Airbag light flashing

[matts1111]

Hi !!

I have a 2008 D40 and recently the red airbag light is flashing on the dashboard / HUD. I'll turn on the engine and it starts flashing whilst driving the vehicle, I don't think its a problem with the airbag, more the electrics (it seemed to have started when I replaced the old dead battery with a new one).

Does anyone know how I can stop this light flashing please??

Thanks

 

[Old.Tony]

Airbag light comes on for four reasons (in order of common occurence, and not including deliberate diagnostic illumination during car power-on or requested tests):

1) Clock spring broken in steering wheel. Easy to replace. Do NOT mix up the "L" and "R". If you're in a right-hand drive country, get one labelled "R", left-hand drive should get "L". If you don't, you'll discover that your indicators don't cancel like they used to - they still will, but at different points in the steering wheel rotation. Electrically they still work fine.
2) Diagnostic module fault. It's under the cup holders in the centre console, needs a T50 torx security bit to remove. About $1100 at Nissan, or $100 at a wrecker (in NSW Australia). Mine failed with a blown capacitor, I couldn't find a replacement of same value so I just got another unit (from a wrecker).
3) Instrument cluster not earthing properly. If it's not earthing well through the stereo (where for some reason Nissan decided to earth it), it will seek an earth from anywhere and that could be through that light, or anywhere else. Usually find that other indications aren't behaving normally as well. The fix is to add another earth (black) wire from the stereo's casing to one of the dash mounting bolts.
4) Airbag fault. I've not seen it, but the manual describes it as a possibility.

 

[matts1111]

Airbag light comes on for four reasons (in order of common occurence, and not including deliberate diagnostic illumination during car power-on or requested tests):

1) Clock spring broken in steering wheel. Easy to replace. Do NOT mix up the "L" and "R". If you're in a right-hand drive country, get one labelled "R", left-hand drive should get "L". If you don't, you'll discover that your indicators don't cancel like they used to - they still will, but at different points in the steering wheel rotation. Electrically they still work fine.
2) Diagnostic module fault. It's under the cup holders in the centre console, needs a T50 torx security bit to remove. About $1100 at Nissan, or $100 at a wrecker (in NSW Australia). Mine failed with a blown capacitor, I couldn't find a replacement of same value so I just got another unit (from a wrecker).
3) Instrument cluster not earthing properly. If it's not earthing well through the stereo (where for some reason Nissan decided to earth it), it will seek an earth from anywhere and that could be through that light, or anywhere else. Usually find that other indications aren't behaving normally as well. The fix is to add another earth (black) wire from the stereo's casing to one of the dash mounting bolts.
4) Airbag fault. I've not seen it, but the manual describes it as a possibility.

Thanks mate, I changed the clock spring, same issue. I’ve also tried the reset trick on YouTube, it stops but then after driving and turning it comes on again.

Is there a fuse I can pull out to just disable the light? Or can I access the light itself to just remove the bulb? I don’t want to go to the trouble of trying each option, spending $$ and it still repeating… would just like to disable the light fully.

Hope you can help

 

[Old.Tony]

It won't pass rego if you do that (if the guy is doing a complete job, which admittedly a lot of them don't).

I don't think it's a separate bulb inside the instrument cluster, I think they're surface mount LEDs (happy to be corrected on that). Pin 37 on the back of the instrument cluster is the wire from the diagnostic unit, it should be light green (should be bottom row, 4th from the vehicle right hand side). Trouble is, if memory serves, if you unplug the wire, the light stays on anyway because the inner circuit inside the instrument cluster relies on a specific voltage signal from the diagnostic unit to make the light go out (to prevent exactly the kind of tampering being contemplated). I don't know what that voltage would be.

 

[matts1111]

Thanks Tony!! I think I'll have a go at replacing it... noted regarding L and R... what does E stand for, seeing a few for sale with E on them... European? So I'm assuming LHD too...

 

[Old.Tony]

Thanks Tony!! I think I'll have a go at replacing it... noted regarding L and R... what does E stand for, seeing a few for sale with E on them... European? So I'm assuming LHD too...

I've no clue what the 'E' refers to, you're probably right that it's "European". I just called Central Coast Wreckers at Wyong and they fixed me up with the exact module needed.

 

[matts1111]

Hi Tony... replaced the clock spring, pretty straightforward task, the light was still flashing at first but reset it using the key switch technique, no more flashing light. Only thing I noticed is that the steering wheel is pulling left... it was pulling left prior but its even more exaggerated now, not a massive problem but would be good to fix.

 

[YowieMountain]

Interesting ..... I also have this flashing and have been ignoring figuring it to be clockspring until I have spare time .
Interesting about steering, as I had a slight leftwards pull that has worsened in the month or two that the light has been flashing .

 

[Old.Tony]

Hi Tony... replaced the clock spring, pretty straightforward task, the light was still flashing at first but reset it using the key switch technique, no more flashing light. Only thing I noticed is that the steering wheel is pulling left... it was pulling left prior but its even more exaggerated now, not a massive problem but would be good to fix.

The 2008 D40 doesn't have electrical assistance on the steering, so the exact reason for your steering pulling harder to the left is a bit beyond me. If you had marked the steering wheel on the splines of the column and put it back exactly as it was, then the only thing that I can think of that's causing a steering aberration is (and this also happened to me) a bent steering arm that's just getting worse.

 

[Phunk]

Hi Tony... replaced the clock spring, pretty straightforward task, the light was still flashing at first but reset it using the key switch technique, no more flashing light. Only thing I noticed is that the steering wheel is pulling left... it was pulling left prior but its even more exaggerated now, not a massive problem but would be good to fix.

Not sure if you're still around, I changed my clockspring over the weekend, same thing with my D40, I matched the 2 lines on the shaft and the steering wheel and it sits to the left. I removed the wheel and moved it one spline to the right and now it sits centre again.

This car / nissan always find new ways to make me giggle on QA.