Airbag light comes on intermittently

CHRISTOPHER SA

MEMBER
2006 SAAB 9-5
1.9L
4 CYL
TURBO
2WD
MANUAL
159,000 MILES

My sister's car has an intermittent airbag light (on the dash) and warning noise that comes on. Sometimes it comes on every few minutes and sometimes very few times. When it is wet outside it comes on more frequently.

When changing the seat covers the airbag and warning noise didn't come on for a while, then started again. I thought it was some loose wires underneath the seat but when checking and making sure everything was seated correctly, it really didn't solve anything.

What could be the cause of this?

3 Replies

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Hi,

More than likely this is a connector that has water damage. I suspect you will have codes in the system but you need to use a scan tool that can communicate with the ABS module, not all can.

It could be related to the seat covers which means it could be the seat belt tensioner or this could have been a coincidence.

Let me know if you have codes and we can go from there. If you don't have a scan tool then most parts stores can pull them for you. However, make sure they are able to pull from the ABS. Thanks

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Tuesday, August 20th, 2019 AT 3:53 PM

CHRISTOPHER SA

MEMBER
223 POSTS

Hi,

My sister actually purchased a scan tool while I was here because she was having to go to a mechanic whenever the check engine light came on. She was paying $30.00 a pop (approximately), so she decided to buy one which was recommended by Scotty Kilmer on YouTube. The day she received it the check engine light came on and the scan tool found that one of the hoses on the turbo system was faulty. When we checked, the hose had a slit in it (it looked like it had failed at that point). That was well worth the cost of that tool ($60.00 $65.00), but it does not scan the ABS module on this SAAB. We/I didn't think to check!

I will try and find a local parts store that can pull this code or I will get my sister to buy this tool:

https://mythinkcar.com/

which seems to do an awful lot of stuff, including scanning the ABS module. You might want to look at this too. Thanks for the information.

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Wednesday, August 21st, 2019 AT 4:52 AM

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Okay. Let me know what you find with the ABS codes. Thanks for the information but I am all set for scan tools. I have not tried this one yet but will keep my ears open for those that try it.

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Wednesday, August 21st, 2019 AT 7:30 PM