SRS MOT Failure

[markjay]

How do you test that the Chinese emulator actually works? I.e. that it is telling the SRS that the seat is occupied, as opposed to telling it that it is unoccupied?

Well you can't... you just need to hope it works. But if it does not... then you may have a passenger in the front seat while SRS thinks it is unoccupied and in the event of a crash the airbag will not be deployed.

'Default in case of malfunction' is OK if the SRS sees a malfunction, not if it thinks everything if fine.

Of course you can choose to rely on the competence, skills, and build quality of the Chinese factory - a bit of a tall order for a non-branded device bought off eBay for a fiver I think.

 

[Howard]

$17 from alibaba

 

[aspguitars]

SRS Fault

Hi! all, just to keep you all updated. I took my car to my local Indy at Horndean, Hampshire (Prestige) and they reset the SRS fault after I fitted the new Air Bag Module and Hey! Presto! no more SRS warning light. Many thanks again guys
Ade

 

[markjay]

Hi! all, just to keep you all updated. I took my car to my local Indy at Horndean, Hampshire (Prestige) and they reset the SRS fault after I fitted the new Air Bag Module and Hey! Presto! no more SRS warning light. Many thanks again guys
Ade

You've done the right thing taking the car to Olly.

 

[aspguitars]

SRS Reset

I can't praise these guys enough. So helpful and very reasonable prices.
Ideal as they are right on my way to work, just off the A3

Mercedes Benz & Smart specialists | Prestige Car Service based in Portsmouth, Hampshire

 

[richard]

I'm very pleased your car is now safe for you - and as everyone says, Olly is superb.

To summarise the airbag light. When it is on, the system is not performing to the design. The light lights up for a plethora of reasons, each reason will cause a different failure / accident behaviour. The only way to know the reason is to read the fault codes - but in general that only leaves us guessing at what will happen if an accident occurs as none of us designed the system and I have never seen a Mercedes document that describes what doesn't work for each fault code (or even for every combination of fault codes).

There are one or two failures that could cause the airbags to explode. (Control unit failing drastically, or I suspect a combination of failures making the system think there has been an accident).

Unexpected airbag deployment can cause severe injuries. My best friends wife broke both her wrists completely because passenger airbag in a golf deployed in a low speed impact. Car was driven slowly (in traffic) into a land-rover with a towbar. She put her hands forward onto the dashboard as she realised the car wasn't going to stop in time, the towbar went through the bumper and hit the front subframe, both her hands got smacked into the windscreen (which of course broke along with her)

So, you can see why I am keen for cars to have any airbag issue dealt with ASAP

Richard

 

[sjmaxwell]

I'm with you Richard on this, its a safety feature and the warning light is on for a good reason!

Glad you got it fixed

 

[BTB 500]

Slightly OT but I've never really been convinced about passenger front airbags! If you're strapped in you are not going to come into contact with the dash or windscreen, but as per Richard's post there is certainly scope for injury if you are in a 'bad' position when they deploy. It's not unusual to see female passengers with their feet up on the dash - dread to think what would happen in that scenario

 

[sjmaxwell]

My brother got his wrists "burnt" when a steering wheel air bag went off with good reason - the two week old car was written off by a driver coming at him on the wrong side of the road! BUT that was his only injury

 

[WindyH]

Slightly OT but I've never really been convinced about passenger front airbags! If you're strapped in you are not going to come into contact with the dash or windscreen, but as per Richard's post there is certainly scope for injury if you are in a 'bad' position when they deploy. It's not unusual to see female passengers with their feet up on the dash - dread to think what would happen in that scenario

Good point, but also driver airbags to a degree. I drove my first e class estate into the back of a van, at lowish speed (entirely my fault!) The drivers airbag deployed (no passengers in vehicle) as did the seatbelt pretensioner. I didn't make any contact with the airbag, so it was a waste going off, although the belt pretensioner was probably the reason while I didn't make contact!
No one hurt other than my pride. Car was 6 years old and deemed worth repairing by insurers. Chap at the repairers said repair was it was a 6k job but if it would have needed a passenger pretensioner, airbag and new dash in addition, it would have just tipped it over repair value.

 

[Dieselman]

Slightly OT but I've never really been convinced about passenger front airbags! If you're strapped in you are not going to come into contact with the dash or windscreen,

Airbags prevent the brain stem being ripped out...which kind of helps...

 

[sjmaxwell]

Airbags prevent the brain stem being ripped out...which kind of helps...

Sounds like something out of a horror movie!

Kind of like to think mine keep working!!

 

[Apial]

I drive my car with no SRS lights, but then it does not have airbags to cause an accident.