Replaced Spiral Cable, Now Have an Airbag Light!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Bikeman, Dec 1, 2012.

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  1. Bikeman

    Bikeman Junior Member

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    Hi all. I have had button issues on my steering wheel for quite awhile now and finally gritted my teeth, bought a new spiral cable on Ebay, and tore into it the other day. I had downloaded the pdf instructions and thanks to them, found it to be a very simple job. Everything went back together perfectly, fired the car up, no lights, buttons working, happy day.

    The next day I went to town and in the middle of the trip the airbag light comes on. I pulled over, shut the car down and restarted it, the light was off again. Took off and a short time later it comes on again. Repeated the procedure with the same results. While later it comes on again.

    Came home and tore into the steering wheel. Checked all the plugs, everything seems tight. Put it all back together, drove the car the next day for several hours, no light. Breathed a sigh of relief. Then today took off on a trip and about an hour into it the light comes on. And won't go out, even after shutting down. When I got back to town I called a friend with a scanner, he was home and said come on by. We hooked it up, no codes. Tried erasing codes just in case, nothing.

    So now the light is on solid, and I'm scratching my head. Wondering if I might have gotten a bad spiral cable?? My friend suggested disconnecting the 12v battery again to reset the system, but I'm thinking I've already done that, twice with the installation and teardown. And why would the scanner not pick it up?

    Looking for suggestions, this has me stumped. Thanks in advance!!
     
    #1 Bikeman, Dec 1, 2012
  2. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    A generic obd2 reader may not get the state of the airbag system. The manual goes into some detail about getting the connectors seated properly. If they are, it should just work. If not, then you can get the airbag system to display codes by shorting pins 4 and 13 of the DLC3 connector, and watching the blinks on the dash. It will repeat a sequence, such as, for ex.

    blink-blink-blink (pause) blink (longer pause)

    to indicate DTC 31. Turn the car on and wait 60 secs first. Powering down the car clears DTC's. But not always. (sheesh).

    From the manual:

    If you can get a DVM to use, hopefully you can take a look at the continuity through the connector using small pins pushed through the insulation of the two airbag wires.

    Maybe someone can chime in here: what is the level of current that passes through this connector to trigger the bag?
     
    #2 nh7o, Dec 1, 2012
  3. Bikeman

    Bikeman Junior Member

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    Holy Moly! Over my head! What are the details of getting the pins seated? I suppose that's what I would try for first, for me to diagnose this, have neither the equipment or knowledge!
     
    #3 Bikeman, Dec 1, 2012
  4. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    Just make sure the connectors are pushed all the way onto their mates, and feel tight.

    Where are you located? You can put that in your profile. Any competent independent shop can help you with those instructions.
     
    #4 nh7o, Dec 2, 2012
  5. Bikeman

    Bikeman Junior Member

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    Hi again! Tore everything apart, examined all the pins with a magnifying glass in bright sunlight, all looks good. Reassembled it, still have a light. Followed your instructions (actually quite simple once I did it, thank you very much!), it's flashing a DTC code of 51. Tried to clear it many, many times to no avail. Any idea what DTC 51 would be?
     
    #5 Bikeman, Dec 2, 2012
  6. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    DTC 51 means there is a short to ground, or an open circuit, in the airbag circuit in the driver side "squib", or pad on the steering wheel. But we knew that already, I think. There is nothing for it but to trace the wires in the steering wheel from the airbag connector through the spiral cable. The fault is there somewhere. It may be the spiral cable itself. Try swapping the old one back in and see what happens.
     
    #6 nh7o, Dec 2, 2012
  7. Bikeman

    Bikeman Junior Member

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    Once the ground fault is resolved will the light go out or does the code still need to be cleared? I swapped my old spiral cable back in and still had the airbag light. So I went through the procedure above to clear the DTC's. Still glowing. I opened it back up and inspected everything. Can't see anything that would cause the short. The ground lead is very distinct from the airbag wiring, just hard to see how there could be any fault between them. I am wondering if I need to find a more sophisticated reader to reset the code and discern whether I have a bad spiral cable or not.
     
    #7 Bikeman, Dec 2, 2012
  8. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    The main thing is that it is not possible to see electrical faults. Must use DVM/continuity tester! If the code comes back after doing the above, then there is still a problem somewhere.
     
    #8 nh7o, Dec 2, 2012
  9. Bikeman

    Bikeman Junior Member

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    But I can't get the code to clear, period. I have tried and tried the procedure above and have never gotten the light to go out or the 51 code to go away. What I am wondering is the light staying on even if the fault is fixed (replaced the old spiral cable)?
     
    #9 Bikeman, Dec 2, 2012
  10. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    There is no way to know the condition without tracing electrically. No one who works on cars would approach this problem without a continuity tester. That is your next step. The car thinks there is a problem, so further probing is required.
     
    #10 nh7o, Dec 2, 2012
  11. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    You have assumed that the old spiral cable is at fault. It might be.

    Or it might be that the new spiral cable has a fault.

    Or the fault might be at a wiring harness connector or somewhere else.
    Absolutely, an ohmmeter or continuity tester is required to figure out exactly where the problem resides.
     
    #11 Patrick Wong, Dec 3, 2012
  12. AquaJan

    AquaJan Junior Member

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    I know this an ancient thread but I'm dealing with the same issue on my '07 and wondered whether Bikeman got his light fixed?
     
    #12 AquaJan, Oct 3, 2017
  13. IMkenNY

    IMkenNY Im just being nosy

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    The aftermarket spiral cables have not been nearly as reliable as the OEM Toyota cables. If your using an inexpensive aftermarket spiral cable , It make take a few before you find a good one.
     
    #13 IMkenNY, Oct 3, 2017
  14. AquaJan

    AquaJan Junior Member

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    I did go with a cheap aftermarket one but I did get two of them. I'll install the other one and see if the light clears. The new spring did fix my wheel control problems though. :unsure:
     
    #14 AquaJan, Oct 4, 2017
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  15. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    This.
    If getting supwrcheap ones, plan on buying two or three before you find a reliable one for your car.

    Will it properly deploy the airbag when you need it? You'll won't know after your first accident. If it doesn't deploy the airbag that time, then instead install one of the backup parts you bought so you'll be ready for the next accident.
     
    #15 ericbecky, Oct 4, 2017
  16. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    ... it may be a moot point, as the OP may not have further use for any car safety features. You really got to ask, "Is going cheap worth a life?"
     
    #16 dolj, Oct 4, 2017
  17. AquaJan

    AquaJan Junior Member

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    Dealer wants $346 for just the part. Since that's the most expensive, it must be the safest choice.
     
    #17 AquaJan, Oct 4, 2017
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  18. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Being the most expensive does not utomatically make it the safest, but if the dealer wants $346 and the cheap ones are exponentially less... It would make me a bit leery.

    How much was the aftermarket one. $200 $175? $150? Less?

    If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
     
    #18 ericbecky, Oct 4, 2017
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  19. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    #19 exstudent, Oct 4, 2017
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  20. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    Starting from $8.15, at crapBay (eBay), home of genuine counterfeit parts.
    prius clockspring | eBay
     
    #20 exstudent, Oct 4, 2017
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