that the difference between real faults that the ecu is reporting and faults in the ecu itself? Anybody?.......

When we got ours fixed there was 7 faults showing some of which seemed to be "external" to the ecu, eg pre-tensioner resistance, airbag resistance, etc however one was an "error inside the control unit".
Our local garage tried 3 different commercial OBD readers and none would reset the unit and he advised it must be a FIAT only fix however I had heard of Crashdata and they managed to reset.

 

[SandraL]

When you read the airbag ecu you can, with multiecuscan, get fault codes with explanations.
Some are resettable, some not. Ie if firmware is corrupted then you wont reset it.
When you look at parameters you can see resistance values of airbags and pretensioners
Plus a lot of other detail.
Make a note of faults, plus info like voltage when fault came on, time run.
Try resetting, some may or may not.
Ring someone like crashdata, they will confirm on phone which they are able to fix.
If the fault is not in the ecu then crashdata cant help, but you have to start somewhere.
But first download the software for free and use the simulation mode to get an idea of what will be available should you go that direction. You can look at a dummy airbag ecu and its parameters.
This will cost nothing, assuming you have a pc, but time.
If you do buy the registration and leads you will be able to reset service markers and oil changes plus lots more.

 

[Folkranger]

There is insufficient evidence to convince me that an obd2 reader will definitely solve my issue so I'm going the Crashdata route. Only thing I'm wondering is it worth replacing a 7 year old battery. It's reading 12.3v and 12.5 volt with ecu connected. Seems a bit low to me. Any thoughts?

 

[Stealaway]

There is insufficient evidence to convince me that an obd2 reader will definitely solve my issue so I'm going the Crashdata route. Only thing I'm wondering is it worth replacing a 7 year old battery. It's reading 12.3v and 12.5 volt with ecu connected. Seems a bit low to me. Any thoughts?

The most common failure of the module is due to trying to start the engine with a flat battery.
It helps if you give it a second for most of the dash lights to go out before trying to stat the engine.

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[XxAnthxX]

If your fault is the seatbelt pre-tensioner‘s etc and it’s still present then sending the ecu to crash data won’t help.

If it is wiring and the fault is repaired, the light should reset after a few power cycles of the ignition.

If it’s the ecu that‘s faulty, which is common, crashdata might be able to help.

Multiecuscan is worth is weight in gold for anyone with a Fiat/Alfa/Jeep based car/van (or any others that share ecu’s or bcm’s), it won’t fix a faulty ecu, but will give you a better idea of what is going on than a generic obd reader....it’s as near to Fiats diagnostic software as your going to get. (maybe excluding AlfaOBD)

 

[Mikeco]

Just replaced my airbag Ecu with a new one sourced on eBay, it was new and cost £207, I then sent it to Crashdata together with the old one so they could pair them up, that cost around £120.
Put the new one back yesterday and finally no airbag warning light.
My usual local garage with their £3000 reader could not do anything but a specialist auto electrician read the codes which Crashdata said could not be fixed, that cost another £36 .
One thing to be aware of with Crashdata is that it’s an 0800 number and my phone deal does not cover them so a long conversation can be expensive, better to chat online.

 

[ManTheVan]

I bought a Streetwize OBD2 scanner from Euro car parts for just over £20. It is guaranteed and I thought it worth a punt.

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I then downloaded the Car Scanner app onto my phone (tried the free version first, then bought the premium version as it’s excellent). Only a few pounds.

The unit has been outstanding. It has cleared a long-standing light on my car (an intermittent knock sensor warning - now sorted) and works on all the other vehicles. I haven’t tried it on the MH as there have been no issues, but I believe I’ll need an OBD rather than OBD2.

I can thoroughly recommend the combination. The app allows you to interrogate all faults, tells you what they are, and allows you to reset them. For the money, it’s certainly worth a go, as it will also sort out other lights in future, so isn’t a complete gamble.

Good luck.

 

[Folkranger]

The most common failure of the module is due to trying to start the engine with a flat battery.
It helps if you give it a second for most of the dash lights to go out before trying to stat the engine.

Never had a flat battery but it was probably lower than it should be due to covid lockdown. Who was to know that the ecu would be so sensitive.

 

[Folkranger]

I bought a Streetwize OBD2 scanner from Euro car parts for just over £20. It is guaranteed and I thought it worth a punt.

I've heard that srs faults cant be reset by ither than the best obd2 scanners.

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[XxAnthxX]

There are indeed lots of obd readers that can only access the engine ecu and can only report and reset the check engine light.

 

[Gellyneck]

Who was to know that the ecu would be so sensitive.

Becoming more widely known given the implications of COVID.

 

[Vipar]

Does this reader work on petrol and diesel?

Never had anything to do with them before.

20% discount on first order

 

[Folkranger]

Well, I took a leap in the dark and bought an obd2 scanner that would clear airbag codes on my ducato. Unfortunately it told me the fault was an internal ecu fault and could not be reset so I'll now contact Crashdata and see if they can help. At least I've an expensive scanner that may come in handy in the future but will probably never get used. Feeling sheepish.

 

[icantremember]

Well, I took a leap in the dark and bought an obd2 scanner that would clear airbag codes on my ducato. Unfortunately it told me the fault was an internal ecu fault and could not be reset so I'll now contact Crashdata and see if they can help. At least I've an expensive scanner that may come in handy in the future but will probably never get used. Feeling sheepish.

That's bad luck. Which scanner did you buy?

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[Folkranger]

That's bad luck. Which scanner did you buy?

Topdon AL600. It has lifetime free updates and will reset most fault codes including srs on many vehicles. Found it very easy to use but it told me there is an internal fault with the ecu that can't be fixed by resetting codes. Not cheap at £105, but could be useful in future.

 

[icantremember]

Topdon AL600. It has lifetime free updates and will reset most fault codes including srs on many vehicles. Found it very easy to use but it told me there is an internal fault with the ecu that can't be fixed by resetting codes. Not cheap at £105, but could be useful in future.

Looks to be good value

 

[Gellyneck]

Well, I took a leap in the dark and bought an obd2 scanner that would clear airbag codes on my ducato. Unfortunately it told me the fault was an internal ecu fault and could not be reset so I'll now contact Crashdata and see if they can help. At least I've an expensive scanner that may come in handy in the future but will probably never get used. Feeling sheepish.

 

[Folkranger]

Well the ECU is off and would be posted to Crashdata if not for the Royal mail parcel facility who have covid hours of two hours a day and 4 days a week. Funny how Amazon and others are cashing in and building new facilities but the Royal Mail decides to reduce its service.
Rant over. Fingers crossed for Crash data.
Piece of cake really.

 

[Folkranger]

To conclude, the module was returned by Crashdata the same hour they received it (Sounds like good business). The fault B0100 was due to low or high battery or charger voltage. All fixed and warning lights gone. Hope it lasts. I had considered changing my 7 year old battery but it seems ok (would hate to have to repair again). Total cost £70+VAT + postage to Liverpool = £89.