With so many lights popping up on your car’s dashboard, you may not immediately realize that there’s an airbag warning light on. Even if you do, you might think it is nothing serious, and go about driving as if nothing happened. However, any warning light is a sign that’s something wrong with the vehicle and needs to be checked out immediately, especially if that warning light is for the airbag.
Also known as the SRS light, the airbag warning light can turn on at any time, even if the airbag itself has never deployed. This happens for many reasons, which we will discuss today in this article:
1. The Sensors Are Faulty
Around the vehicle, many sensors work together to detect impacts to trigger the right airbags to protect you and other passengers. However, these sensors can deteriorate over time, or they can even trip on accident. Regardless, these problems cause the warning light to come on.
2. The Battery Has Run Out
If your vehicle’s battery has run out recently, chances are that the batteries that power the airbag modules may also have run out. In most cases, the backup batteries should automatically charge themselves when your vehicle’s main batteries are restored. If this wasn’t the case, then the lights may come on, letting you know that the airbag battery needs to be charged up.
3. The Airbag Module Is Moist
If your car has recently experienced some major water damage, such as flooding that has caused water to flood even the interior of your vehicle, there’s a chance that the water has damaged the airbag modules. Shorting and corrosion could have occurred, rendering the modules useless. This can easily cause the warning light to come on, letting you know that the water has caused damage.
4. The Clock Spring Is Damaged
To maintain the connection between the airbag in the steering wheel and the wiring in the car itself, a clock-spring mechanism will be in place to ensure this. This spring slowly coils in and out as the wheels turn, maintaining the connection. However, over time, this spring can get damaged, losing connection. This can cause the warning light to come on, letting you know that the spring has worn down and needs fixing.
5. The Wires Have Been Damaged
Under the seat, there will be wires that run around the vehicle, some of which are wires of the airbag system. Unfortunately, the habit of putting things under the seat can easily damage these wires. This can easily cause the system to detect a problem, turning the airbag warning light on.
6. The car has been through an accident
If the car has been through a recent accident, the sensors may have detected the hit but not activate the airbag because the impact wasn’t hard enough. The light will come one, prompting you to reset the system.
Conclusion
Regardless of the cause of the warning light coming on, it is always important to send the vehicle to the repair shop right away to tackle the problem. You wouldn’t want to be driving around with the warning lights on, as there’s a high risk of the airbags not deploying when they should have. That being said, technicians will work hard looking for the cause of the light and fix the source of the problem to ensure that the airbag system works as intended
Seat Belt Restore offers post-accident seat belt repairs, SRS airbag module resets, and more in California. If you are looking for airbag module reset services, reach out to us today!