[mike saunders]

I'm posting this for a friend who has a 99 900 SE and he's getting the dreaded exclamation point within the red triangle and an "air bag" light.

His mechanics checked the code and it said it was a side airbag issue. I notced that the plastic seat frame on the driver's seat (where the seat memory controls are) was broken and partially detatched from the seat.

Questions: Are there seat airbags on this model, and could he just be dealing with a loose wire?

 

[Jeremy R.]

Yes, there are side airbags on the 9-3. It could just be a loose wire, but whatever it turns out to be, the system will need to be reset with a Tech II before it will ever work again. When the SRS symbol comes on, the system is deactivated.

 

[mike saunders]

Ok...this might explain why they couldn't find anythuing.....

 

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

Could just be that usual culprit, a loose connection under the dash, to the airbag, which is not of a secure and good a design as it might be. Can be loosened simply by closing a door harder than usual. IMHO, the plastic seat frame prob. is a red herring, here, but heed the good advise of Jeremy R.


HTH

 

[earthworm]

Second the good advice from Jeremy, but I disagree with the assessment that the connections are not good quality; at least on my '96 they are(Amp company, worldwide?)..Maybe some changes have been made- one way or the other...

My SRS and the "!" are also aglow.. and there is little chance that anything is wrong....

Is the life risk worth $the price of an OBD II/Tech 2 ?? I drove Saabs even before the days of the seat belt and harness..

 

[JMarkert]

Second the good advice from Jeremy, but I disagree with the assessment that the connections are not good quality; at least on my '96 they are(Amp company, worldwide?)..Maybe some changes have been made- one way or the other...

My SRS and the "!" are also aglow.. and there is little chance that anything is wrong....

Is the life risk worth $the price of an OBD II/Tech 2 ?? I drove Saabs even before the days of the seat belt and harness..

Not to hijack the thread, but I think this is one of those things I would fix eventually. On the other hand, I suspect earthworm's right. I suspect that with a seatbelt our cars are pretty safe even if the airbag doesn't work.

Of course the side airbag helps a lot where a seatbelt does no good, on the other hand, most of us don't have one, so does that mean we're extreme risk takers ? :roll:

Still, I'd try to fix it myself then fork over the hundred bucks to get the system reset.

Is there any chance it would reset if the battery was disconnected?

 

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

Second the good advice from Jeremy, but I disagree with the assessment that the connections are not good quality; at least on my '96 they are(Amp company, worldwide?)..Maybe some changes have been made- one way or the other...

With reference to the GM900, I am not saying that all connectors are of bad quality, and in my original post I did not indicate this at all. They aren't. In fact, they are rather excellent. But the connector that connects the dash to the steering wheel air-bag is recognised by dealers and independent Saab garages as being inferior, and hence the problems as stated in my post. This is a well known fault and diagnosis in these circles, and the circles I move in.

Don't shoot the messenger. These are just the facts!

HTH

 

[earthworm]

HTH, I guess you are speaking of the little gray(?) Amp connector that plugs into the air bag unit.....

I would like for Saab to use the same connectors that are on telephones- but, maybe these could not handle the amps or maybe they would be too expensive.. 5 pennies vs 4.5 pennies - as a wild guess - this 0.5 penny does add up, 50 applications(at least) times 200,000 units..
I'm trying to think as a "bean counter" - easy for me...

They are known to place bottom-line cost above anything else(reliability, safety) ...Ask Ford about the safety aspect, cruise control and fires.....

I, hopefully am not shooting the messinger, but am trying to fully comprehend what he is saying - sometimes I wish I was back in the trade rather than doing what is a lot easier (being retired)... lol lol...