Cause of airbag light coming back on?

[michaelph]

I have a 2006 325i. Airbag light comes on, I clear it with my scanner, and it will come back on if I move around in the drivers seat in some particular way. I'll clear it again, and it will stay off for a while, but if I dive into a turn even lightly it sometimes comes back on.

Is there something in the drivers seat that triggers this, and what does it take to fix? I keep my creator scanner hooked up & under the floor mat to periodically clear the air bag light - would like to figure out a permanent fix.

thanks,

[328 Power 04]

Read the codes, use the codes to find out what is failing, repair the failed component, only then clear the codes.

[White94RX]

Right. You need to actually fix the car if you want to stop the warning lamp from coming on.

[michaelph]

ok, so i read the codes - says 93A8 Driver's Airbag Stage 1 - what does this mean? I've looked online and it says the drivers seat belt retractor may be bad - - before I go digging into this, has anyone else seen this and what was the fix?? Seems to come on whether the seat belt is buckled or not at any random time... so I'd be surprised it its the seat belt retractor. Another site I saw something about removing the airbag and just cleaning the contacts ... hmm - any ideas? thanks in advance.

[White94RX]

Driver's airbag stage one is exactly what it says. Your steering wheel airbag has two stages depending on the severity of crash. If you pull the steering wheel airbag off, there are two connectors. You can check these to make sure they are locked down, and don't have any corrosion or damage. Chances are there's nothing wrong with them. I have seen on occasion, a SZL (steering column switch cluster) with the clock spring having an internal break in the coil of wire. The clock spring is what allows you to turn the steering wheel, and still have wiring connected to it. You can replace the SZL yourself, but it has to be programmed/coded to the vehicle afterwards.