Air bag light please any help

[flybird]

Hello, I am working on a 2001 Boxster my Wife and I bought each other for Christmas. This is a car I have always wanted and now totally enjoy. I took the bumper off and cleaned the radiators also removed the seats to give them a good going over. Then cleaned the carpet and replaced the belt. Put it all together except for the child restrant belt bar. The air bag light came on when I started it. Ok figured it was the restrant seat belt buckle so put it back on the next day. Still the light, reconnected all the wire harnesses still light. Unhooked the battery reconnected still light. I am leaving tonight so I cannot respond until tomorrow, hope this is enough information. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[randy_k]

You may have just tripped the code doing your work. Options are that I know of.

A) Take it to someone that can clear it. And see if it comes back.

B) Buy a Durametric tool and clear it yourself. (This tool is invaluable if you own a Porsche?) And see if it comes back.

C) Put black electrical tape over it and ignore it.

Randy

[bar10dah]

Just for clarification, you didn't turn the key to the on position while the seats were removed, did you? If so, then you'll have to get your airbag light reset. Not sure what a dealer will charge you, maybe half an hour at normal shop rate? Which, varies from dealership to dealership. Mine is $98/hr. So just remember, if you take your seats out, to avoid the airbag light from coming on, do NOT turn your ignition on until you make sure all the connections have been reinstalled first.

Like Randy_k suggests in "B" above, buy a Durametric tool. Worth every penny. You'll be able to reset your own airbag light, plus will help you troubleshoot any issues that may come up in the future.

Another thing to understand, if you want to remove the child restraint bar, you have to take it to the dealer to have them turn that feature off in your DME. Durametric can not do this. You can physically remove the bar yourself, to save you some labor fees. But you'll definitely have to take your car to the dealer for them to deactivate that feature in your car. Then, to recoup some of the cost of taking it to the dealer, you can sell the child restraint bar in the 'parts for sale' section of this forum. Just to give you an idea of what they're going for, I bought mine here a couple months ago for $125 shipped.

[nosnow4pc]

You can also see if an independent repair shop near you has the Porsche software tools. It doesn't take more than a few minutes and the shop will charge you a great deal less than Porsche.

I no longer go to my local dealer now that I know of a shop in my area that has the Porsche system tools.

[flybird]

Thanks for all your input. I need to get my code for the radio so maybe I will see what the damage will be to correct the airbag system. If they want to much I will buy the system to do it myself which would be good since I work on my own cars.

[Jeff396]

I didn't realize you shouldn't turn the ignition key on when I had my door apart to fix a window problem so my airbag light came and stayed on. I finally took it to the dealer and they charged me 1/2 hours labor to reset it for $50. I think they felt bad for that because they also checked on something else I was worried about included in that price. I'm told that the ABS system functions normally even when the light is activated for that reason. That sure makes that electrical tape solution look pretty darn good!

Jeff

[putput6]

If you don't have the radio code stashed away anywhere in the car's owner's manuals you'll probably have to go to the dealer for it. My experience is they will give you the code for free if you are in for something else already.

[flybird]

Thanks for all the great information. I think I am going to end up getting the diagnostic tool. My friend said he would loan me his windows laptop to use with it. My kids have apple laptops which I think would be a problem.

[bar10dah]

Originally Posted by flybird

I need to get my code for the radio...

No need to go to the dealer:
Lost Radio Code - FAQ - RennTech.org Forums

[flybird]

Hey great, thanks for the info will give them a try!